PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[DocAwesome]

That Penns Landing cap was already built into the I95 original design, yet it will still cost hundreds of millions to execute. Imagine retrofitting a I76 that was not designed to be capped / accessible to peds? That money just doesn't exist.

[GtownFriend]

Progress on 2400 Market. More steel on north end. Two cores. Starting to dismantle the central portion where the ramps were, and bridge it with steel.

On #marketstreet #philly #Philadelphia by Buz Murdock Geotag, on Flickr

[Scottydont]

Originally Posted by DocAwesome

That Penns Landing cap was already built into the I95 original design, yet it will still cost hundreds of millions to execute. Imagine retrofitting a I76 that was not designed to be capped / accessible to peds? That money just doesn't exist.

While it won't be hugging the river perfectly, won't the 30th Street Station District project provide a similar effect?

[summersm343]

1600 Callowhill Going Residential



Read more here:
http://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/logan-square/1600-callowhill-going-residential

[1487]

^good news there- this area is kind of dead. At least south of CCP

[summersm343]

Demo at old Nabisco plant begins

Demolition has started at the former Nabisco and Mondelēz International factory at 12000 Roosevelt Blvd. in Northeast Philadelphia to make way for a new mixed-use development that will include a Wawa convenience store and gas station. The 27-acre property is owned by a joint venture involving Provco Group of Villanova, Pa., Goodman Properties of Jenkintown, Pa., and MCB Real Estate of Baltimore, Md. The project will be constructed in multiple phases and a portion of the old 600,000-square-foot factory will remain as industrial use. Part of the structure, a single-story section totaling 130,000 square feet, had previously been reconfigured as a distribution center and leased to Jayko Enterprises Inc., a retailer of sneakers that goes under the Kicks USA brand. Details on future phases and construction weren’t disclosed.

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia...-mondelez-greenleaf-cheltenham-mall.html

[summersm343]

49 studio apartments proposed for South Kensington lot at 1613 Germantown



Read more here: https://philly.curbed.com/2017/7/13/15960460/south-kensington-micro-apartments-live-work

[summersm343]

Developer is seeking its next project at the Navy Yard

Ensemble Real Estate Investments, a developer that is involved in several hospitality projects in the region, is setting its sights on bringing another hotel to the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

It’s something that the real estate firm has been looking to do but has run up against some challenges even though it appears the Navy Yard could handle another hotel.

“We are actively working on a second hotel in the Navy Yard and looking at a number of alternatives,” said Brian Ehrlich, chief investment officer for the hotels division of Ensemble. “The market is very strong, but costs are rising to levels that is making new development tough to pencil.”

Nonresidential construction costs have been on the rise since 2011 and increases here and across the country have accelerated as more projects break ground. For the second quarter, the Turner Construction Index, which takes into account labor rates and productivity, the cost of materials and the competitive condition of a market, increased by 1.18 percent since the first quarter and 4.88 percent since the second quarter of last year. Costs have been rising in just about every city where construction starts have been active and are predicted to continue rising this year. While labor is the predominant reason for the rise, it’s not the only one. Though fuel costs remain low, the price for certain materials used in construction have also gone up, according to Turner.

Ensemble, based in Los Angeles, is familiar with Philadelphia. It was involved with the development of a $34 million, 172-room Courtyard by Marriott that was the first hotel constructed at the Navy Yard. It opened in 2014 and, earlier this year, Ensemble completed an $8 million expansion that added 40 guest rooms to that property, underscoring the demand there is for hotel rooms at the Navy Yard where more than 150 companies are located. Aside from the Navy Yard, Ensemble has been selected to develop a 180-key Hilton Garden Inn in Camden as part of development that Liberty Property Trust is spearheading. In all, Ensemble has invested $375 million on seven hotels with about 1,300 rooms here and across the country.

Kimpton has been one flag that has been rumored to be circling the Navy Yard and working with Ensemble though that couldn’t be confirmed. That hotelier also has a growing presence in Philadelphia and is known for converting historical structures into boutique hotels. It converted a former office building on 5th Street overlooking Independence Hall into the Hotel Monaco and another old office building at 117 S 17th St. into the Hotel Palomar. Kimpton had at one point considered doing a hotel project at the former Philadelphia Family Court building along Vine Street near the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia...eeking-its-next-project-at-the-navy.html

[Human Scale]

^Kimpton is looking at multiple options in Philadelphia. Philadelphia is second only to San Francisco in performance per key for the brand. Personally I VERY highly doubt they will put much attention into the Navy Yard. Kimpton is very focused on dense urban environments that are trendy and walkable. Or, should I say, as my profile name asserts, they focus on the value of Human Scaled environments. Something the Navy Yard is not. (Could be, maybe, somehow, someday, someway). The Navy Yard is a robust suburban corporate park with community-like amenities that feeds off the popularity and a lucky proximity to the Philadelphia core. For comparables to express what I mean by that, search Eagleview near Lionville, or that crap they're trying to pass off as "urban" and "human scaled" called King of Prussia Town Center.

