PHILADELPHIA | Schuylkill Yards Future Phases | 1,095 - 375 FT | 70 - 28 FLOORS

[mcgrath618]

Every time we mention the ACC:


Let it die.

[boxbot]

I wonder if a therapist might offer a group rate to everyone on this forum who is still experiencing trauma from the ACC not being built.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by boxbot

I wonder if a therapist might offer a group rate to everyone on this forum who is still experiencing trauma from the ACC not being built.

For real. It's been well over a decade.

[PhillyDreamsReturns]

I cling to ACC hope the same way I wake up everyday hoping I'm wrong and Joe Carter just hit a long, loud foul ball. Sign me up for therapy.

[Jayfar]

-deleted-

[City Wide]

If the ACC had been a similar design but only 800'+- I wonder if anyone would have liked it 12 years ago, never mind still pining over it after all these years. Of all the buildings that weren't built during that cycle the ACC while maybe not the worst, was certainly the most likely not to be built.

[3rd&Brown]

Of the "never built" designs proposed in the last cycle, Mandeville was by far the best.

Not sure what all of this talk of ACC is.

[McBane]

Originally Posted by 3rd&brown

of the "never built" designs proposed in the last cycle, mandeville was by far the best.

Not sure what all of this talk of acc is.

+1

[Flyers2001]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Of the "never built" designs proposed in the last cycle, Mandeville was by far the best.

Not sure what all of this talk of ACC is.

True and Bridgeman View would have been a game changer as well.

[Plokoon11]

Bridge man view was one of my first memories of this site when I first discovered it. Back in 2007, I was 14 years old. It was exciting seeing all of those proposals.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by McBane

+1

Welcome back! We thought you might be dead. Oh, and the ACC was an ugly, terrible design.

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Welcome back! We thought you might be dead. Oh, and the ACC was an ugly, terrible design.

It was tall. That was the beginning and end of its appeal.

[iheartphilly]

Article behind paywall. Does anyone know which "new tower" they would occupy if they are successful in getting the tax credit. They also threaten to move out of the city if they don't get it too.

Dechert, eying move to Schuylkill Yards, in legal staredown with state over tax credits

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel..._news_headline

[PurpleWhiteOut]

I got through, here are the pertinent parts:

Dechert is locked in a legal fight with a state agency over its plan to secure tax credits to move into one of two office towers set to be built in the Schuylkill Yards development in University City, in a case that could have massive implications for tenants, landlords and developers.

The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DECD) argues that because Dechert already received tax credits under the state’s Keystone Opportunity Zone Act when it moved to Cira Centre 15 years ago, it is not eligible for the program again.

Dechert, though, says because its tax credits expired at the end of 2018, it no longer is located in an active opportunity zone and therefore should be allowed to move into another one.

In its legal filing, Dechert said to start construction of the two office buildings located at 3001-03 and 3025 John F. Kennedy Blvd., called JFK Towers, developer and landlord Brandywine Realty Trust needs a commitment from prospective tenants.

Since the tax credits expired on Dec. 31, 2018, six other businesses have moved out of Cira Centre, leaving the 29-story tower to deal with vacancies for the first time in its lifecycle.

“This is a significant case,” said Philip Rosenfeldt, a real estate lawyer with Blank Rome. “The issue is that while you are improving a blighted area by moving, you are leaving a hole in another one and risk it returning to blight. But in the case of a modern building like Cira Centre, I’m not sure that’s a big risk. The value of the building could certainly be impacted due to the vacancies though.”

So it seems they're talking about the red building? It's interesting though because they're not biotech which is who I thought they were targeting, but I imagine they'd be cool with mixed traditional office space and labs?

Oral arguments were held Wednesday. They're arguing there is nothing in the KOZ act specifically disallowing a business to only be in a KOZ one time ever. They're expecting an expedited ruling soon because an outcome is needed soon in order to commit or not.

[iheartphilly]

^
Ok, thanks. Article does put the issue into context. And yes the reference to the JFK towers is one or both of the bldgs being firetruck/station red. And I don't recall SY specifically being just tech, but I'm sure Brandywine doesn't care as long as they can land anchor tenants to get their projects built.

https://www.archdaily.com/923700/pau...huylkill-yards

[eixample]

Dechert will never leave the city. Big law firms wouldn't do that. It's disgusting that they were ever allowed to use the tax credits and would be doubly so if they could use them again.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by eixample

It's disgusting that they were ever allowed to use the tax credits......

Hmmm, maybe.

Originally Posted by eixample

......and would be doubly so if they could use them again.

Definitely.

[thoughtcriminal]

Originally Posted by eixample

It's disgusting that they were ever allowed to use the tax credits and would be doubly so if they could use them again.

Why? As long as they are available, why is it disgusting to use them?
If anything, it points to the fact that if companies need this kind of incentive to locate in the city that there is something wrong with the city's tax structure to begin with, and that the whole tax code needs to be overhauled to be more business friendly.

[eixample]

Originally Posted by thoughtcriminal

Why? As long as they are available, why is it disgusting to use them?
If anything, it points to the fact that if companies need this kind of incentive to locate in the city that there is something wrong with the city's tax structure to begin with, and that the whole tax code needs to be overhauled to be more business friendly.

Dechert was a law firm already in center city when they moved to the Cira Center. Big law firms like Dechert are never going to move out of the general downtown areas of the city they are located in. They didn't need an incentive to stay. I am anti-corporate tax welfare in general (not all incentives - some are appropriate, like TIFs on brownfield sites), but they in no way should be used for existing businesses that are never going to leave.

[thoughtcriminal]

Originally Posted by eixample

Dechert was a law firm already in center city when they moved to the Cira Center. Big law firms like Dechert are never going to move out of the general downtown areas of the city they are located in. They didn't need an incentive to stay. I am anti-corporate tax welfare in general (not all incentives - some are appropriate, like TIFs on brownfield sites), but they in no way should be used for existing businesses that are never going to leave.

but never say never. If you keep disincentivizing them to stay, they could leave.
I don't like corporate welfare either, except as an acknowledgement that the system doesn't work, as I said in my previous post.