PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[summersm343]

2017 Philadelphia Metro Fortune 500

There are 14 total this year. I believe there were only 12 last year.

#11 - AmerisourceBergen - Chesterbrook, PA
#31 - Comcast - Philadelphia, PA
#113 - DuPont - Wilmington, DE
#192 - Aramark - Philadelphia, PA
#207 - Lincoln National - Radnor, PA
#276 - Universal Health Services - King of Prussia, PA
#333 - Crown Holding - Philadelphia, PA
#339 - Campbell Soup - Camden, NJ
#454 - Genesis Healthcare - Kennett Square, PA
#457 - UGI - Valley Forge, PA
#463 - Burlington Stores - Florence, NJ
#482 - Chemours - Wilmington, DE
#489 - Airgas - Radnor, PA
#497 - Toll Brothers - Horsham, PA

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...lphia-companies-make-fortune-500.html#g1

[jsbrook]

For one thing, Chemours is a new Fortune 500 company on this list. Relatedly, I realize that the Philadelphia metro is defined how it is, but some of these companies (like those in standalone cities of upwards of 70,000) seem like they have relatively little impact on Philadelphia's economy. I wonder at the conventional wisdom of including sizable, standalone cities in the metro areas of larger cities.

Originally Posted by summersm343

2017 Philadelphia Metro Fortune 500

There are 14 total this year. I believe there were only 12 last year.

#11 - AmerisourceBergen - Chesterbrook, PA
#31 - Comcast - Philadelphia, PA
#113 - DuPont - Wilmington, DE
#192 - Aramark - Philadelphia, PA
#207 - Lincoln National - Radnor, PA
#276 - Universal Health Services - King of Prussia, PA
#333 - Crown Holding - Philadelphia, PA
#339 - Campbell Soup - Camden, NJ
#454 - Genesis Healthcare - Kennett Square, PA
#457 - UGI - Valley Forge, PA
#463 - Burlington Stores - Florence, NJ
#482 - Chemours - Wilmington, DE
#489 - Airgas - Radnor, PA
#497 - Toll Brothers - Horsham, PA

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...lphia-companies-make-fortune-500.html#g1

[br323206]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

For one thing, Chemours is a new Fortune 500 company on this list. Relatedly, I realize that the Philadelphia metro is defined how it is, but some of these companies (like those in standalone cities of upwards of 70,000) seem like they have relatively little impact on Philadelphia's economy. I wonder at the conventional wisdom of including sizable, standalone cities in the metro areas of larger cities.

I'm not sure what you mean? I assume you're talking about Wilmington, but it makes total sense to include it. Dupont and Chemours absolutely have impact on the Philadelphia economy and there is a ton of commuting between New Castle County and Chester, Delaware, and Philadelphia Counties. Wilmington may have been historically its own "stand alone" city but it is functionally a part of the Philadelphia metro area in 2017.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by br323206

I'm not sure what you mean? I assume you're talking about Wilmington, but it makes total sense to include it. Dupont and Chemours absolutely have impact on the Philadelphia economy and there is a ton of commuting between New Castle County and Chester, Delaware, and Philadelphia Counties. Wilmington may have been historically its own "stand alone" city but it is functionally a part of the Philadelphia metro area in 2017.

Well, how big does a city need to be and how much employment does it need to generate before it and surrounding suburbs are their own metro area? There must be a line somewhere. But are there any clearly established guidelines?

[br323206]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Well, how big does a city need to be and how much employment does it need to generate before it and surrounding suburbs are their own metro area? There must be a line somewhere. But are there any clearly established guidelines?

Yes, there is a definition with clearly established guidelines. It's based on population and commuting patterns.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_statistical_area

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by br323206

Yes, there is a definition with clearly established guidelines. It's based on population and commuting patterns.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_statistical_area

Thanks!

[summersm343]

From 8 floor plans to 18, Dranoff reflects on One Riverside as he prepares for next project

Carl Dranoff is obviously comfortable sitting on an outdoor couch on the expansive landscaped patio at his latest Center City project, One Riverside.

Located at 225 S. 25th St. in the Fitler Square neighborhood of Philadelphia, Dranoff points to the adjacent Schuylkill River Park, nearby access to the Schuylkill River Trail, and outdoor kitchen as just the tip of a long list of amenities the new condominium tower offers residents. On the interior, a whole floor is dedicated to other amenities including a 20-yard lap pool, spa-like locker rooms, and a comfortable room with a fireplace where you can read the paper with a cup of coffee or enjoy a glass a wine with your new neighbors.

It’s not much different than a club floor of a high-end hotel and, along with the lush terrace and the black car service that's always at the ready, One Riverside has the look and feel of a resort.

