PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by PHL10

I was just using the arch as an example of something that remains impressive to this day. I'm very much open to many possibilities but whatever it may be, it should have the an impact 50 years from now where a visitor would say "wow, what's that?" "Oh, they built that for the semiquincentennial."

I would love some big, lifelike statues.

[PhilliesPhan]

A demo permit was issued yesterday for the former CVS at Broad and Girard. Let's hope this one takes off soon!

[japmes]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

A demo permit was issued yesterday for the former CVS at Broad and Girard. Let's hope this one takes off soon!

That intersection is such a mess.

[PHLtoNYC]

More details on the Pine Street townhouses. The taller option is definitely preferable.

Renderings for Townhome Project on Pine Street, But Plans Could Change a Bit

https://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/r...pine-street-but-plans-could-change-a-bit

[chimpskibot]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

A demo permit was issued yesterday for the former CVS at Broad and Girard. Let's hope this one takes off soon!

This is awesome and will make the walk to the MET much more enjoyable and not so desolate after 7-8. Hopefully the ground floor tenant is a restaurant that area is severely lacking in decent food options.

But in other news Philly Food Scene is Booming:
https://www.inquirer.com/food/2022-new-restaurants-philadelphia-20220216.html

I imagine there are another 10-20 restaurants / pop-ups that are not covered in this list.

[summersm343]

SEPTA’s Wayne Junction makeover is bringing change to Germantown

SEPTA spent $31.5 million to preserve the Frank Furness-designed station with the hope of stimulating development and attracting more riders in southern Germantown, an industrial center of the 19th and early 20th centuries that had suffered decades of neglect. The project was finished in 2015.

On March 1, the first tenants are set to move into the Autograph Apartments, the latest project amid steadily increasing investments in the neighborhood, much of it driven by Weinstein and his firm, Philly Office Retail.

Wayne Junction station straddles the boundary between Germantown and Nicetown, and both neighborhoods have capitalized on it. In 2012, the Nicetown Community Development Corp. led the creation of 87 affordable-housing units in two apartment buildings, with first-floor commercial space.

Weinstein and his partners at Philly Office Retail have developed nine buildings since 2016, investing more than $17 million in the Wayne Junction Historic District of Germantown. Most is commercial space, plus the new apartments in the former plant of the Max Levy Autograph Co., a maker of precision printing equipment.

The former Blaisdell pencil factory at 137 Berkley St., redeveloped in 2020, is home to Deke’s Bar-B-Que and Attic Brewing Co., a craft beer maker with a taproom and beer garden and a growing reputation in Philadelphia’s beer scene. Attic also hosts live music, brings in a variety of food trucks, and hosts a farmer’s market on Sundays in the warmer months.

Merzbacher’s of Germantown, an old-school bread bakery, has occupied the ground floor of a renovated warehouse at 4530 Germantown Ave. since 2019. Upstairs is Philadelphia Woodworking, a maker of custom cabinets and furniture that also does finish carpentry.

Weinstein said he expects to invest more than $30 million in two coming projects. First, a historic renovation of the Arguto Oilless Bearing Co. factory into a cafe with office space is scheduled to begin in March.

And construction will begin in the fall for Wayne Junction Diner Apartments, a six-story building with 143 units and commercial space on the first floor and in the basement. It is scheduled to be finished in 2024. The apartments are to be built on a large vacant lot next to Deke’s and the Attic Brewing Co.

In 2021, homes in the Germantown zip code that includes the Wayne Junction Historical District sold for $50,000 to $600,000, with a median price of $210,000 — up 33% compared with 2019, according to Bright MLS. In 2015, the year the station renovation was finished, the median home price was $100,000.

Read/view more here:
https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/septa-wayne-junction-nicetown-germantown-20220216.html

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

A demo permit was issued yesterday for the former CVS at Broad and Girard. Let's hope this one takes off soon!

good, between this and the project at the meineke site there should be a lot of improvement in this stretch. Still some vacant lots on the west side of broad that need to be addressed though.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by chimpskibot

This is awesome and will make the walk to the MET much more enjoyable and not so desolate after 7-8. Hopefully the ground floor tenant is a restaurant that area is severely lacking in decent food options.

