PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by jjv007

You can't say it's about health when items such as cranberry and grape juice and Gatorade are being taxed as well.

Haha do you think Gatorade or grape juice is healthy? Oh boy that's rich. You should read a nutuition label sometime. Granted, that stuff is better than soda but that's really not saying much as soda is basically poison.

All of these complaints are mostly bs drummed up by the super wealthy and powerful beverage industry. It was always assumed soda consumption would go down and that was always be viewed as a positive. It's also about making money and even in a month where retailers stocked up on supply prior to the tax going into effect and in a month when people are surprised by sticker shock, they still brought in a couple million dollars for worthwhile programs.

Is a sin tax the best idea? No. But it's fine and due to the morons in Harrisburg, Philadelphia doesn't have much freedom to raise taxes in other ways that wouldn't be even worse for business.

People need to chill out about the soda tax. Much of this outrage is ridiculously over the top. If this tax is affecting anyone's life this much they need to seriously cut back on sweetened drinks.

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by Flyers2001

The health concern is such a farce. You can't have it both ways. You either want to make money off it or you want everyone to stop drinking soda.

Its a very slippery slope when specific industries are targeted.
Candy can not be good for you, lets do away with Halloween in Philadelphia.

How about a nice coupon system where everyone in the City is given a coupon for one tax free soda a week and one tax free candy bar a month!
Sortof like a cap and trade system for sweets.

My two cents, I doubt soda drinking will drop much, but the sales of soda, and probably lots of food dollars as well, will move out of the City.

All in all, a pretty stupid plan. Does the City who can't afford good schools really need to concern itself with starting a city wide pre-K system? As usual, the Cities fathers and mothers just don't seem to be able to set priorities. So we end up with a lot of half baked programs that take on a life unto themselves.

[hammersklavier]

Alcohol is also basically poison. The point of a sin tax is to incentivize certain (i.e. healthier) lifestyle choices. But trying to sell the soda tax as a sin tax almost certainly wouldn't have flown.

I also agree, the anti-business climate in this town is a big deal. But a soda tax is, frankly, NBD in the grand scheme of things. It's things like wage and gross receipts taxes that are the issues that need solving.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by volguus zildrohar

4125 Chestnut

17 floors

On the site of the current Wash 'N Lube.


KCA Design Associates

More tinker-toy buildings for the college set.

Good god that's ugly.

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Good god that's ugly.

Fortunately the wash n' lube was never much of a looker either. Stuff like this is fine in fringe areas as far as I'm concerned.

Context matters. It's why an objectively better building like the Toll Brothers Jeweler's Row protect is a fucking disaster and this is "meh, fine."

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by volguus zildrohar

4125 Chestnut

17 floors

On the site of the current Wash 'N Lube.


KCA Design Associates

More tinker-toy buildings for the college set.

If this is going in on the north side of Chestnut I got to wonder when something similar will be proposed for the south side, 41st to 42th, one big empty just waiting------

[summersm343]

With permits in hand, Sunoco confirms plans to build two new pipelines, not one

Sunoco Logistics Partners confirmed Wednesday that it will build two pipelines across Pennsylvania as part of its Mariner East 2 project.

The Newtown Square company said the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s recent approval of permits for its pipeline has emboldened more producers to commit to the project, signaling greater interest in building an additional pipeline adjoining the one now under construction.

“We’ve received enough commitments to move forward,” Michael J. Hennigan, the company’s chief executive officer, told investment analysts Wednesday during the company’s quarterly earnings conference call. “We’re building two pipes.”

Hennigan said the company is still maintaining an “open season” to allow more shippers of natural-gas liquids such as propane to commit to buying capacity on the new pipeline, which connects the Marcellus and Utica Shale regions in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania to Sunoco’s terminal in Marcus Hook.

The Mariner East project is a series of adjoining pipelines that aim to transport large quantities of propane, ethane and butane to Marcus Hook. Though some of the propane is destined for domestic markets, most of the committed shippers are exporting the materials to European petrochemical plants.

Mariner East 1 is a 300-mile pipeline running from Houston, Pa., to Marcus Hook that Sunoco began operating a year ago. Mariner East 2, or ME2, would extend that pipeline an additional 50 miles into Ohio.

Construction has already begun on a new 20-inch-diameter ME2 pipeline, which would quintuple the capacity of Mariner East from 70,000 barrels a day to 345,000 barrels. Sunoco plans to complete the project by the third quarter of this year.

