PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by skyhigh07

And yet you didn’t provide any of those factors but I suppose thats because you’d have to think up your correlation/causation rationale. Covid? It could be a factor. I suppose the proof will be on the pudding in a few years. Also crime started going up in 2019.

I have no idea. Hire better cops then, create better systems within it. Although they’re harder to recruit now because the profession has been demonized and demoralized.

There’s been a steady rise in crime nationwide since Trump took office 4 years ago. Turns out electing a guy with a large white supremacist base, who effectively turns a cold shoulder to all things city-related for 4 years (after all, “bad things” happen here), can have wide-spread ramifications for urban youth across the country. I’m optimistic that electing people who seem simply to care about the welfare of the kids and families in the cities - in both policy and rhetoric - will trickle down to the streets and have an impact like it has historically.

A similar (but not identical, because, hey Crack) trend happened in the 80s which peaked in our worst homicide years across the country in the early 90s.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by skyhigh07

And yet you didn’t provide any of those factors but I suppose thats because you’d have to think up your correlation/causation rationale. Covid? It could be a factor. I suppose the proof will be on the pudding in a few years. Also crime started going up in 2019.

I have no idea. Hire better cops then, create better systems within it. Although they’re harder to recruit now because the profession has been demonized and demoralized.

There are plenty of factors.

Covid, yes.
The unemployment rate, yes.
Our ridiculous national and state gun laws, yes.
A PA minimum wage which is among the lowest in the country and helps to keep poor people poor, yes.
Lack of meaningful trade schools and programs to give people blue collar high income skills, yes.
The city's byzantine tax code which depresses jobs and opportunity, yes.
A non-existing will among politicians to keep Philadelphia clean, yes. (I do agree with the broken windows theory).
Dirty cops who the union refuses to force out of the system, yes.
The recruiting process for cops, yes.
The police union itself, yes.
The fact that an obscene proportion of cops are grossly out of shape and resort to using their weapon quickly because they actually couldn't protect themselves or others otherwise, yes.
Lack of community policing, yes. (Why, in one of the most walkable cities in the country, do I rarely see cops outside of Center City not in their cars)?


Lots of these things have nothing to do with Larry Krasner.

Nearly all of them fall squarely in Jim Kenney's lap.

[Justin7]

My impressions as someone who 99% of the time pays as little attention to violent crime news as possible: Krasner is too soft on guns, but Vega would have been a disaster. Tell me why I'm wrong.

[summersm343]

Hey guys - love you all and appreciate all of your points of view. I agree with a lot of points and agree the increase in homicides lately is startling and definitely an issue that needs to be addressed ASAP. Let's not result in insulting each other though please. While I do think this is a conversation to be had, and it's not off topic for the forum, I think we can have a civil, professional, adult conversation about these things. Thanks all!

[summersm343]

New Chancellor Street Building Going to the Historic Commission

2008 Walnut Street from the front - to be rehabbed


Lot in the back of the building on Chancellor Street with newer building next door (which also replaced a gravel lot)


Renderin of new 7-story addition to be added


Read/view more here:
http://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/ri...treet-building-going-historic-commission

[summersm343]

June CDR Submissions

23 W. Girard Avenue
-We just saw renderings for this.
-In Fishtown - replacing the 7 Eleven
-7-floors
-107 residential units with ground floor commercial/retail
-PDF:
https://www.phila.gov/media/20210518110258/23-W-Girard-Ave_-CDR_To-be-reviewed-June-1-2021.pdf

1426-44 N. 6th Street
-In Ludlow neighborhood of North Philadelphia
-5-floors
-55 residential units
-PDF:
https://www.phila.gov/media/20210518105137/1426-44-N-6th-Street_CDR_To-be-reviewed-June-1-2021.pdf

1631 S. 52nd Street
-In Kingsessing neighborhood of Southwest Philadelphia
-Two 5-story buildings
-104 total residential units
-PDF:
https://www.phila.gov/media/20210518110201/1631-S-52nd-st_CDR_To-be-reviewed-June-1-2021.pdf

[PHLtoNYC]

'Philly's permanent for us': After moving from New York, Piano plans to double staff in its new home

I mentioned this company last week, but this part is new. Glad to see a company relocate from New York with a major expansion planned in Philadelphia. They also plan to stay in the city to build a better tech network. (They are in the Bourse Building).
We need more of this!

One small snippet... When scouring the East Coast for another city to migrate to, Piano chose Philadelphia because of the high concentration of young talent, access to Amtrak and an international airport, as well as proximity to top colleges and attractive suburbs, he said. Piano maintains its presence in New York, but Philadelphia offers the high quality of life and lower cost of living the company values.

