PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[summersm343]

Plus ça change: Once again, the Oval+ temporarily puts the 'park' in the Ben Franklin Parkway



Read more here: http://planphilly.com/articles/2017/07/0...uts-the-park-in-the-ben-franklin-parkway

[ScreamShatter]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Plus ça change: Once again, the Oval+ temporarily puts the 'park' in the Ben Franklin Parkway



Read more here: http://planphilly.com/articles/2017/07/0...uts-the-park-in-the-ben-franklin-parkway

This is great. Maybe in the future, they'll come up with a more permanent development to make it usable on a more frequent basis. I've always thought an large oval reflection pool with fountains would be nice, but many options.

[reparcsyks]

Originally Posted by ScreamShatter

This is great. Maybe in the future, they'll come up with a more permanent development to make it usable on a more frequent basis. I've always thought an large oval reflection pool with fountains would be nice, but many options.

Literally anything would be better than the sad parking lot that exists there most of the year. It's such a wasted space in front of such an iconic building.

Oval+ looks amazing, btw -- looking forward to checking it out.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by reparcsyks

How do you put people on ignore?

Go to the 'User CP" link at the left of that lower menu bar. Look for "Edit Ignore List" among the options on the left. Enter one user name at a time. Voila, shorter pages with fewer arguments! Ignoring certain posts doesn't keep them from "bumping" the thread, however.

[summersm343]

Upgrade For a Commercial Building on Chestnut



Read more here: http://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/rittenhouse/upgrade-for-a-commercial-building-on-chestnut

[1487]

^just walked by that yesterday. I wonder if they will get some better retailers in there.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Upgrade For a Commercial Building on Chestnut



Read more here: http://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/rittenhouse/upgrade-for-a-commercial-building-on-chestnut

Yep. Walk past this one all the time. I wonder what the new facade will look like. Re the OCF note in the article on precluding further development, a tower can go on the OTHER side of the parklet. That building is also ugly with similar abortions attached to the one-story brick facade.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by 1487

^just walked by that yesterday. I wonder if they will get some better retailers in there.

Paris Baguette is moving to the vacant storefront on the leftmost corner of the building. The other tenants are remaining at this time.

[McBane]

Although I never say "This" this is a perfect opportunity to say it!

This:

Our only complaint about this project is that the renovation of the building represents a significant investment and will likely preclude a more aggressive redevelopment effort at any point in the near future. The current building is a hysterical underuse of this property with a building that nobody cares about. This is a prime location with a footprint of over 11K sqft and the most lenient possible zoning designation; the site would seem like a no brainer for a mixed-use tower, maybe something like the AQ Rittenhouse just a few blocks away. But with the owners investing in the existing building, we don't see them rushing to tear it down to build something better in its place or sell it off to someone who will. So while we welcome the improvement, we lament the missed opportunity for something much better. Eh, maybe next development cycle.

[1487]

Originally Posted by McBane

Although I never say "This" this is a perfect opportunity to say it!

This:

There are other locations in CC (i.e parking lots) that need to be developed even more than this.

[summersm343]

Lincoln Square - Broad and Washington - luxury apartments/retail - 9 floors
Update from Building Philly



https://www.facebook.com/BuildingPhilly

[PhilliesPhan]

Is it just me, or has anyone noticed a tremendous uptick in boating and other water activities on both the Delaware and Schuylkill this year? The aquatic activities I've seen on the Schuylkill thus far has especially surprised me. I'm seeing entire boatloads of people traveling on the Schuylkill while taking in the Center City and West Philly skylines!

[El Duderino]

^it definitely feels like an uptick on the delaware side. i'm on race st pier often and it has caught my eye for sure. would love to see some numbers to back this up (as i don't have the heart for it at 8:30 on a saturday)

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

Is it just me, or has anyone noticed a tremendous uptick in boating and other water activities on both the Delaware and Schuylkill this year? The aquatic activities I've seen on the Schuylkill thus far has especially surprised me. I'm seeing entire boatloads of people traveling on the Schuylkill while taking in the Center City and West Philly skylines!

I have noticed this for both as well.

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by El Duderino

^it definitely feels like an uptick on the delaware side. i'm on race st pier often and it has caught my eye for sure. would love to see some numbers to back this up (as i don't have the heart for it at 8:30 on a saturday)

Originally Posted by EastSideHBG

I have noticed this for both as well.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has taken notice to this. Imo, this is something that the city needs to continue to capitalize on. This city could be as renowned for water activities as Baltimore or Boston. This is especially true for the Delaware, as there are so many stops that one could make on an excursion (Bristol, Yardley, New Hope, etc.); nevertheless, the Schuylkill is no slacker in beauty either. I also hope that the river tours on the Schuylkill keep up and increase over time. A trip from the Fairmount Waterworks to Bartram's Garden, along with a short stop in the Garden, could easily be a nice trip!

[City Wide]

[QUOTE=PhilliesPhan;7859360]I'm glad I'm not the only one who has taken notice to this. Imo, this is something that the city needs to continue to capitalize on. This city could be as renowned for water activities as Baltimore or Boston. This is especially true for the Delaware, as there are so many stops that one could make on an excursion (Bristol, Yardley, New Hope, etc.); nevertheless, the Schuylkill is no slacker in beauty either. I also hope that the river tours on the Schuylkill keep up and increase over time. A trip from the Fairmount Waterworks to Bartram's Garden, along with a short stop in the Garden, could easily be a nice trip![/



https://www.schuylkillbanks.org/events/riverboat-tours-1

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

Is it just me, or has anyone noticed a tremendous uptick in boating and other water activities on both the Delaware and Schuylkill this year? The aquatic activities I've seen on the Schuylkill thus far has especially surprised me. I'm seeing entire boatloads of people traveling on the Schuylkill while taking in the Center City and West Philly skylines!

I've campaigned for the longest time to put a small boating marina off the Schuylkill Banks Park in somewhere South of Walnut. A separate discussion but Penn Park - a completely "eh" project imo (1487 - "greatest project in american history") - kind of ruined our opportunity to have a Chicago river canyon effect right here. What are you gonna do?

[Scottydont]

Originally Posted by Londonee

..A separate discussion but Penn Park - a completely "eh" project imo (1487 - "greatest project in american history") - kind of ruined our opportunity to have a Chicago river canyon effect right here. What are you gonna do?

I think 76 and the train tracks on the opposite side had more to do with that

[1487]

Originally Posted by Londonee

I've campaigned for the longest time to put a small boating marina off the Schuylkill Banks Park in somewhere South of Walnut. A separate discussion but Penn Park - a completely "eh" project imo (1487 - "greatest project in american history") - kind of ruined our opportunity to have a Chicago river canyon effect right here. What are you gonna do?

when did I say anything about penn park? Its better than what was there before.

Philly needs to worry about getting the other side of the river developed before we cry about how Penn robbed us of a chance for a river hugging skyline. There is plenty to be done with the space available.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by Scottydont

I think 76 and the train tracks on the opposite side had more to do with that

Agree. I think there's a lot we can do to improve our riverfronts, and I'm glad to see some of that's happening. But I think building highways and railroads adjacent to and cutting them off from the rest of the city did more to ruin them than any other factor. Yes, I realize that there were practical reasons this was done, and we also had different sensibilities then about what a city should be. But it's going to be very expensive to rectify (see Penn's Landing cap) and probably cannot be completely rectified.