PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[Urbanthusiat]

Probably just bluster but...

Skyscraper, not strip mall, now planned on North Broad Street, courtesy of Trump tax break

Not long ago, the parking lot beside developer Eric Blumenfeld's Mural Lofts apartment building on North Broad Street was destined to be the future site of a shopping plaza with a bank and a convenience store.

Today, though, Blumenfeld wants to build an office and apartment tower at site, on the northeast corner of Broad and Spring Garden Streets, that would be Philadelphia's tallest building outside the city's central core.

(Fluff about opportunity zones)

Back at the corner of Broad and Spring Garden, developer Blumenfeld has been consulting with community groups and local leaders on a proposed $130 million tower that would rise 30 to 33 stories, making it the tallest building outside the dense agglomeration of central Philadelphia districts across Vine Street, about three blocks to the south.

The tower, to be called Mural West, would accommodate 250 apartments and two stories of offices, he said, with ground-floor restaurants that open onto a pedestrian plaza showcasing the Common Threads mural painted on Blumenfeld's Mural Lofts apartments, formerly the Thaddeus Stevens School.

It's a major shift from the Wawa and Bank of America branch that Blumenfeld's main financial partner on past North Broad Street ventures, New York-based investor Billy Procida, said was coming to the site, above a SEPTA Broad Street Line station, just a few years ago.

For Blumenfeld's previous projects in the area — such as Mural Lofts, the rehabilitation of the former Divine Lorraine Hotel into apartments, and the conversion of the Metropolitan Opera House building into a state-of-the-art concert venue for promoter Live Nation — he was able to cobble together historic tax credits and other public funding sources to get his investors a workable return.

But those projects were baby steps toward achieving what Blumenfeld described as his "mission in life": bringing vibrant street life to the strip of North Broad Street north of Center City. The possible tax windfall available to investors in his Mural West opportunity zone project could fuel a great leap forward, he said.

"This type of project puts bodies on the ground — not just residents but people working here — so there's a multiplier effect," he said. "To have this program, this sense of urgency, it helps bring North Broad Street along."

From: https://www2.philly.com/philly/business/...hia-skyscraper-north-broad-20181015.html



What he is describing doesn't seem to match this conceptual rendering that floated around last month:



Both, however, point to imminent development of this lot. Blumenfeld gets stuff done.

[JohnIII]

A tower on the northeast corner of Broad and Spring Garden Street; 30 to 33 floors; intriguing.

Does anyone know much about it?

Just a guess from my end which won't count for much seeing that I haven't seen the plans. I know the old State building is 19 floors with a section of the structure being higher so 30 to 33 floors should be a good deal higher than that. If remember from years ago when I use to attend meetings that the old Aramark Building which is now owned by Jefferson University was 32 floors and it was slightly over 400 feet; we use to watch the fireworks on Penn's Landing from the top.

I'm not sure but this early with the current designs of building who can say what the distance of the floor to ceiling ratio will be? Since most of the building is residential I guess the ratio is shorter but this can have a real impact on North Broad Street; but if the drawing from the article has any accuracy it seems to have a pretty prominent crown on top.

Looking forward to news about this; a new skyscraper.

[Jawnadelphia]

Society Hill nimby's want to stop the by-right 31-story tower by B/P Group from getting off the ground -- who is surprised??

Meeting on Hi-Rise Development Proposal at Dock Street
Date: October 15, 2018
Time: 7:00 pm
At Pennsylvania Hospital Auditorium, 8th and Spruce entrance.
https://societyhillcivic.org/blog/category/calendar/

http://www.5thsq.org/support_1_dock_street

Society Hill Civic Association is hosting a meeting regarding the proposed 31-story, 273-unit development slated for 1 Dock St, currently the Sheraton Hotel. The new units would be a residential addition to the hotel, which sits across from Society Hill Towers, so there is already a precedent for high-density housing in this area.

See the Inquirer's coverage for project details.

This project is permitted by-right, but Society Hill Civic Association is appealing the already-approved units on this 2-acre site for all the standard reasons (density, height, views, etc). We believe this is an ideal use of this space, and is an appropriate level of density given the proximity of the property to Center City and waterfront amenities.

This meeting is just the first step in what will be an ongoing campaign by Philly YIMBY around Society Hill zoning remapping, which kicks off this fall in one of the richest and most notoriously change-resistant neighborhoods in the city.

Please consider coming out to this meeting and voicing your support for this project! After the meeting we'll head to the Khyber for drinks to debrief and talk next steps for organizing.

October 15, 2018 at 7pm – 8pm
Zubrow Auditorium
800 Spruce St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
United States
Google map and directions
1 person is going
Philly YIMBY
[email protected]

----------------

If anyone has any further info -- pplease share.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by TallCoolOne

Society Hill nimby's want to stop the by-right 31-story tower by B/P Group from getting off the ground -- who is surprised??

