PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Actually, SEPTA has steadily been gaining ridership for the last 10 years. They are actually hitting peak ridership every year, with the exception of 2016 and SEPTAgheddon.
Someone said that SEPTA is putting a lot of wasted money into Regional Rail, which isn't necessarily true. I forget where I read it but SEPTA spends significantly less per train ride than MTA does. SEPTA does a pretty good job of cutting costs where it has to (except with this new Key system. Seems really rushed).

I agree that all lines need more frequent service, especially the CHW/E and Norristown lines. The Norristown line will likely be extended to Phoenixville shortly so it will be interesting to see if SEPTA increases daily service. IMO a great standard would be every 15 minutes during rush hour, every 30 minutes any other time. Make it so that if you miss your train, it's not the end of the world. I think that's a huge reason why people Uber rather than take the Regional Rail.
Finally, with the new SLVIs announced, it will be interesting to see how double deckers affect service. Hopefully increased capacity means more trains with less cars.

I don't think the CHW should be made a subway. Not only do both draw electricity from two entirely separate sources, but they also run off of different track gauges. CHW would have to be entirely relain to accommodate the Kawasaki cars. I think that this map shows what the subway system in Philadelphia honestly SHOULD be (with the exception of converting the CHW line):

Interesting thing is too, is that a lot of this infrastructure is already in place. The loop is mostly built, and all the spurs of the BSL have flying junctions already constructed.

The Chestnut Hill East serves a denser portion of the Northwest, so it would be a much better candidate for conversion into rapid transit. Plus, as you mentioned, the flying junction at Erie already exists. Adding the CHE to our subway system would be as easy as placing a mile-long tunnel under Germantown Avenue, with stops at Hunting Park, Nicetown (at Nicetown Park), and Wayne Junction (Germantown and Windram Avenues).

The Fox Chase Line could also be added to our existing system. If SEPTA were to build a new elevated segment of the El north of York-Dauphin via Front Street and run tracks along an abandoned ROW, North and Northeast Philly could receive a new level of service.

[Nova08]

WindMIL Therapeutics Expands Leadership Team and Opens Office in Philadelphia
https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2...am-and-Opens-Office-in-Philadelphia.html

BALTIMORE, Dec. 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WindMIL Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company developing marrow-infiltrating lymphocytes (MILs™) for cancer immunotherapy, has announced the appointments of Monil Shah, PharmD, MBA, as Chief Development Officer, and Patrick Dougherty as Vice President of Operations. The company also announced it has secured office space in Philadelphia to accommodate its expanding executive, operations and clinical teams.

WindMIL’s new Philadelphia office and meeting space at One Drexel Plaza in University City positions the company to attract talent from one of the nation’s leading hubs for cell therapy innovation and provides access to the greater Philadelphia region’s formidable pool of experienced biotechnology and pharmaceutical workers. The new office’s proximity to Amtrak’s 30th Street Station will also provide employees with convenient travel to Baltimore, where WindMIL’s laboratories and scientific team continue to be based.

“Establishing an office in Philadelphia provides a hub for WindMIL’s local operations. It is yet another benefit of joining our growing team and helping progress a novel class of autologous cell therapies based on our MILs platform,” said Brian Halak, PhD, President and CEO of WindMIL Therapeutics.

Dr. Halak continued, “We are also thrilled to welcome Monil and Patrick to WindMIL and excited for the roles they will each play as we build upon our position as the leader in cellular therapeutics emanating from bone marrow. Monil’s extensive experience initiating and running oncology trials will be critical for us as we prepare to begin our own clinical studies of MILs this coming year. Patrick brings a wealth of operational know-how and strategy-setting experience that will allow us to scale our business to support this period of growth.”

Dr. Shah has more than 20 years of pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry experience in oncology drug development. Before joining WindMIL, he was the Chief Operating Officer of Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics, previously known as IRX Therapeutics. Prior to his tenure there, Dr. Shah was the Medical Affairs Lead for Immuno-Oncology at Bristol-Myers Squibb. He also served as Head of Clinical Operations and Development at Ventrus Biosciences before its merger with Assembly Biosciences. Prior to Ventrus, Dr. Shah led the solid tumor development programs and the clinical portfolio and strategic planning function at Celgene. He also led the Oncology Development and Operations activities at FibroGen and Novacea. Dr. Shah began his career at Novartis in the Oncology Early Development Group, leading clinical trials before joining the Medical Sciences Group at Amgen. He received his BS and PharmD degrees from Rutgers University and his MBA from Florida Institute of Technology.

