PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread X

[summersm343]

CDR Submissions for September are up!

No highrises this time, but still some nice projects, including another awesome N. American Street project, the great project in East Falls, and 4701 Pine.

https://www.phila.gov/documents/civic-design-review-cdr-meeting-materials/

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by summersm343

CDR Submissions for September are up!

No highrises this time, but still some nice projects, including another awesome N. American Street project, the great project in East Falls, and 4701 Pine.

https://www.phila.gov/documents/civic-design-review-cdr-meeting-materials/

Previous renderings of 4701 Pine had it more in line with the motifs of the taller building next door. Sad.

[summersm343]

Sixers eye more than a new arena along Philly’s Delaware waterfront

Sure, the 76ers want to move their home court from the arid asphalt desert that is the South Philadelphia sports complex, to the verdant edge of the Delaware River. But calling the team’s vision for Penn’s Landing an arena proposal is like saying Joel Embiid makes his living tossing around big orange balls.

What the billionaire owners of Philadelphia’s basketball franchise are really aiming at is something much bigger: development rights for a mile-long stretch of the Delaware waterfront.

The Sixers are one of several real estate groups that have recently submitted development proposals to the agency that oversees the waterfront. Ever since the city completed a master plan in 2010 to guide new construction along the river, that agency, the Delaware River Waterfront Corp. (DRWC), has been laying the groundwork for transforming the once-industrial landscape into a dense neighborhood of apartments and attractions. It has built parks on old ship piers, softened the wide expanse of Columbus Boulevard with new bike lanes, improvised beer gardens at Spruce Harbor Park and Cherry Street Pier, and started work on a $225 million cap over I-95.

In their submission to the DRWC, the Sixers promise to bring thousands of apartments, a hotel, two museums, a dozen or so restaurants, a supermarket, and a new public school — along with that 19,000-seat arena — to the Delaware waterfront. Some parking is envisioned, but most would be tucked out of sight.

Apart from the inclusion of the arena near Market Street, the Sixers’ proposal adheres to that approach. The team would build two towers immediately south of the Market Street arena, and two mid-rise apartment buildings on the marina site. All would have retail or restaurants on the ground floor. The marina buildings would also house new versions of the Independence Seaport Museum and Philadelphia’s African American History Museum. (The latter was conceived after a conversation with Mayor Jim Kenney, according to the source familiar with the Sixers’ plan.)

But Harris and Blitzer don’t stop there. Their plan would demolish the existing Seaport Museum — an awful box — and replace it with an apartment tower. They would also add several floors of apartments above the parking garage that serves the Hilton Hotel at Spruce Street.

The Sixers’ owners have also set their sights on acquiring a long, skinny parking lot just north of the I-95 on-ramp, between Naudain and Monroe Streets. An existing pedestrian bridge that dead-ends in the parking lot would be extended to the river, integrating the forlorn parcel into the rest of Penn’s Landing. Harris and Blitzer would use that site to build a public school for the new Penn’s Landing neighborhood. It could also accommodate another apartment building and a medical office building, the proposal suggests.

Read more here:
https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/sixe...re-waterfront-inga-saffron-20200830.html

[summersm343]

New York developer Durst is among bidders competing for Penn’s Landing site eyed by 76ers

The Durst Organization, an established New York real estate company that has been expanding its Philadelphia holdings, is among those competing with the owners of the 76ers basketball team to redevelop Penn’s Landing, Durst said.

Durst spokesperson Jordan Barowitz said the company responded to a call to submit proposals for the site made by the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, the government-affiliated nonprofit that owns Penn’s Landing.

People familiar with the proposal by Sixers owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer have said it will include a 19,000-seat arena nestled among apartments, a hotel, two museums, a dozen or so restaurants, a supermarket, and a public school building.

Durst’s proposal, if selected, would add to that company’s growing waterfront Philadelphia footprint.

Early this year, Durst paid the DRWC $10 million for a 1.6-acre parking lot just north of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, where it plans a 25-story tower with 10,000 square feet of retail space.

It also owns an assemblage of four nearby piers that include those occupied by waterfront restaurants Dave & Buster’s and Morgan’s Pier.

Read more here:
https://www.inquirer.com/business/penns-...-delaware-river-basketball-20200831.html

[summersm343]

Map of Sixers' proposed Penn's Landing plans



Read more here:
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/comment...ing-waterfront-development-20200901.html

[mcgrath618]

I would much rather Durst get their hands on this than Josh Harris.

[Larry King]

Why? Durst bought their waterfront properties 3+ years ago and has done nothing so far except shut down the marina.