Meeting on Hi-Rise Development Proposal at Dock Street
Date: October 15, 2018
Time: 7:00 pm
At Pennsylvania Hospital Auditorium, 8th and Spruce entrance.
https://societyhillcivic.org/blog/category/calendar/

http://www.5thsq.org/support_1_dock_street

Society Hill Civic Association is hosting a meeting regarding the proposed 31-story, 273-unit development slated for 1 Dock St, currently the Sheraton Hotel. The new units would be a residential addition to the hotel, which sits across from Society Hill Towers, so there is already a precedent for high-density housing in this area.

See the Inquirer's coverage for project details.

This project is permitted by-right, but Society Hill Civic Association is appealing the already-approved units on this 2-acre site for all the standard reasons (density, height, views, etc). We believe this is an ideal use of this space, and is an appropriate level of density given the proximity of the property to Center City and waterfront amenities.

This meeting is just the first step in what will be an ongoing campaign by Philly YIMBY around Society Hill zoning remapping, which kicks off this fall in one of the richest and most notoriously change-resistant neighborhoods in the city.

Please consider coming out to this meeting and voicing your support for this project! After the meeting we'll head to the Khyber for drinks to debrief and talk next steps for organizing.

October 15, 2018 at 7pm – 8pm
Zubrow Auditorium
800 Spruce St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
United States
Google map and directions
1 person is going
Philly YIMBY
[email protected]

----------------

If anyone has any further info -- pplease share.

pretty sure this was last night.

[Jawnadelphia]

^I know ... did anyone go? Any info?
I didn't hear of opposition until seeing that post from 5th Square.

[McBane]

I wonder how many NIMBYs against this tower live in the SH Towers? "I know I live in a modern high rise that doesn't conform with SH's quaint village atmosphere, but nobody else can."

[Aaamazarite]

Originally Posted by TallCoolOne

^I know ... did anyone go? Any info?
I didn't hear of opposition until seeing that post from 5th Square.

NIMBYism and Society Hill go hand-in-hand, it doesn't matter what the project is-- private, public, etc etc. Here is a link to every newsletter they ever released:

https://societyhillcivic.org/about/publications/newsletter-archive/

You'll find that there's not a single one that doesn't have a section about opposing some new development-- if they're not opposing they're dictating terms about how it should be.

[Larry King]

Originally Posted by TallCoolOne

^I know ... did anyone go? Any info?
I didn't hear of opposition until seeing that post from 5th Square.

I was there. The gist of it was the civic association hired an attorney to appeal the zoning permit based on some supposed errors made by L&I in evaluating the application. They didn’t go into the specifics of these errors and it sounded to me like a losing battle. It’s a by-right project, I don’t think there’s much society hill can do about it. The developer wasn’t at the meeting so we don’t really know anything new about the project itself. If I were the civic I would be trying to negotiate with the developer to include additional community amenities like restaurant and retail but it seems that the civic will instead spend money on questionable appeals to try to delay the inevitable here.

[Jawnadelphia]

^Very interesting. Thank you for the info.

B/P Group has deep pockets, and lots of experience now in the hotel, restaurant, and luxury apt/condo game -- so I'm sure it'll work out in the end (after some delays and nimby nonsense).

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by Larry King

I was there. The gist of it was the civic association hired an attorney to appeal the zoning permit based on some supposed errors made by L&I in evaluating the application. They didn’t go into the specifics of these errors and it sounded to me like a losing battle. It’s a by-right project, I don’t think there’s much society hill can do about it. The developer wasn’t at the meeting so we don’t really know anything new about the project itself. If I were the civic I would be trying to negotiate with the developer to include additional community amenities like restaurant and retail but it seems that the civic will instead spend money on questionable appeals to try to delay the inevitable here.

I would assume that the plan to file appeals is not necessarily based on any sound legal basis as it is a plan to cause delays, which from their viewpoint might make the developer have 2nd thoughts about spending money and time on this site. This method has worked in the past

[McBane]

Originally Posted by City Wide

I would assume that the plan to file appeals is not necessarily based on any sound legal basis as it is a plan to cause delays, which from their viewpoint might make the developer have 2nd thoughts about spending money and time on this site. This method has worked in the past

Isn't that how the Old City civic group ran into trouble and had to disband?

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by McBane

Isn't that how the Old City civic group ran into trouble and had to disband?

This is going back a ways-----but I think what had happened is back then it was customary for civic neighborhood groups to buy private insurance to cover the elected officers from liability claims, and for a long time this insurance wasn't too expensive, if it was even bothered with. Then Old City got sued several times, lost one case where they were ordered to pay $100 or something, but regardless of the outcomes the insurance rates went through the roof and Old City couldn't pay (my memory says it was over $10K a year). So the deep pockets developers played the game and won. Now I think the State passed a law that somehow limits possible claims on non-profit volunteer based community groups. One unintended outcome of that law is now there are many very small, as in just 2 or 3 people even listed on the paperwork, registered community groups, and the City officially gives them as much power and voice as large long established groups, who often are the ones who really represent a large part of a neighborhood.