Before joining WindMIL as Vice President of Operations, Mr. Dougherty was Chief of Staff to the Senior Vice President, R&D Pipeline for Pharmaceuticals R&D at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Mr. Dougherty joined GSK in 2009 as a Director in the R&D Strategy Office and went on to hold a number of leadership roles and steer multiple strategic efforts for Pharmaceuticals R&D. Prior to joining GSK, Mr. Dougherty was an engagement manager in the Life Sciences practice of L.E.K. Consulting, where he led more than 30 engagements for a wide range of biotech and pharmaceutical clients. He has also held various roles in business and corporate development at Endo Pharmaceuticals and the Penn Center for Innovation (formerly the Center for Technology Transfer) at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Dougherty holds a BS in chemistry from Villanova University, MSc in technology management from the University of Manchester (UK) and MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

It's important to note that most of the ridership losses aren't occurring during the day/during rush hour, but late at night. That makes sense, as many SEPTA bus and trolley routes stop running after 2AM. I personally refuse to take Uber/Lyft home, especially since the 42 drops me off steps from my place; however, I'd have no choice but to use those services should I party in Manayunk and need to get back to West Philly.

I'm not following you at all. The lack of night-time service isn't a new thing, so how would it account for a drop in ridership?

[JohnIII]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Actually, SEPTA has steadily been gaining ridership for the last 10 years. They are actually hitting peak ridership every year, with the exception of 2016 and SEPTAgheddon.
Someone said that SEPTA is putting a lot of wasted money into Regional Rail, which isn't necessarily true. I forget where I read it but SEPTA spends significantly less per train ride than MTA does. SEPTA does a pretty good job of cutting costs where it has to (except with this new Key system. Seems really rushed).

I agree that all lines need more frequent service, especially the CHW/E and Norristown lines. The Norristown line will likely be extended to Phoenixville shortly so it will be interesting to see if SEPTA increases daily service. IMO a great standard would be every 15 minutes during rush hour, every 30 minutes any other time. Make it so that if you miss your train, it's not the end of the world. I think that's a huge reason why people Uber rather than take the Regional Rail.
Finally, with the new SLVIs announced, it will be interesting to see how double deckers affect service. Hopefully increased capacity means more trains with less cars.

I don't think the CHW should be made a subway. Not only do both draw electricity from two entirely separate sources, but they also run off of different track gauges. CHW would have to be entirely relain to accommodate the Kawasaki cars. I think that this map shows what the subway system in Philadelphia honestly SHOULD be (with the exception of converting the CHW line):

Interesting thing is too, is that a lot of this infrastructure is already in place. The loop is mostly built, and all the spurs of the BSL have flying junctions already constructed.

You are right; a lot of the infrastructure which you speak of is in place; it was just never built to full capacity. I think you covered almost everything except for the Northeast Extension; the Navy Yard Extension to the Broad Street Line; Subway Surface and the 29th Street/Henry Avenue Line.

[skyscraper]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Actually, SEPTA has steadily been gaining ridership for the last 10 years. They are actually hitting peak ridership every year, with the exception of 2016 and SEPTAgheddon.
Someone said that SEPTA is putting a lot of wasted money into Regional Rail, which isn't necessarily true. I forget where I read it but SEPTA spends significantly less per train ride than MTA does. SEPTA does a pretty good job of cutting costs where it has to (except with this new Key system. Seems really rushed).

I agree that all lines need more frequent service, especially the CHW/E and Norristown lines. The Norristown line will likely be extended to Phoenixville shortly so it will be interesting to see if SEPTA increases daily service. IMO a great standard would be every 15 minutes during rush hour, every 30 minutes any other time. Make it so that if you miss your train, it's not the end of the world. I think that's a huge reason why people Uber rather than take the Regional Rail.
Finally, with the new SLVIs announced, it will be interesting to see how double deckers affect service. Hopefully increased capacity means more trains with less cars.

I don't think the CHW should be made a subway. Not only do both draw electricity from two entirely separate sources, but they also run off of different track gauges. CHW would have to be entirely relain to accommodate the Kawasaki cars. I think that this map shows what the subway system in Philadelphia honestly SHOULD be (with the exception of converting the CHW line):

Interesting thing is too, is that a lot of this infrastructure is already in place. The loop is mostly built, and all the spurs of the BSL have flying junctions already constructed.

Love this map, I think the scale of subway service shown here is exactly what is needed. I might differ with some of the choices of routes, such as I hate the idea of the PATCO line having exclusive service to Rittenhouse square and the airport. I think the PATCO line should end at 8th and Market and then a SEPTA line should pick it up from there, but that is nitpicking.
As far as the CHW becoming the subway, I thought I read that they would not have to change the track gauge, and that was the beauty of the proposal. I could be wrong, can't recall where I read that.