But in other news Philly Food Scene is Booming:
https://www.inquirer.com/food/2022-new-restaurants-philadelphia-20220216.html

I imagine there are another 10-20 restaurants / pop-ups that are not covered in this list.

I just read that article and what I noticed is that very few of the proposals are in center city- not this is a new trend but with the vacancies in the core it would be nice to see more new restaurants and bars being proposed to fill those gaps. I would say 75% of the proposals were in the burbs or Fishtown/Northern Libs.

[chimpskibot]

Originally Posted by cardeza

I just read that article and what I noticed is that very few of the proposals are in center city- not this is a new trend but with the vacancies in the core it would be nice to see more new restaurants and bars being proposed to fill those gaps. I would say 75% of the proposals were in the burbs or Fishtown/Northern Libs.

Yeah I dont think CC has much more space for restaurants especially the type that will appeal to locals and suburbanites/travelers. Also you have to think of buildout and conversion of retail to restaurant doesn't financially make sense for most landlords. Only person doing these type of conversions right now is the STARR group. Again these are the most visible openings. S.philly has been having a string of new openings that hasnt been reported on.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by cardeza

I just read that article and what I noticed is that very few of the proposals are in center city- not this is a new trend but with the vacancies in the core it would be nice to see more new restaurants and bars being proposed to fill those gaps. I would say 75% of the proposals were in the burbs or Fishtown/Northern Libs.

The Center City culinary scene is more developed, saturated, and much more expensive to open/operate in. That being said, the action is trickling back into Center City and I'm sure vacancies will give way to restaurants, entertainment spaces, and other retail in the future. We are finally over the Covid hump and into full recovery mode. But I love see culinary action spreading into adjacent neighborhoods.


And I know this caters to select demographics, but glad to see it re-opening...

Jean-Georges at the Four Seasons will reopen as Philadelphia’s most expensive restaurant

https://www.inquirer.com/food/jean-georges-reopens-tasting-menu-20220215.html

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by cardeza

I just read that article and what I noticed is that very few of the proposals are in center city- not this is a new trend but with the vacancies in the core it would be nice to see more new restaurants and bars being proposed to fill those gaps. I would say 75% of the proposals were in the burbs or Fishtown/Northern Libs.

There's honestly not many restaurant vacancies in Center City. Most of the vacancies are retail vacancies. I can't think of a ton of restaurant vacancies in Center City that haven't already been backfilled or already have plans for the space.

Either way though, I'm happy to share the love and have neighborhoods gain more of a dining scene. I want a city that has 30-40 hopping neighborhoods to visit. We're working our way towards that in Philly and I love it.

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by summersm343

I want a city that has 30-40 hopping neighborhoods to visit. We're working our way towards that in Philly and I love it.

Hear! Hear! THAT, more than supertalls and a fantastic skyline (although I'll take those too) is what truly makes a world class city. Of course along with being an international leader in Eds and Meds, gene- and immuno-therapy, history and culture, etc.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

The Center City culinary scene is more developed, saturated, and much more expensive to open/operate in. That being said, the action is trickling back into Center City and I'm sure vacancies will give way to restaurants, entertainment spaces, and other retail in the future. We are finally over the Covid hump and into full recovery mode. But I love see culinary action spreading into adjacent neighborhoods.


And I know this caters to select demographics, but glad to see it re-opening...

Jean-Georges at the Four Seasons will reopen as Philadelphia’s most expensive restaurant

https://www.inquirer.com/food/jean-georges-reopens-tasting-menu-20220215.html

I'll stick to the bar, thank you very much

[PHLtoNYC]

Forgot this was opening, it will be a huge tourism draw!