“Being in the condo business is different than being in the multifamily business,” Dranoff said. “You have to do your homework.”

Some of the details incorporated into One Riverside Dranoff learned from his past work on projects such as Symphony House and 10 Rittenhouse Square. In 2013, when One Riverside was first envisioned, Dranoff saw it as a 160-unit apartment complex. It didn't take long for that idea to fall by the wayside when, under his tutelage, 10 Rittenhouse sold its last condominium and Dranoff concluded there was an under supply of condos in Philadelphia. In a very short amount of time, he switched gears and had One Riverside designed with 82 condo with eight different floor plans.

“We’re nimble,” Dranoff said.

Even that wasn’t quite right.

Prospective buyers wanted to combine units so Dranoff and his architect, Cecil Baker, revamped One Riverside to allow for combined units with 18 different floor plans from which buyers could consider. So far, 25 percent of the buyers have combined units and the average size is between 2,200 square feet and 2,600 square feet. Sale prices have been more than $1,050 a square foot – about $50 more than originally expected.

“There’s a lot of faith that it’s going to work out,” Dranoff said.

With One Riverside nearly completed and residents starting to move in, Dranoff is beginning to turn his attention to his next Center City project, the SLS International, a project Dranoff is doing in partnership with SBE Entertainment Group. The $250 million development is almost 423,000 square feet and will be 562 feet tall at the corner of South Broad Street and Spruce Street.

“It will be the biggest, tallest, most expensive project I’ve ever done,” Dranoff said. “Our goal is the build an absolute iconic trophy building.

The SLS would have 140 hotel rooms and 90 condominiums down from 123, a corner bar and restaurant, outdoor garden as well as street-level retail. In addition, the building is planned to have a rooftop lounge, 25-meter lap swimming pool and a 6,000-square-foot ballroom that overlooks the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts.

The project has been dormant for three years while the developer worked on getting a $20 million state subsidy from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to help support the project. So far, just $1 million has been secured and Dranoff is hopeful to get the remainder later this year.

Dranoff has been here before. He waited years for state funding for One Ardmore Place and went through multiple other hurdles for that project that he initially proposed back in 2008. It wasn’t until this past March that construction on that development started.

Without the financial aid, SLS is going to be a challenging project to get done even though the concept of a duel hotel-condo project is in demand, Dranoff said. “It’s a combination needed and wanted in Philadelphia and it’s the most bull’s eye location in Philadelphia,” he said.

Mark Wade, a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach and an expert on the Center City condo market, agrees the SLS project will work and find buyers for its units. One reason is that it's located at Spruce Street, which is a quintessential residential street in Philadelphia, Wade said. There’s also demand for condominiums at all price ranges — from the super high-end such as Dranoff’s One Riverside and SLS project and Scannapieco Development Corp.’s 500 Walnut to the more modestly priced units at $1 million and below.

“What I find to be the most interesting is Philadelphia is a sea of Toyotas and Mercedes and what’s coming down the pike is Bentleys,” Wade said. “The properties Dranoff and Scannapieco are putting out there are definitely going to feed the market. The demand is there.”

If the state funding comes through, Dranoff is hopeful to move forward with developing SLS by the end of the year. The project will take up to three years to build out.

“We need another project because we’re almost done here,” he said.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...erside-sls-condo-hotel-spruce-broad.html

[summersm343]

Bill would change the way Philadelphia taxes commercial real estate

Paul Levy, CEO of Center City District, and Jerry Sweeney, CEO of Brandywine Realty Trust, have teamed up to reform Philadelphia’s tax code through an amendment to Pennsylvania’s constitution. If successful, the effort would give the city the ability to increase commercial real estate taxes.

As proposed, the so-called Levy-Sweeney bill would allow commercial properties to be taxed at a different rate than residential real estate within Philadelphia. If adopted, the city could assess commercial properties up to 15 percent higher so long as it uses the funds generated from that increase to reduce wage and business taxes.

The measure would be revenue neutral for the city but as Levy, Sweeney and others have argued in support of the bill, the taxes companies face in Philadelphia are burdensome and a deterrent for attracting, retaining and growing businesses. This would help reduce those taxes and signal to the business community that Philadelphia is a place where companies can thrive and jobs would be created, they say.

“This is giving the city a tool without requiring it to use it,” Levy said. “This does not tie the city’s hands but is an advocacy tool. All the legislation says is the city may assess properties up to 15 percent higher so long as the revenues from that are used to reduce wage and business taxes.”

The plan has received support from a broad coalition and been endorsed by the Committee of Seventy, Building Owners and Managers Association, the Philadelphia building trades and unions as well as the African-American and Hispanic chambers of commerce. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has also backed the effort.