[Parkway]

Originally Posted by Jayfar

I'm not following you at all. The lack of night-time service isn't a new thing, so how would it account for a drop in ridership?

I think what he's saying is before you had no option except to wait for the infrequent owl bus. Now that people can just call a car you don't have as large a group of captive riders. It's worth remembering that outside of CC getting a cab was (and still is) pretty difficult.

But he is right, most of the losses have been sustained on nights and weekends. That's not surprising given that headways during those times range from not great to hot trash. For instance, between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. headways on the Sub drop from 7 minutes to 12 minutes and the express trains stop running.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by Parkway

I think what he's saying is before you had no option except to wait for the infrequent owl bus. Now that people can just call a car you don't have as large a group of captive riders. It's worth remembering that outside of CC getting a cab was (and still is) pretty difficult.

But he is right, most of the losses have been sustained on nights and weekends. That's not surprising given that headways during those times range from not great to hot trash. For instance, between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. headways on the Sub drop from 7 minutes to 12 minutes and the express trains stop running.

The SEPTA inter-city operations, simply put, are built for commuters and not leisure-seekers. I complained about it constantly in my wilder-pre-child days. I have found that the SEPTA app with quasi-real-time bus info has been helpful in limiting this annoyance - though not without its crazy flaws (it can still be buggy). But on weekends, 2 of the buses that I'd use often have 30minute headways - which is an absolute joke. The reality is Uber VIP for a family of 3 at 7 bucks to get across town is just more convenient and not that much more expensive.

[Parkway]

Originally Posted by Londonee

The SEPTA inter-city operations, simply put, are built for commuters and not leisure-seekers. I complained about it constantly in my wilder-pre-child days. I have found that the SEPTA app with quasi-real-time bus info has been helpful in limiting this annoyance - though not without its crazy flaws (it can still be buggy). But on weekends, 2 of the buses that I'd use often have 30 minute headways - which is an absolute joke. The reality is Uber VIP for a family of 3 at 7 bucks to get across town is just more convenient and not that much more expensive.

I would recommend using City Mapper or Transit as your go to app, they interface with the real time info but present trip and route information in a much more user-friendly way.

That out of the way I agree, SEPTA is designed for the Philadelphia of the 1980s when everything closed at 5 and shopping on Market Street was the only weekend activity. When you combine that with an economy that now requires much of the workforce to work on weekends you get a system that's mis-matched to commuters actual needs.

[Boku]

Originally Posted by Nova08

WindMIL Therapeutics Expands Leadership Team and Opens Office in Philadelphia
https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2...am-and-Opens-Office-in-Philadelphia.html

That Philly office is in Schuylkill Yards.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by City Wide

Up until a couple of years ago the airport line ran at 20 minute headways.

When you say a couple...do you mean like 15? It's certainly been at least a decade that "Trains stop here at :08 and :38 of every hour." I'd argue that the city has changed a bit in that time frame.

Originally Posted by City Wide

If the assumption that SEPTA loses money on every train it runs is true, then until the pie gets bigger or until alot more people start using trains, increasing service on one line, regardless of when and where that service is, means decreasing service someplace else.
I'm not saying SEPTA is anywhere close to be perfect, just look at their nearly $500M 'key' payment system, but I do understand the financial situation SEPTA lives with.

IMO, the airport line is too integrated into the regional rail system. Like London, it should be its own independent thing - a shuttle with its own branding, etc. - that simply terminates at ME on one end, and the Terminals on the other end. And it just goes back and forth all day. Eliminate that random stop at East Wick and all interior stations would be gate controlled eliminating the need for more than 1 conductor. Since you'd dedicated a certain number of cars to the shuttle, the interior of the cars could be independently branded with all of the airport flight and terminal information and playful aesthetics. Come up with a zippy name for the line like "Airport Flyer" and a matching logo. At Suburban you could co-opt one of those out of service platforms and give it its own dedicated platform w/ all the same hoopla and branding. Market it, etc.

[Parkway]

Originally Posted by Londonee

IMO, the airport line is too integrated into the regional rail system. Like London, it should be its own independent thing - a shuttle with its own branding, etc. - that simply terminates at ME on one end, and the Terminals on the other end. And it just goes back and forth all day. Eliminate that random stop at East Wick and all interior stations would be gate controlled eliminating the need for more than 1 conductor. Since you'd dedicated a certain number of cars to the shuttle, the interior of the cars could be independently branded with all of the airport flight and terminal information and playful aesthetics. Come up with a zippy name for the line like "Airport Flyer" and a matching logo. At Suburban you could co-opt one of those out of service platforms and give it its own dedicated platform w/ all the same hoopla and branding. Market it, etc.