[bigfish]

I still can't believe they are spending $225 million on a park that only covers Chestnut to Walnut. Extend that to Market!

[eixample]

Why do they need a master developer at all? Couldn't they just have one developer for the park and public space and then have separate RFPs for the individual building sites?

[Vince_]

I'd like to see the other proposals and renderings but ultimately I trust the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation. Everything they've done is fantastic and they actually get stuff done. That being said...here's a quick rendering I threw together of a Penn's Landing arena.

[Leviathant]

Originally Posted by Larry King

Why? Durst bought their waterfront properties 3+ years ago and has done nothing so far except shut down the marina.

They're doing pretty extensive archaeology on the Hertz Lot next to One Water Street, and we've seen at least one rendering of the building going on that spot. There are businesses with existing leases on those piers, and as those start to run out, I wouldn't be surprised if plans for those piers suddenly roll out.

If you want to talk about buying waterfront property and doing nothing about it, let's look down the road to Renaissance Plaza.

Given the work Durst has done in the past, and given that they've been pretty great stewards of the Vine Street Hertz Lot so far, I'm willing to give them a lot more faith in what they'll bring to the table than a downtown arena. There was enough trash and traffic along Delaware Ave because of Dave & Busters as it is. I loathe to think what a sports arena will do to amplify that.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Larry King

Why? Durst bought their waterfront properties 3+ years ago and has done nothing so far except shut down the marina.

Perhaps they’re waiting to move forward with those lots for a variety of reasons, including that they’re waiting on this decision.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by eixample

Why do they need a master developer at all? Couldn't they just have one developer for the park and public space and then have separate RFPs for the individual building sites?

I kind of agree - if they went with the Arena on the north end - why do they have to partner with Harris/Blitzer for the other parcels? Seems ridiculous. One of the trends that seems to persist with these large scale sports arena projects is that after the Owners get their arena - they bail on the rest of the projects - which were probably proposed in bad faith to begin with.



[Urbanthusiat]

People also have to understand that these companies don't spend $100m to develop a site willy-nilly. Most large development projects have long predevelopment periods, three years is not at all uncommon.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by Londonee

I kind of agree - if they went with the Arena on the north end - why do they have to partner with Harris/Blitzer for the other parcels? Seems ridiculous. One of the trends that seems to persist with these large scale sports arena projects is that after the Owners get their arena - they bail on the rest of the projects - which were probably proposed in bad faith to begin with.

Of course the big difference here is that it's the arena that doesn't come into play until later years, i.e. when their lease runs out at Wells Fargo Center in 2031. Presumably any development agreement would require them to make substantial other components happen much sooner than that.

[Larry King]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

People also have to understand that these companies don't spend $100m to develop a site willy-nilly. Most large development projects have long predevelopment periods, three years is not at all uncommon.

3+ years and they haven’t pulled a zoning permit or done anything that we know of. I hope they build the sites but we have nothing to go on. These old New York families often only build a couple buildings a cycle, very patient people.

Morgan’s Pier is going nowhere, Dave and busters pier is clearing out I guess, they kicked all the boats out from the marina and as far as I can tell have done nothing new with pier 12 at all or indicated they have any plan coming up.

For example: here’s an idea someone had for pier 12 about 10 years ago:
http://www.is-architects.com/pier-housing

^ no indication this is happening and with the tax abatement running out, you’d think they’d get moving if they were serious about building any time soon.

I’d rather not hand them the whole waterfront before they put a shovel in the ground anywhere.

[iheartphilly]

^
Exactly. They have nothing to show for and you would think they would be serious about it by making the purchase of the land. It could be that the land becomes more valuable over time and they flip it for that purpose only. My gut feeling is that Philly is not high on the priority list given these Covid times and that they are focusing on more desirable markets. I give this about a 1 out of 10 chance of anything being developed by them.

[DeltaNerd]

Originally Posted by bigfish

I still can't believe they are spending $225 million on a park that only covers Chestnut to Walnut. Extend that to Market!

All the way to South street too! It is needed

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Map of Sixers' proposed Penn's Landing plans



Read more here:
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/comment...ing-waterfront-development-20200901.html

That Gap between the new cap and the park is stupid, they really couldn't at least connect that? who thought of this half 🞵🞵🞵 plan

[SEFTA]

Originally Posted by eixample

Why do they need a master developer at all? Couldn't they just have one developer for the park and public space and then have separate RFPs for the individual building sites?

I agree with you. It would have a better outcome if it were divided into lots. Invest in the infrastructure and allow different developers to do different lots. This is how the city naturally works. I would hate to see a giant homogeneous development sitting on the waterfront. NO ARENA! This land is precious and should be treated.