First look: Inside the world premiere of 'Harry Potter: The Exhibition' at the Franklin Institute

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia...cx_testVariant=cx_8&cx_artPos=2#cxrecs_s

[EastSideHBG]

Pushing 50% in some zip codes of the share of purchased homes bought by investors, check out the interactive maps. So yes I stand by my opinions and observations,
summersm343 and a few others.

Investors bought a record share of homes in 2021. See where.

Philadelphia, PA - 15 percent of homes purchased in this area last year were bought by investors — more than the typical metro. That’s higher than its 2015 rate of 11 percent.

Montgomery, Bucks, Chester counties, PA - 7 percent of homes purchased in this area last year were bought by investors — fewer than the typical metro. That’s higher than its 2015 rate of 4 percent.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2022/housing-market-investors/

[chimpskibot]

Originally Posted by EastSideHBG

Pushing 50% in some zip codes of the share of purchased homes bought by investors, check out the interactive maps. So yes I stand by my opinions and observations,
summersm343 and a few others.

Investors bought a record share of homes in 2021. See where.

Philadelphia, PA - 15 percent of homes purchased in this area last year were bought by investors — more than the typical metro. That’s higher than its 2015 rate of 11 percent.

Montgomery, Bucks, Chester counties, PA - 7 percent of homes purchased in this area last year were bought by investors — fewer than the typical metro. That’s higher than its 2015 rate of 4 percent.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2022/housing-market-investors/

Looking at that map it looks like they are buying in areas primed for further redevelopment, but I don't see how that is a bad thing? Except for West Philly which severely lacks affordable purchasable housing (mostly due to the nature of the housing stock and desirability of neighborhoods) most of the other neighborhoods completely lack the investment from local homeowners and have been left to fend for themselves. Is it not good news that there is confidence in these neighborhoods from investment buyers? Also I think it is important to recognize that investment in a lot of these neighborhoods is low risk and has potentially huge upsides as rapidly developing neighborhoods become more expensive (Brewerytown and the lower riverwards).

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by EastSideHBG

Pushing 50% in some zip codes of the share of purchased homes bought by investors, check out the interactive maps. So yes I stand by my opinions and observations,
summersm343 and a few others.

Investors bought a record share of homes in 2021. See where.

Philadelphia, PA - 15 percent of homes purchased in this area last year were bought by investors — more than the typical metro. That’s higher than its 2015 rate of 11 percent.

Montgomery, Bucks, Chester counties, PA - 7 percent of homes purchased in this area last year were bought by investors — fewer than the typical metro. That’s higher than its 2015 rate of 4 percent.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2022/housing-market-investors/

And then they are renting them out immediately to tenants. It's a good thing. Institutional investors for half a century ignored Philly - having that money flowing into the community with investment and building is awesome. Who do you think is buying and building the millions of dollars of homes built each year in Manhattan and Brooklyn, Joe the Plumber?

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Hear! Hear! THAT, more than supertalls and a fantastic skyline (although I'll take those too) is what truly makes a world class city. Of course along with being an international leader in Eds and Meds, gene- and immuno-therapy, history and culture, etc.

Compared to 10 Years ago and prior I do believe we are 100% a World class city & International leader in Neighborhoods, Culture, Food & more.

The success of the city and growth that is occurring is amazing not even a pandemic could stop it.

We might be able to Annex some land in 10 more years

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I'll stick to the bar, thank you very much

Cmon lets go and get our $50 margaritas and $30 Coronas

[Porky]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

Compared to 10 Years ago and prior I do believe we are 100% a World class city & International leader in Neighborhoods, Culture, Food & more.

The success of the city and growth that is occurring is amazing not even a pandemic could stop it.

We might be able to Annex some land in 10 more years

Our city has an open market for heroin and has the highest poverty rate of any American major city. The infrastructure is in disarray and we did not even have a city-wide trash service until around 3 years ago. I do not think Philadelphia is a world-class city, considering the wealth disparity in Philadelphia especially.