The actually tried the branding thing when the line opened, ultimately it was dropped for the convenience of having a single equipment pool. As the picture demonstrates, they struggled to keep the branded cars on the airport line, I'm not sure where it is but this it looks like NEC towards Wilmington.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by Parkway

The actually tried the branding thing when the line opened, ultimately it was dropped for the convenience of having a single equipment pool. As the picture demonstrates, they struggled to keep the branded cars on the airport line, I'm not sure where it is but this it looks like NEC towards Wilmington.

That's cool thanks for sharing - terrible logo and design, but at least they got the playful bright colors kind of right...

Kind of my point too, the Airport line right now is basically a part of the greater RR system - and it shouldn't be. Idea would be the trains are dedicated to the route and just go back and forth those few miles all day long - they don't pass through and then go on to Doylestown, etc.

[Busy Bee]

Dig the yellow. I guess I'm a yellow guy.

[Parkway]

Originally Posted by Londonee

That's cool thanks for sharing - terrible logo and design, but at least they got the playful bright colors kind of right...

Kind of my point too, the Airport line right now is basically a part of the greater RR system - and it shouldn't be. Idea would be the trains are dedicated to the route and just go back and forth those few miles all day long - they don't pass through and then go on to Doylestown, etc.

It was actually the Airport's logo at the time so it's a decent idea for branding unity, just very mid-80s in design. The issue became that as these units were cycled out for maintenance non-branded units were brought it and it wasn't always convenient to return the branded units to the Airport Line. However, they actually had some interior modification including large luggage racks at both ends of the car. They stayed configured like this until the IIs and IIIs were retired, for Foamers like me it was always fun to find one out in the wild.

As far turning trains, you either have to terminate at Suburban or Wayne Junction. The obvious problem with Suburban is that you don't hit the convention center, Wayne Junction does but it adds 20 minutes to the round trip for each train set. As you said, having a uniform service is important here to avoid confusion and delays so I think you have to go with Wayne Junction.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

^
We are going down this road again. Amazon was looking for tech employees and chose NYC for that reason, and wants to play politics given the business they do with the federal gov't, so DC Metro was selected as the other location. At the end of the day, all the other BS factors were nothing more than smoke and mirrors to inflate the financial incentives for themselves. Shame on them. Glad we didn't get it.

It's not that surprising, but NY hasn't been considered a Tech Hub for that long (maybe 5 years)?

NY has made strategic investments in building up its "tech" credo and it is paying off. Cornell built a massive new campus on Roosevelt Island literally called "Cornell Tech". Prior to this, I (and I think) most people, never really thought of NY as a technology hub. When you think about it, the higher ed game in NY really isn't that strong (especially for a city of it's size and stature). Philadelphia is certainly more "over weight" in that regard.

My point is...I actually think NY is winning the game of perception, even when reality is different.

It's time Philadelphia start to play that game. Unlike NY, the reality here is much better than the perception. That being said, it wouldn't hurt if the universities (of which we have many) upped their game and made a concerted effort to develop and promote programs focused on technology.

I mean. Does Penn even have a Computer Science program? I'm sure it does, but it needs to focus more on it. Ditto for Engineering.

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

It's not that surprising, but NY hasn't been considered a Tech Hub for that long (maybe 5 years)?

NY has made strategic investments in building up its "tech" credo and it is paying off. Cornell built a massive new campus on Roosevelt Island literally called "Cornell Tech". Prior to this, I (and I think) most people, never really thought of NY as a technology hub. When you think about it, the higher ed game in NY really isn't that strong (especially for a city of it's size and stature). Philadelphia is certainly more "over weight" in that regard.

My point is...I actually think NY is winning the game of perception, even when reality is different.

It's time Philadelphia start to play that game. Unlike NY, the reality here is much better than the perception. That being said, it wouldn't hurt if the universities (of which we have many) upped their game and made a concerted effort to develop and promote programs focused on technology.

I mean. Does Penn even have a Computer Science program? I'm sure it does, but it needs to focus more on it. Ditto for Engineering.

Tech moves fast! 5 years ago is like 15 in any other industry. I think having Google (established in 1998 in CA) in NYC help establish full validation of a tech industry and being a household name. I think they planted their flag there in 2012 or even early. Don't have exact date. And, they are expanding in Hudson Yards with $1 Billion in investments. And the programs you pointed out too. So, it is way more than perception because they were able to find tech employees say from other companies located in and around NYC to fill the job vacancies when they went on a huge hiring spree to establish their presence in NYC.