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia...to-nearly-double-philadelphia-staff.html

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

With $1B East Market development nearing completion, National Real Estate turns sights to NoLibs

Fantastic! And a huge area just North of Old City.

National did a nice job with the East Market development. A lot better than the result across the street in the former Gallery.

Does anyone know what the story is on the South side of Market from 9th - 11th. I thought all of that was slated for the wrecking ball to extend the East Market development.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

Fantastic! And a huge area just North of Old City.

National did a nice job with the East Market development. A lot better than the result across the street in the former Gallery.

Does anyone know what the story is on the South side of Market from 9th - 11th. I thought all of that was slated for the wrecking ball to extend the East Market development.

I'm pretty sure that Rite-Aid and that god-awful Robinson Building were slated to meet their maker at one point.

[hammersklavier]

Hey guys, as a reminder, whatever your feelings about the DA race, racist language, especially dehumanizing language, has no place at all on this board. Expect a bit of orange for the next few days.

[blart]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I'm pretty sure that Rite-Aid and that god-awful Robinson Building were slated to meet their maker at one point.

The Robinson Building made so much more sense with its signage and lighting-




Pic found online, but it's apparently from a book, Shop America: Mid-Century Storefront Design, 1938-1950

I may be mis-remembering but I think a Toys-R-Us was in this space back in the early 90s.

[SEFTA]

Originally Posted by blart

The Robinson Building made so much more sense with its signage and lighting-




Pic found online, but it's apparently from a book, Shop America: Mid-Century Storefront Design, 1938-1950

I may be mis-remembering but I think a Toys-R-Us was in this space back in the early 90s.

Weren't they attempting to make this an historic façade?
If not already. It has a history

[PurpleWhiteOut]

It was historically protected, but weirdly got reversed by L&I without input from the historic commission. It's still a controversial and confusing ruling that I don't think has happened before or since. I imagine the future of the site is up in the air because the block was supposed be an expansion of the "Fashion District," but they've been struggling with getting off the ground because of COVID. PREIT even sold their ownership off to their California partner. With the Fashion District advertisement signs over all the buildings though, it does seem like they have some kind of demolition plan in mind still. Maybe they're waiting for the corner leases to end as well?

[mcgrath618]

I still think that there were several other buildings on that block that should’ve been saved before the Robinson Building was even constructed. That theatre comes to mind (I can’t seem to remember the name).

[iamrobk]

Originally Posted by PurpleWhiteOut

It was historically protected, but weirdly got reversed by L&I without input from the historic commission. It's still a controversial and confusing ruling that I don't think has happened before or since. I imagine the future of the site is up in the air because the block was supposed be an expansion of the "Fashion District," but they've been struggling with getting off the ground because of COVID. PREIT even sold their ownership off to their California partner. With the Fashion District advertisement signs over all the buildings though, it does seem like they have some kind of demolition plan in mind still. Maybe they're waiting for the corner leases to end as well?

I think anything big PREIT is planning to do is moving super slowly right now because they've been hemorrhaging employees for over a year now and are really down to the bare minimum (unless they've also made any new hires, which I really doubt).

[PHLtoNYC]

Deleted, wrong thread.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by iamrobk

I think anything big PREIT is planning to do is moving super slowly right now because they've been hemorrhaging employees for over a year now and are really down to the bare minimum (unless they've also made any new hires, which I really doubt).

Is this the result of layoffs or quitting?

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I'm pretty sure that Rite-Aid and that god-awful Robinson Building were slated to meet their maker at one point.

That entire 2 block stretch on the South side is awful, then the huge parking lot on 8th. I would love to see East Market replicated 3 more times going East, and continue the Ludlow promenade all the way to the Nix Federal Building.

It would also allow for a more diverse array of larger format retailers.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

That entire 2 block stretch on the South side is awful, then the huge parking lot on 8th. I would love to see East Market replicated 3 more times going East, and continue the Ludlow promenade all the way to the Nix Federal Building.

It would also allow for a more diverse array of larger format retailers.

Having East Market-like developments lining the South side of Market from 11th to 9th (or even 8th!) would probably also stand to help the Galler- I mean Fashion District.

[iamrobk]

Just read an absolutely fascinating article in the Inquirer about the drug trade in Kensington. Highly recommend it, particularly in light of the recent discussion about the DA race: https://www.inquirer.com/zzz-systest/a/h...ladelphia-dealers-violence-20210520.html

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Is this the result of layoffs or quitting?

Wouldn't surprise me if people have also been leaving voluntarily, but there's been at least one large round of layoffs (I forget if there was a second tbh, but I think there was).