PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread - Page 614

EastSideHBG · #**12261** Posted **Jun 4, 2019, 9:11 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skintreesnail

So just curious, do any other Philadelphia residents also have a love-hate relationship with the parkway? I'm a fairly heavy user of the museums and parks along it (specifically sister cities) and love the greenery/vistas, but 10 lanes of traffic? Really? I rarely can make it across without stopping halfway on some island to wait for the next light and the people driving on it use it like a highway (which I suppose to a certain extent it is). But as a long-term resident, I really can't stand that nothing is done to cut down on the amount of traffic it handles. We already have 676. Does it even really manage the traffic efficiently? I'm not a civil engineer, but intuitively it just seems like it wouldn't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by japmes

This is one of my pet peeves. The outer lanes should be converted to a wide pedestrian walkway (like on the National Mall in DC) and a dedicated bike lane.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I really think that if we ever get some more subway construction going in the city, the Parkway would be one of the first places to get one going. You could cut and cover without closing off the entire road due to its width, and then when everything is said and done you could convert the outer lanes into pedestrian only. Maybe even have times of the year during which you can set up shops along the parkway. The subway would help contribute to lessening road traffic.

I drive it frequently and while it is fun for driving it really can be a madhouse for both cars and pedestrians. I was there just recently on a nice day so there were a lot of pedestrians with many clearly being tourists, and I saw a few near misses between cars and pedestrians. Agreed that at least the outer lanes should be used for something else.

mcgrath618 · #**12262** Posted **Jun 4, 2019, 9:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

Note this is NOT a part of Schuylkill Yards.

New biomed office-and-lab building proposed for SEPTA-owned land near 30th Street Station

https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/com...h-labs-office-life-science-20190604.html

Can't call it sexy on the outside, but hopefully it can land a cool tenant. Looks like there were some difficult site constraints to work with. Seems there's definitely been an uptick of new office proposals recently.

Sweet! I was literally just walking by that site. I wish it were taller, but it'll be good infill for the area until SY gets going. It's also a really awkward plot. Build it!

summersm343 · #**12263** Posted **Jun 4, 2019, 9:59 PM**

Needs a new design, but build it!!

Justin7 · #**12264** Posted **Jun 5, 2019, 3:28 PM**

Ori strikes again. Shit.

Kfmcshan · #**12265** Posted **Jun 5, 2019, 5:57 PM**

82 Units + Multiple Commercial Spaces Rising or Recently Completed on the 1700-1800 Blocks of Ridge Ave

A bunch of projects are under construction on Ridge Ave. between Poplar and Girard. Link to article

Londonee · #**12266** Posted **Jun 5, 2019, 6:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kfmcshan

82 Units + Multiple Commercial Spaces Rising or Recently Completed on the 1700-1800 Blocks of Ridge Ave

A bunch of projects are under construction on Ridge Ave. between Poplar and Girard.

It'd be interesting to know the breakdown of condos vs. apartments for some of these projects - hopefully it's a good mix of folks planting roots and passing through...

Jayfar · #**12267** Posted **Jun 5, 2019, 10:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin7

Ori strikes again. Shit.

Some further discussion in the Philadelphia Industrial & Commercial Heritage facebook group around the latest Inquirer article on the so-called "Chocolate Factory" site. I almost didn't want to post it there, well aware of the lightning rod factor in all discussions involving said developer, but I was obliged since it is topically relevant. Ori also joined in that discussion.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/PhiladelphiaIndustrialHeritage/permalink/2350643845224255/

Hrytsyu · #**12268** Posted **Jun 6, 2019, 3:13 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin7

Ori strikes again. Shit.

But of course, he did.

Justin7 · #**12269** Posted **Jun 6, 2019, 6:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayfar

Some further discussion in the Philadelphia Industrial & Commercial Heritage facebook group around the latest Inquirer article on the so-called "Chocolate Factory" site. I almost didn't want to post it there, well aware of the lightning rod factor in all discussions involving said developer, but I was obliged since it is topically relevant. Ori also joined in that discussion.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/PhiladelphiaIndustrialHeritage/permalink/2350643845224255/

Thanks for the link and the insight.

Scottydont · #**12270** Posted **Jun 6, 2019, 11:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

Note this is NOT a part of Schuylkill Yards.

New biomed office-and-lab building proposed for SEPTA-owned land near 30th Street Station

https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/com...h-labs-office-life-science-20190604.html

https://www.inquirer.com/resizer/OR-wVEb...om/public/EIOQVIWDTFEFJB66CUS5QB4UCI.jpg

Can't call it sexy on the outside, but hopefully it can land a cool tenant. Looks like there were some difficult site constraints to work with. Seems there's definitely been an uptick of new office proposals recently.

