PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

NY developer Durst buys Dave & Buster's, Morgan's piers with eye toward apartments



What is interesting to me is that this is yet another disposition by Brandywine for more liquidity. Good for them for selling high, after the Penn's Landing park/cap was announced. That, paired with a new promo video from them I saw on Twitter this morning saying "expect big things from us in 2017" makes me believe, as Summers has noted, that we'll be seeing movement on Schuylkill Yards/Cira II sooner rather than later. It's also nice to see more out-of-town investors choosing assets in Philly.

Dammit!!

That's where I park my boat!

Son of a...

[1487]

some optimism about job prospects here

http://www.phillymag.com/property/2017/0...r-young-professionals-here-survey-finds/

[Gonzo the Great]

When you reach a certain age, you move out of mom and dad’s house. That’s how it’s supposed to play out at least, right?

Oddly enough, apparently not – at least not here in Philadelphia, that is. Our lovely metropolitan area has just been ranked the area with the fifth-highest percentage of Millennials still living at home.

Forty-one percent of Millennials in the Philly metro still live with Mom and Dad, according to an analysis of Census data conducted by the apartment search site ABODO. This number exceeds the national average of 34.1 percent but is not alone in doing so. Another 16 metropolitan areas with populations over 1 million in the United States have percentages over the national average. (Philadelphia’s percentage of Millennials still living with their parents is in line with the Pennsylvania statewide average, however.)

Before you assume that this is just a generation of college kids not yet ready to fly the coop, let us remind you that the millennial generation includes anyone who is currently between 18 and 34 years old. So why are so many members of the largest, most diverse, and most educated generation in history still living with their parents?

Well, the answer isn’t that simple and has more to do with a combination of factors than one single factor alone. Some of these factors include rents, low pay, education level, and student loan debt.

Let us put things into context using the data from our own metropolitan area. According to the U.S. government, a cost-burdened renter is someone who spends more than 30 percent of his or her income on rent each month. In Philadelphia, the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,026. The median monthly income of a millennial living at home is $1,427. So, the average millennial living at home who wanted to move out and live on his or her own would spend a whopping 74 percent of his or her monthly income on rent alone. It’s clear that he or she would be severely cost-burdened.

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Then, pile on student loan debt (amongst other things), and the picture starts to become even more clear.

“Many Millennials are not only earning less than their parents did as younger adults, but the majority of Millennials who pursue college degrees are eventually saddled with an average student loan debt hovering around $30,000,” says Sam Radbil, the senior communications manager at ABODO.

In case you’re wondering, this surprising statistic is emblematic of a national trend: a recent report from the Pew Research Center noted that for the first time in modern U.S. history, more 18- to 34-year-olds are living with their parents than living in any other type of household arrangement.

While many people might be quick to assume that Millennials are choosing to stay in the nest as opposed to seeking independence, outside factors may be what’s actually preventing them from spreading their wings and flying to a life of their own.


Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/property/2017/0...ials-living-at-home/#qprfjlQm57J0Qj3w.99

[Nova08]

Something worth mentioning regarding population estimates and millennial's living at home.

I've rented in center city and now Conshohocken for 8 years and I have never claimed primary residency in these two locations. From a population count I assume I am counted within my current primary residence (where I grew up) which would incorrectly assume that I still live with Mom+Dad. I'm from the area so it doesn't really amount to much from a Philly MSA population figure. However, I suspect a fair number of 23-30 year old non-home owners do the same thing I've done. In fact, in my apt complex in Conshohocken there are a decent number of NJ, NY, MD, etc. license plates. Meaning these people either don't claim residency in Conshohocken or have been too lazy to change the license and face a fine if caught.

[Urbanthusiat]

^ I have to imagine this is a huge confounding variable for that study. I mean, same. I haven't lived at home in several years yet my official residency is still there, out in the suburbs, out of convenience. I believe this is the case for many people I know. This is another reason the census is likely underestimating the population of Philly.

[ok-ez]

more soil testing at 2nd and Germantown, anyone know if Blatstein is going to build something?

[Noam215]

Originally Posted by ok-ez

more soil testing at 2nd and Germantown, anyone know if Blatstein is going to build something?

Does Blatstein still own anything down there or did it all go to Kushner?

[tsarstruck]

Originally Posted by Noam215

Does Blatstein still own anything down there or did it all go to Kushner?