[iheartphilly]

Liberty Property Trust to sell off stakes in Comcast towers, Navy Yard offices, Camden waterfront

http://www2.philly.com/philly/business/r...ice-sale-comcast-navy-yard-20181023.html

Article basically said LPT selling majority stake in both CC towers (remaining only 20% stake) and Navy Yard building, and property they have in the Camden waterfront and wil focus on more profitable industrial warehouses. Also, article said LPT took a black eye in $60 million charge for overages in CTC.

Basically, my take away from article is that there's no love for Comcast 3. Seems like another major developer would need to step in at some point if Comcast wanted another tower.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

Liberty Property Trust to sell off stakes in Comcast towers, Navy Yard offices, Camden waterfront

http://www2.philly.com/philly/business/r...ice-sale-comcast-navy-yard-20181023.html

Article basically said LPT selling majority stake in both CC towers (remaining only 20% stake) and Navy Yard building, and property they have in the Camden waterfront and wil focus on more profitable industrial warehouses. Also, article said LPT took a black eye in $60 million charge for overages in CTC.

Basically, my take away from article is that there's no love for Comcast 3. Seems like another major developer would need to step in at some point if Comcast wanted another tower.

Wow kind of a sad day. The Ghost of Willard Rouse is crying someplace. It's a shame that the Gentleman's Agreement-breaker's legacy company is out of the prestigious skyscraper game and instead buying hideous, sprawling, warehouses for Amazon shipments and distribution... feels kind of like ambulance chasing for a buck if you ask me.

[McBane]

This is a real bummer. LPT and Brandywine were the only two major commercial real estate development firms left in the City and Brandywine is mostly focused on Univ City/Schuylkill Yards, despite their recent foray into the Center City market. Philly's a tough commercial market and I don't know who's going to step into LPT's place.

Did the article mention anything about their assemblage of properties in Logan Square where we all speculated Comcast 3 was going?

And I wonder if Brian Robert's negative comments about a Comcast 3 ("I'm not planning on building any more towers.") were made with the knowledge about LPT's plans to exit the commercial high rise market and if that info had anything to do with that statement.

[skyscraper]

Originally Posted by McBane

Did the article mention anything about their assemblage of properties in Logan Square where we all speculated Comcast 3 was going?

All it said was that LPT owned the parcel, did not say what they were doing with it.

[Urbanthusiat]

Like I said in the other thread. I don't see why Liberty pulling out would affect a Comcast 3. If Comcast wants it, someone will build it. If they think there is a chance of it happening, they would probably go to Liberty and say "hey if you sell those parcels, we want to make sure that you sell it to someone we could work with." And, if there is a possibility of it happening, it would be in Liberty's interest to do so because they would get a price premium on the property if they can use Comcast's input to to assure the buyer that there is a good deal waiting for them.

[mcgrath618]

2 things:
1. When we watch then sell everything off we should keep a close eye on certain parcels. If they go for something far over market value, for instance the Comcast III lot, there might be a higher chance of something being built there.
2. LPT has kind of also been falling behind lately. Besides Comcast II and the Navy Yard, what have they really done in Center City? I, for one, welcome our new Brandywine Realty overlords.

[Nova08]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

Like I said in the other thread. I don't see why Liberty pulling out would affect a Comcast 3. If Comcast wants it, someone will build it. If they think there is a chance of it happening, they would probably go to Liberty and say "hey if you sell those parcels, we want to make sure that you sell it to someone we could work with." And, if there is a possibility of it happening, it would be in Liberty's interest to do so because they would get a price premium on the property if they can use Comcast's input to to assure the buyer that there is a good deal waiting for them.

I agree on the comcast front. But I really buy into the idea that any additional Comcast buildings will be in the 500-800ft range and not another supertall. I think the NY has a lot of momentum going for it so I am not too worried there. Camden on the other hand is a different story.

[McBane]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

2. LPT has kind of also been falling behind lately. Besides Comcast II and the Navy Yard, what have they really done in Center City? I, for one, welcome our new Brandywine Realty overlords.

I don't think this is anything specific to LPT. It's not as if others developers have been erecting office buildings in Center City left and right while LPT has not. Of the two major office projects in CC over the last few years (Comcast and 2400 Market), LPT is responsible for one of them. Indeed Brandywine has entered the CC office market but they haven't really done anything either with those parcels. I like Brandywine as much as the next guy but it's not healthy to rely on a single landlord/developer; and as I said in my earlier post, they're mostly focused on Schuylkill Yards and that side of the river.