[McBane]

1. I like the concept of a non-luxury, affordable rental project but my god, can the design be any more bland?

2. RE Kimpton/Navy Yard - I agree those two don't see to go together. Sure, the Navy Yard has more character than your typical suburban business park but it's still just that and I don't see that aligning with the Kimpton brand at all. I'd think this location is better suited for the more traditional, business-oriented hotels, like a Crown Plaza. Not that I really care. I'd just be surprised if Kimpton chose to build a new hotel at the Navy Yard.

[summersm343]

After Long Delay, Condo Project Coming to 1325 Buttonwood



Read more here: http://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/lo...delay-condo-project-coming-on-buttonwood

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by summersm343

After Long Delay, Condo Project Coming to 1325 Buttonwood



Read more here: http://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/lo...delay-condo-project-coming-on-buttonwood

In five years, when demand for development as a result of the rail park kicks in, it's going to have been very unfortunate that the most generic and poorly done architecture in Greater Center City happened in Callowhill.

This crap can't be undone.

[1487]

^that is truly trash right there

[Parkway]

Honestly, the garage front makes it unforgivable.

[Daario]

I don't know if this bill has been discussed, but I wonder what you're thoughts are on it.

Philly Proposal Looks Ahead to Less Affordable Future

Philadelphia celebrated its 10th straight year of population gains in 2016, according to census data. But compared to other big U.S. cities, Philly’s 21st-century rebound has been modest, and taken as a whole, the city has a long way to go before it confronts the affordability crises plaguing places like San Francisco and New York.

Still, downtown Philadelphia has been transformed over the last decade or so. New hotels and apartment towers dot the skyline, and real estate prices have skyrocketed in the rowhouse neighborhoods that surround Center City. Some local officials now feel like the time is right to start locking in a measure of affordability before housing gets completely out of reach for average earners.

In June, City Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sánchez introduced a bill that would put a mandatory inclusionary zoning policy on the books. Under the policy, developers building residential projects of 10 units or more would be required to set aside 10 percent of units at rents or purchase prices below market rate. In the urban core, where the overwhelming majority of development has occurred in recent years, the set-aside units would be for renters earning up to 50 percent of area median income (AMI) or buyers earning up to 80 percent of AMI. (Philadelphia metro’s household AMI is currently $83,200.) Outside Center City, where most of the neighborhoods in Quiñones-Sánchez’s district lie, the income thresholds would be even lower: up to 30 percent of AMI for renters or 50 percent for buyers.

Read more here:https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/afforda...-mandatory-inclusionary-zoning-plan-2017

[jsbrook]

I am not opposed to the idea whole cloth to get ahead of problem we don't now have (Philly has a lack of income problem, not a housing affordability problem). But the Bill, as proposed, is horrendous, and needs a lot of work. It would stymie development and ultimately would not increase affordable housing in near-core areas of the city. You can't address this problem by making development unaffordable (look at San Francisco; it's inclusionary zoning efforts have exacerbated housing shortages). You need to find a way to make it financially feasible for developers to include lower cost housing.

Originally Posted by Daario

I don't know if this bill has been discussed, but I wonder what you're thoughts are on it.

Philly Proposal Looks Ahead to Less Affordable Future






Read more here:https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/afforda...-mandatory-inclusionary-zoning-plan-2017

[summersm343]

Logan Point - mixed-use apartments, retail, commercial, park/green space

Is this finally moving forward? This is centered at Wyoming Ave and Roosevelt Blvd in the Wyoming section of North Philadelphia.



http://www.goldenbergdevelopment.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/TGG-Logan-Point-Dec-2016e.pdf

[1487]

^doubt it

[eixample]

A ridiculous amount of surface parking for that site!

[McBane]

Originally Posted by Daario

I don't know if this bill has been discussed, but I wonder what you're thoughts are on it.

Philly Proposal Looks Ahead to Less Affordable Future






Read more here:https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/afforda...-mandatory-inclusionary-zoning-plan-2017

This is not necessary for Philadelphia. There are many neighborhoods where homes can be purchased for under $75k. We have a poverty problem in Philadelphia, not a home affordability problem. The fact that poor people cannot afford to live close to Center City is a sign of a healthy city, it's not a problem that needs to be addressed. Gentrification is simply rectifying the decline of neighborhoods that swept this city in the latter half of the 20th century. I mean, am I to believe that Point Breeze or Brewertyown were always poor, black neighborhoods? And even if so, why should those areas remain poor and black?