The second Mariner East 2 pipeline, which Sunoco has dubbed ME2X, would be a 16-inch diameter conduit built next to the 20-inch pipeline. The two pipes would be built sequentially, not simultaneously, Hennigan said.

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/energy/Sunoco-ME-fracking.html

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by City Wide

How about a nice coupon system where everyone in the City is given a coupon for one tax free soda a week and one tax free candy bar a month!
Sortof like a cap and trade system for sweets.

Sounds like the WWII ration coupon system. If you wanted a cake for Johhny's birthday, you had to make some deals.

[jjv007]

Originally Posted by volguus zildrohar

4125 Chestnut

17 floors

On the site of the current Wash 'N Lube.


KCA Design Associates

More tinker-toy buildings for the college set.

What a sexy beast...

[1487]

Originally Posted by iamrobk

DROP is its own thing, but generally speaking, the problem with the pension fund isn't something that can easily be fixed. The older plans (people who either started working for the city 30+ years ago) aren't well funded at all, but all the newer ones are fine. Basically, we're going to keep having pension issues for the next 10-20 years, but then you'll never hear about it again.

Most people talking about DROP don't have a clue. BUt then those are often the people who have the most to say. Not only that the terms of DROP were changed several years ago to lower the returns and make it less attractive. There have already been pension changes in the last few contracts but that does little to affect the existing liability. There is no such thing as a "major" budget cut that won't affect service. The biggest budget is the police department so one was really interested in being aggressive on City spending that would be the place to start. Good luck selling that plan to the public.

[pwp]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

These are all conclusory statements that have not yet been shown to be true and may not be true. It's not clear that the tax will produce a high economic return. If enough people can easily purchase and consume soda in neighboring locales with no such tax, and choose to do so, it won't. And disruption to local businesses like convenience stores and layoffs is a large social cost if that ends up being what happens. Looking like it may.

Actually, no. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politi...lion-in-January-double-expectations.html

With any tax there is cause and affect. Yes, it will impact a sliver of low-paying retail jobs. Like I said, minimal social costs. It's imaginable that consumers will continue direct their dollars to another product (or the same?) once the sticker shock period has passed

[McBane]

Originally Posted by allovertown

Fortunately the wash n' lube was never much of a looker either. Stuff like this is fine in fringe areas as far as I'm concerned.

Context matters. It's why an objectively better building like the Toll Brothers Jeweler's Row protect is a fucking disaster and this is "meh, fine."

100% Agreed.

Also, 41st and Chestnut is University City, but the fact is that Market/Chestnut/Walnut west of 40th is not really a desirable part of the neighborhood. This very block looks pretty dumpy and quite detached from the rest of the neighborhood. This is changing however and if built, this tower would accelerate the improvement of blocks west of the neighborhood "core".

[1487]

Originally Posted by McBane

100% Agreed.

Also, 41st and Chestnut is University City, but the fact is that Market/Chestnut/Walnut west of 40th is not really a desirable part of the neighborhood. This very block looks pretty dumpy and quite detached from the rest of the neighborhood. This is changing however and if built, this tower would accelerate the improvement of blocks west of the neighborhood "core".

too much auto centric stuff on market st west of 40th. Hopefully that changes. I really don't like the orientation of this tower because it has so little frontage on chestnut as a result of the lot size and orientation. But it's better than a carwash. This is very similar to the project being proposed for Broad near Oxford- both going into uncharted territory.

[br323206]

Originally Posted by City Wide

.

All in all, a pretty stupid plan. Does the City who can't afford good schools really need to concern itself with starting a city wide pre-K system? As usual, the Cities fathers and mothers just don't seem to be able to set priorities. So we end up with a lot of half baked programs that take on a life unto themselves.

Actually yes. Because part of the reason Philly schools are bad is that kids aren't ready when they get to Kindergarten. You can't ignore the first five years of a kid's life and then expect a teacher to fix everything in Kindergarten. Research shows that for every dollar spent on pre-K we get between $5 and $10 back in benefit. It's a smart policy.

Also, I think people keep forgetting that Mayor Kenney campaigned on this and won the election with 85% of the vote. I know the Democrat always wins in Philly but Nutter only got 75% of the vote in 2011 and 83% in 2007. John Street got 49.5% and 58.3% in his two elections. So voters clearly didn't have a problem with the soda tax, and maybe it even won him some extra votes.