Dang that thing is right on top of the regional rail tracks! Everytime I go into work I see that big parking lot to the left and think it could use some development.

diavolo · #**12271** Posted **Jun 8, 2019, 5:06 PM**

Here are some lowrise updates from various Pennsport properties located near Dickinson Square Park (4th & Dickinson).

Abigail Vare school has been cleaned and renovated with tenants moving in. It looks amazing on the outside.

2014:

5 new houses on the back of the school's lot:

2017:

Across Dickinson Square Park, new construction from an overgrown lot:

2014:

Across the street, two rowhomes being renovated, new facades.

from 2018.

Southwark on Reed has finished building out ~91 townhomes to replace the long dormant Mt Sinai Hospital.
These were the first built as showrooms for 3 of the 4 different models being built.

2014:

The fronts of the houses have some nice landscaping and rain basins.

The backs of the houses are a little less interesting.

More bay windows on what was a lot.

2014:

eixample · #**12272** Posted **Jun 8, 2019, 6:41 PM**

I used to live in this neighborhood. The old Vare school looks great. I love the new windows. Speaking of windows, I guarantee that nobody is objecting to the bays in some of your other shots. Do the developers just do a worse job with them in Point Breeze?

The Southwark development seems well done but also super bland. Not the worst thing in the world but a mix of low rise apartment building(s) and rowhomes (as the developers originally sought I believe) would have improved the urban dynamic.

jsbrook · #**12273** Posted **Jun 9, 2019, 3:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by eixample

I used to live in this neighborhood. The old Vare school looks great. I love the new windows. Speaking of windows, I guarantee that nobody is objecting to the bays in some of your other shots. Do the developers just do a worse job with them in Point Breeze?

The Southwark development seems well done but also super bland. Not the worst thing in the world but a mix of low rise apartment building(s) and rowhomes (as the developers originally sought I believe) would have improved the urban dynamic.

The aesthetic of these bays is dubious everywhere. Generally more miss than hit aesthetically. But they are not really any worse in Point Breeze than anywhere else. The bill is just a racially charged, dog whistle by Kenyatta. Rather than actually addressing housing affordability and displacement, he just wants constituents to think he's doing something useful. This project looks reasonably good and is good for the area. Happy to see these developments.

ScreamShatter · #**12274** Posted **Jun 9, 2019, 10:18 PM**

Why do developers keep blending 3-5 materials on the front of all the new houses? Brick and something different for the bay window would be ample -- I'm not sure why they think putting so many plastics together is attractive.

Jayfar · #**12275** Posted **Jun 10, 2019, 12:05 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScreamShatter

Why do developers keep blending 3-5 materials on the front of all the new houses? Brick and something different for the bay window would be ample -- I'm not sure why they think putting so many plastics together is attractive.

Nothing exceeds like excess.

jsbrook · #**12276** Posted **Jun 10, 2019, 12:12 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScreamShatter

Why do developers keep blending 3-5 materials on the front of all the new houses? Brick and something different for the bay window would be ample -- I'm not sure why they think putting so many plastics together is attractive.

Agree completely! Often the colors and materials clash with each other too, let alone the neighborhood at large. I think it's a misguided attempt to add some architectural interest.

iheartphilly · #**12277** Posted **Jun 10, 2019, 12:23 AM**

^^^
Bad design. Cheap materials. Economical build. It's that simple. Now, I have to go get a bucket to puke in.

Busy Bee · #**12278** Posted **Jun 10, 2019, 1:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by diavolo

from 2018.

How classy of the developers to just leave the remnant of the cornice they butchered off the front because they were either too cheap or lazy to remove it completely. I'm not opposed to the "improvement" of the bays but there is a way they could have reincorporated the original cornice butting up to the bays and having a decorative cap to the top that tied into and played off the original cornice. It's not rocket science. A decent architect or builder could have easily drawn that up and built it without a significant cost. This is not what one should expect in one of the countries finest and most historic cities.

ScreamShatter · #**12279** Posted **Jun 10, 2019, 12:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Agree completely! Often the colors and materials clash with each other too, let alone the neighborhood at large. I think it's a misguided attempt to add some architectural interest.

So true -- especially about the colors clashing. It's awful in some places. The good news is that can easily be replaced in the future, but it's still frustrating.

PHL10 · #**12280** Posted **Jun 10, 2019, 12:27 PM**

I could be completely off base here but I always assumed that bays like these were installed so the developer didn’t have the cost of bricking the whole façade. They certainly don’t add any square footage or light because they don’t protrude more than a foot.