Believe only the Piazza itself went to Kushner.

[Sgalla04]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

^ I have to imagine this is a huge confounding variable for that study. I mean, same. I haven't lived at home in several years yet my official residency is still there, out in the suburbs, out of convenience. I believe this is the case for many people I know. This is another reason the census is likely underestimating the population of Philly.

I would agree. When living in Manayunk years ago, I didn't know a single renting person who worked in the burbs and didn't have family living within 2 hours who said they lived in Philly, just so they could avoid the city wage tax. I knew people with parents in the Poconos as their main address because they didn't work in Philly and therefore weren't paying the wage tax.

[cafeguy]

Originally Posted by tsarstruck

Believe only the Piazza itself went to Kushner.

Blatstein still owns that parking lot and the triangle across from Acme where the christmas trees are for sale usually. I have heard rumors that there will be a building on each connected over the street with a walkway.

[Yurkek]

Originally Posted by reparcsyks

I grew up in this area and officially moved to Philly in 1997. My job takes me on the road a fair amount - I remember always having a hint of shame when I would tell people I was from Philly. Here I was traveling to Austin, Portland, SF, etc -- and others -- and I was from Philly. I would have city-envy back then, as if they were somehow better because everyone was talking about them.

Well, something curious started happening. The more I traveled in the USA, the more I realized how average these towns were in comparison to Philly, starting around 2005-ish. The hype NEVER lived up to the town.

...

When it comes to America, we're ready for our close-up. We need to convert the Negadelphians to Philadelphians and start letting the country know that Philly can hold its own.

I moved to the US 6 years ago and lived in different places before I moved to Philly two years ago. Sometimes I get upset when people who don't get Philly talk crap about the city. Especially if it's some people who haven't been here.

At the same time, I like that Philly isn't as popular as Austin or Portland, so I never meet people who don't know whey they moved here. It's usually a conscious decision.

Despite all the setbacks, I really like this city and all the amazing projects and plans make me really excited. I think everyone who feels the same should try to contribute more and not just expect for things to improve overnight on their own.

[pwp]

Entertainment company Live Nation is apparently nearing a deal to operate North Broad Street’s historic Metropolitan Opera House as a concert venue after its renovation by developer Eric Blumenfeld’s EB Realty Management Corp.

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/re...un-North-Broad-Met-as-concert-venue.html

[boxbot]

A vision of the future post Chinese Wall c. 1929.
Some of these would have been fantastic - if all a bit uniform.


Courtesy Justin Roczniak‎ on UrbanPHL FB group

Edit: Nevermind. It looks like Aaamazarite posted it here yesterday and then it was reposted there. Credit to you, sir.

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by boxbot

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/bmnUQ39.jpg[/IMG
Edit: Nevermind. It looks like Aaamazarite posted it here

Does anyone know what was suggested to be built north of 30th. St. Station? In this mock up it almost looks like a annex to the station.

[boxbot]

Originally Posted by City Wide

Does anyone know what was suggested to be built north of 30th. St. Station? In this mock up it almost looks like a annex to the station.

I think, like the current master plans, its nothing more than a building that would compliment the Station; don't believe there's any particular purpose in mind.

[Mr Saturn64]

Wow. That's fascinating. I notice a building that somewhat resembles Los Angeles' City Hall near what appears to be 23rd and Chestnut. Also, on the Parkway, the Franklin Institute occupies the entire block, the Academy of Natural Sciences looks like a large Neo-Classical building, and there's a building directly north of the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul. There are also buildings in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by Yurkek

I moved to the US 6 years ago and lived in different places before I moved to Philly two years ago. Sometimes I get upset when people who don't get Philly talk crap about the city. Especially if it's some people who haven't been here.

At the same time, I like that Philly isn't as popular as Austin or Portland, so I never meet people who don't know whey they moved here. It's usually a conscious decision.

Despite all the setbacks, I really like this city and all the amazing projects and plans make me really excited. I think everyone who feels the same should try to contribute more and not just expect for things to improve overnight on their own.

That's exactly why I plan on getting into city politics! I just found out that I'll be moving to the city from Delco in August, so I plan to establish residency and prepare to run for office in 2023 (I won't be turning 25 until 2020).