[kingtut]

PHILADELPHIA— The University of Pennsylvania and Incyte Corporation, a Delaware-based biopharmaceutical company, have announced a research alliance to propel advances in cancer biology and immunotherapy. Steven M. Albelda, MD, the William Maul Measey Professor of Medicine, and Gregory L. Beatty, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Hematology-Oncology, both in the Perelman School of Medicine and the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, will co-lead a new oncology research alliance.

The multi-year collaboration will bring together drug-discovery and development scientists from both Penn and Incyte to better understand immune responses to cancer and drive innovations in immunotherapy. Immunotherapy, which has become a leading edge method for cancer treatment during the past decade, is a type of treatment that boosts the ability of a person's immune system to fight diseases such as cancer.

“This exciting new alliance between Penn and Incyte is a vital part of our ongoing efforts to support and enhance innovation at Penn and develop strong research and development partnerships with industry,” said John Swartley, MBA, PhD, associate vice provost for research and managing director of the Penn Center for Innovation. “Both partners are committed to improving and extending the lives of patients with cancer. Dr. Albelda and Dr. Beatty are outstanding scientists who bring superb collaborative skills to this important effort.”

As part of the relationship, Penn researchers will use their expertise in preclinical biology and translational science to assess new therapeutics under development at Incyte—enhancing, for example, the ability to select the patients who are most likely to respond to combination therapies. In combination therapy, patients receive two or more drugs (or other forms of treatment, such as radiation) for a single disease.

Additionally, Incyte and Penn will develop a bioinformatics program in clinical immunotherapy to develop and support new types of treatment based on immune cell infiltration. When immune cells are infiltrated into tumors, tumor cells are often destroyed, resulting in better patient prognosis. But studies have found that in some cases, infiltration of immune cells into tumors or normal tissue may speed up tumor progression and the spread of cancer to other parts of the body.

Incyte will supply financial support for these research programs and may also carry out grant-funded, collaborative research with Penn experts in other areas of cancer immunology.


Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $5.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 18 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $373 million awarded in the 2015 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center -- which are recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report -- Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Chestnut Hill Hospital and Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2015, Penn Medicine provided $253.3 million to benefit our community.





Contacts


Holly Auer
C: 215-200-2313

[Londonee]

Another clunky Philly special.

[TempleGuy1000]

Important Unveiling at Dilworth Park today:

https://twitter.com/dhm/status/834789739207225344

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by br323206

Actually yes. Because part of the reason Philly schools are bad is that kids aren't ready when they get to Kindergarten. You can't ignore the first five years of a kid's life and then expect a teacher to fix everything in Kindergarten. Research shows that for every dollar spent on pre-K we get between $5 and $10 back in benefit. It's a smart policy.

Also, I think people keep forgetting that Mayor Kenney campaigned on this and won the election with 85% of the vote. I know the Democrat always wins in Philly but Nutter only got 75% of the vote in 2011 and 83% in 2007. John Street got 49.5% and 58.3% in his two elections. So voters clearly didn't have a problem with the soda tax, and maybe it even won him some extra votes.

If the City can pull off a large, reasonably well designed and run pre-K program, then more power to them. I remain doubtful not of the intent but with the City's ability to actually follow through, and I think I would unfortunately have way too many examples to back up my opinion.

Not that it matters hardly at all but the size of Kenney's victory means nothing. Bessy the cow could run as a repro and get 15% of the vote. Even in the primary Kenney really didn't have much meat to run against. All this is just to say that personally I don't think Kenney's victory had anything to do with any 'platform' he might have had.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by TempleGuy1000

Important Unveiling at Dilworth Park today:

https://twitter.com/dhm/status/834789739207225344

Jesus, really, the Plymouth Meeting Mall? Talk about the least inspiring location choices...

This would have been a great 3rd floor tenant of the Gallery.

[Frontst17]

You all can't possibly really believe the soda tax is a huge problem right? Sugary drink taxes have existed for decades I can't think of an example where it has cause economic catastrophe. We see these singular stories of shop owners infuriated over it but it affects the people it affects. We're still one of the most obese cities in the country if not world. The fact that soda and sugary drinks were so cheap to begin with was to target poor fat people. If this means Philly again lands on the right side of history I'm all for it. Also having even an average, easily accessible pre-k program is vital to the city. There's plenty of daycare facilities but if we want to see elemtary schools improve, aka receive more funding, we need better pre education. Then we see middle schools improve, then high schools, retain more college aged residents... a lot of short sightedness going on.