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Originally Posted by cardeza
east of the viaduct there are still vacant lots and many of them are still being dumped on.
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Where??? There is a single lot on N. Darien and the lot at 8th & Girard and thats it. The second half of the Poplar project covers more than half the empty space remaining east of the viaduct.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cardeza
Not to mention the dilapidated existing housing that sits on the same blocks with a lot of the new construction. The area between broad and the viaduct is relatively devoid of vacant property, but there is still quite a bit on the east side as well as numerous one story warehouse structures all around the Poplar.
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Again, where? There is a single warehouse on 8th street and I think thats the only one left between the Poplar and 95. Also what dilapidated housing? There is barely any housing in the area. Between the viaduct and 6th street there are 2 parks, 3 schools, 3 churches, and 3 retirement towers. The closest housing is on N. Marshall and it is definitely not dilapidated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cardeza
My point is there is still work to do around here and I dont find these 20-25 year old homes to be the biggest eyesore around. Even Girard just east of the viaduct has a ways to go.
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You clearly don't live near the area then. New development has been moving closer to the PHA housing from literally every direction. To the east there is the Poplar, new housing on 8th south of Girard, and new apartments at the old medical center on 8th north of Girard. To the north there is mixed use going in on Girard at 10/11th, 12/13th, and just south of Girard on 13th. To the west there are a ton of projects happening/recently completed on North Broad/Ridge and to the south there is a decent amount of infill going on in the only part of the Poplar neighborhood that isn't publicly owned. There should be a ton of mixed use development going on and the neighborhood desperately needs commercial spaces but nothing can happen because its all owned by PHA for now.
There is really not much development space left between Girard and Spring Garden. Fairmount, Francisville, Spring Garden, and Northern Liberties are all dense, walkable, self sufficient neighborhoods with decent transit access. Poplar could be similar but instead its a suburban style food desert. I'm not advocating for razing the whole neighborhood, but it is extremely disappointing that it was built in a way that almost completely prevents infill and doesn't allow for organic growth of the neighborhood/community living there.