Philly has a small and scattered tech scene. The heavyweight in this area is SAP with its headquarter in Newtown Square. And, I think a few times, Unisys (Blue Bell) tried to establish a HQ in town but wanted there name on One or Two Liberty, but that didn't work out.

To get a major tech company to establish a HQ in Philly is a long shot, if not impossible when we are not known for tech (and it's not just perception here but followed by actual no well-known tech companies located in Philly). Shoot, we have trouble getting a non-tech large firm to re-locate or establish a HQ in town. That's the reality and trend.

Again, I still like the areas of med, healthcare, and maybe robotics tech for Philly. In the burbs, fintech is doing pretty good. That's all for now.

[McBane]

The other thing - NYC is so massive. Even for industries that NY is not known for, it still likely has plenty of jobs/companies in that field.

[Milksteak]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

Tech moves fast! 5 years ago is like 15 in any other industry. I think having Google (established in 1998 in CA) in NYC help establish full validation of a tech industry and being a household name. I think they planted their flag there in 2012 or even early. Don't have exact date. And, they are expanding in Hudson Yards with $1 Billion in investments. And the programs you pointed out too. So, it is way more than perception because they were able to find tech employees say from other companies located in and around NYC to fill the job vacancies when they went on a huge hiring spree to establish their presence in NYC.

Philly has a small and scattered tech scene. The heavyweight in this area is SAP with its headquarter in Newtown Square. And, I think a few times, Unisys (Blue Bell) tried to establish a HQ in town but wanted there name on One or Two Liberty, but that didn't work out.

To get a major tech company to establish a HQ in Philly is a long shot, if not impossible when we are not known for tech (and it's not just perception here but followed by actual no well-known tech companies located in Philly). Shoot, we have trouble getting a non-tech large firm to re-locate or establish a HQ in town. That's the reality and trend.

Again, I still like the areas of med, healthcare, and maybe robotics tech for Philly. In the burbs, fintech is doing pretty good. That's all for now.

We're also strong in life sciences technology...there are a number of companies either headquartered in the region or have satellite offices to piggy back off of the number of pharma and clinical research organizations located here. They aren't massive companies, but they are growing fast.

[kingtut]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

Tech moves fast! 5 years ago is like 15 in any other industry. I think having Google (established in 1998 in CA) in NYC help establish full validation of a tech industry and being a household name. I think they planted their flag there in 2012 or even early. Don't have exact date. And, they are expanding in Hudson Yards with $1 Billion in investments. And the programs you pointed out too. So, it is way more than perception because they were able to find tech employees say from other companies located in and around NYC to fill the job vacancies when they went on a huge hiring spree to establish their presence in NYC.

Philly has a small and scattered tech scene. The heavyweight in this area is SAP with its headquarter in Newtown Square. And, I think a few times, Unisys (Blue Bell) tried to establish a HQ in town but wanted there name on One or Two Liberty, but that didn't work out.

To get a major tech company to establish a HQ in Philly is a long shot, if not impossible when we are not known for tech (and it's not just perception here but followed by actual no well-known tech companies located in Philly). Shoot, we have trouble getting a non-tech large firm to re-locate or establish a HQ in town. That's the reality and trend.

Again, I still like the areas of med, healthcare, and maybe robotics tech for Philly. In the burbs, fintech is doing pretty good. That's all for now.

Even if your dealt a good hand in poker but you don't know how to play your hand you loose .I fell that's what is keeping Philly from achieving it's full potential . Policy makers just don't have what it takes , mainly long range planning and follow through .

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

To get a major tech company to establish a HQ in Philly is a long shot, if not impossible when we are not known for tech (and it's not just perception here but followed by actual no well-known tech companies located in Philly). Shoot, we have trouble getting a non-tech large firm to re-locate or establish a HQ in town. That's the reality and trend.

How about we start with just a few small outposts? My brother works for Google and was blown away when he came to visit that a city of Philly's size does not have a small Google office where he could bang out some work for a few days. Outside of CA and NYC, they have small outposts in Pittsburgh, Detroit, Atlanta, Chapel Hill, Boston, DC, Chicago, Austin, Denver...

As I said before, it's tough to justify an outpost here with NYC swallowing everything in its way up - it's the ultimate black hole. Still, consulting and Big 5 firms all have HQ in NYC but size-able outposts in Philly simply b/c the market is so big here, and w/ Penn, Drexel and Princeton all so close we really should see a better outcome in this area. I've complained about this for years but we really are the worst marketed big city in America. We have zero brand recognition aside from Rocky, some bell, and loud sports fans. Super.

Anyways, if NYC was 200 miles away, like it is from Boston - our situation would be a bit different.