In recent months, the bill has met opposition from some members of City Council as well as the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia. The two groups propose taking a different route that would involve a five-year tax reform plan rather than a change to the state constitution.

The Levy-Sweeney measure has made progress in Harrisburg. It needs to pass two successive legislative sessions and last year easily passed in both chambers. It has been reintroduced. Its supporters goal is to get it through another session of the legislature and then have it presented to voters on a statewide referendum. It could be as early as this November that voters have the measure on the ballot, and if it passes that hurdle, the city could have it as a “tool” as early as July 2018. A slower route would have it available to the city in 2019 if it passes a voter referendum at a later date.

“This is a litmus test for how the business community looks at the future of Philadelphia and where the city wants to be 10 years from now,” Sweeney said. “We need to change the economic situation.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...d-change-the-way-philadelphia-taxes.html

[summersm343]

View from the top: Two new luxury buildings welcome the wealthy – and why that matters for the rest of us

Read more here:
http://planphilly.com/articles/2017/06/0...-and-why-that-matters-for-the-rest-of-us

[summersm343]

Visiting the (Outside of the) CHOP Roberts Center









Read more here:
http://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/gr...g-the-outside-of-the-chop-roberts-center

[iheartphilly]

Dang, this thing is a fortress of a building.

[Guipos08]

^ looks like a skaters paradise

[Kfmcshan]

The Eagles put this on their facebook page. Thought you all would enjoy it

[jsbrook]

Full funding commitments accomplished for cap to reconnect Penn’s Landing back to the City:

http://www.delawareriverwaterfront.com/planning/news/penns-landing-funding-complete

This will be glorious! In 5 years....but that's how these things go.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Full funding commitments accomplished for cap to reconnect Penn’s Landing back to the City:

http://www.delawareriverwaterfront.com/planning/news/penns-landing-funding-complete

This will be glorious! In 5 years....but that's how these things go.

It's nice to see that extension of the South Street Bridge is included, along with a section of the Delaware River trail.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Full funding commitments accomplished for cap to reconnect Penn’s Landing back to the City:

http://www.delawareriverwaterfront.com/planning/news/penns-landing-funding-complete

This will be glorious! In 5 years....but that's how these things go.

Very nice! Excited to see this happen and see what kind of private investment this spurs.

[summersm343]

Waterfront advocates push back on Squilla's plan to increase height limit for Central Delaware development

Read more here:
http://planphilly.com/articles/2017/06/0...t-limit-for-central-delaware-development

[Gonzo the Great]

[QUOTE=summersm343;7830235]Waterfront advocates push back on Squilla's plan to increase height limit for Central Delaware development



I read the article and obviously " to each his own " . Personally 244 ' seems a bit tall . This ain't no Miami Beach and and I am not a fan
of a — load of high rise towers along the Delaware River water front . A park like cover over I-95 from South st. to the DRB would be a
better attraction , mean more for the city and probably cost less ...... I think .

[summersm343]

Plans for Center City park over I-95 inch toward reality with fund-raising pledge

Read more here:
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/re...y-with-fund-raising-pledge-20170609.html

[summersm343]

'Urban country club' to come to Philadelphia?

Plans are afoot to bring an “urban country club” to 2400 Market St., a building fronting the Schuylkill River that is under redevelopment and will house Aramark Corp.’s new 300,000-square-foot headquarters.

Though still in the early stages, plans call for dedicating 75,000 square feet of the building for this concept. It would house co-working space, a high-end gym, a hotel and a restaurant or dining club without a round of golf. A lease is in the works with an operator though it won’t be firmed up for a few more months. An official from Lubert-Adler, one of the partners in the project, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Urban country clubs have grown in popularity and carry with them much of the status and cachet of a traditional country club but are a modern-day version. They attempt to go beyond the more traditional city clubs like the Union League of Philadelphia or City Clubs operated by ClubCorp such as the Pyramid Club. In most cases, these urban country clubs focus on attracting entrepreneurs and members of the creative class. In other words, those from the fashion, film, media, literature, music, entertainment and tech industries. That veers from club members of yesteryear, who fit a stereotype of doctor, lawyer and accountant.

There are several urban country club operators and which one the developer of 2400 Market St. — a partnership of Lubert-Adler and PMC Property Group — is working with couldn’t be determined. Soho House is one that is in expansion mode. Formed in London in 1995, the club has 18 locations around the world and is backed by Ron Burkle. NeueHouse is another one but is so far concentrated on the West Coast. The Arts Club and Golf & Body NYC is an adaptation of one but does have golf as one of its main themes.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...ountry-club-to-come-to-philadelphia.html