Whenever people say that things are bad in the city, I will always refer to how things were pre-2005. When I was a little kid living in West Philly, the city was absolutely crazy: 300+ murders a year, continued population loss, rampant abandonment and HUGE vacant lots, and much more of a sense of inferiority. 12 years later, the city has become a destination. Earlier today, I was biking through Francisville on my way to the gym at Temple. I was looking up and down Ridge Avenue in disbelief that so much has come to occupy so many abandoned tracts of land! Same thing with Fairmount Avenue, the area around 46th Street Station (NOT a place you wanted to be in the early/mid-2000s), and many other areas.

No matter what anyone says about Philly and its current state, it has TREMENDOUSLY improved from the city it was when I was growing up a decade ago. Those who remember what the city was before I was born in 1995 probably agree even more.

[summersm343]

Why startup Folia left Pittsburgh for Philadelphia

It’s a brisk Friday afternoon at the a cluster of offices and lab spaces on Gray’s Ferry Avenue known as Pennovation Works, and tucked in the basement of a nondescript building on the 23-acre campus, Teri Dankovich is focused.

Clad in a white lab jacket and lavender-colored rubber gloves, the co-founder and CTO of Folia Water is conducting quality control tests for the startup's flagship product, a paper water filter that purifies drinking water for a penny a day per person.

It was a big one for the pair, who decided to leave Pittsburgh, where Dankovich was a scientist at Carnegie Mello university and Levine was a scientist at the Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory. The region wasn’t right for them, with its focus on robotics and medtech and lack of access to the type of paper manufacturing facilities Folia requires. Washington D.C. didn’t fit either – it moved too slowly for their needs. New York City and Boston were in the running, but the cost of living and doing business in both put them out of reach.

Then came Philadelphia, with its affordability, proximity to vendors, focus on social enterprises and academic institutions.

“We knew that we wanted to be on the East Coast, and we were trying to figure out which city makes the most sense, and we kept on coming back to Philly,” Dankovich said.

Levine was even more convinced after a chance meeting with Novapeutics CEO Frank Leu, who happened to be sitting next to Levine at the Pennsylvania Alliance for Capital and Technologies' IMPACT Capital Conference dinner in November. The two struck up a conversation about their day jobs and Leu sang the praises of the Pennovation campus, where his Penn spin-out is working on a cure for diabetes. A few weeks later he emailed Levine, telling him if Folia ever needed a lab, there was one at Pennovation waiting for them.

More than a dozen meetings and treks across Pennsylvania later — plus the persuasive tactics of Ben Franklin Technology Partners, which has been working with Folia to commercialize its technology — and the pair found their new home.

“Philadelphia is just small enough that everybody cares. When we’ve met business people in Philadelphia, we’ve gotten a very different reception than in other places,” Levine said. “Everyone in Philadelphia has been like ‘Come to Philadelphia, make your business here. Let’s work with you.’”

The access to both lab space and local manufacturing facilities was key for the startup. Folia’s technology is based on the concept of a simple paper packaged similar to coffee filters. Its special thick paper, embedded with silver but produced at the same cost as regular paper, uses nanotechnology to trap waterborne pathogens and remove them from drinking water as it passes through.

“They could’ve gone to a lot of places,” Leu, who is also an advisor for the Pennovation Works campus, said. “I think it says a lot about Philadelphia, that finally, maybe, the message is getting through to people in other parts of the country that Philadelphia is gaining momentum. We still have years to go, but we have our goal set high, and rightfully so, because we have the universities, the intellectual power and very qualified people, as qualified as Boston and San Francisco. We have the human capital here, and there’s definitely wealth too.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...-water-filter-pennovation-philly-hq.html

[jjv007]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Why startup Folia left Pittsburgh for Philadelphia



http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...-water-filter-pennovation-philly-hq.html

Haha you should post this in that Philly vs. Pittsburgh thread on City-Data.

[1487]

I found this artcle interesting because it clarifies that DC's office market is almost totally dependent on government and there is little private sector demand outside of that. These are things we have to keep in perspective when comparing cities in terms of tax structures, office vacancy rates, etc. The CCD often cites DC as a barometer for Philly (showing how Philly is lagging in office rents, etc.) the truth is DC is like Detroit in that it's a one industry town. While there is little chance Trump would get all his wishes in terms of cuts I think there is no doubt the good times are about to end down there in terms of jobs growth.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politi...ap_327b3500d32e43e286fbab0a8a49dcd1.html