PHILADELPHIA | Residences on Race | 200 FT | 17 FLOORS

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by PurpleWhiteOut

In its current form, yes. An overbuild would be possible though, right? Overall I'm glad to see these stick around

Agree. Plenty of other developable parcels nearby.

[SJPhillyBoy]

The preservation is great news.

[Justin7]

Thank you, Preservation Alliance!

[McBane]

These buildings are definitely handsome and obviously old. But it appears they were never considered historic on their own merits until the demolition permit was obtained. Not a fan of this approach. On the other hand, I'm glad they were preserved simply because I'm not convinced a tower would have been imminently built.

There has to be a happy medium between ad hoc preservation to stop development and allowing builders to demolish first and then get their financing and everything else in order later.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by McBane

These buildings are definitely handsome and obviously old. But it appears they were never considered historic on their own merits until the demolition permit was obtained. Not a fan of this approach. On the other hand, I'm glad they were preserved simply because I'm not convinced a tower would have been imminently built.

There has to be a happy medium between ad hoc preservation to stop development and allowing builders to demolish first and then get their financing and everything else in order later.

I think it’s simply that not enough buildings worthy of preservation have been nominated yet. Anyone in the city can nominate any property for preservation as long as they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it meets one of the reasons for being preserved.

[UrbanRevival]

Originally Posted by McBane

These buildings are definitely handsome and obviously old. But it appears they were never considered historic on their own merits until the demolition permit was obtained. Not a fan of this approach.

That just means that preservation approaches need to be beefed up and much more aggressive, not that the buildings themselves were not inherently worthy of being saved.

This is exactly the kind of urban fabric that Philadelphia has to be very careful to maintain as time and development marches on for its own competitive "sense of place" advantage.

I'll say it again and again: people don't come and grow an attachment to Philadelphia for its gleaming modernity, sexy beaches and glamourous lifestyle. They come to Philadelphia and grow to love Philadelphia for its history and intimate, human-scaled "sense of place," which is arguably unmatched at Philadelphia's scale anywhere else in the US. That is the city's ace.

When considered in that light, well-preserved historic fabric is a massive asset and absolutely not expendable. It's literally Philadelphia's competitive advantage.

[PurpleWhiteOut]

Originally Posted by McBane

There has to be a happy medium between ad hoc preservation to stop development and allowing builders to demolish first and then get their financing and everything else in order later.

The happy medium would be the government getting off its ass and taking a historic inventory like Kenny said they would forever ago. (not related to these) but I also don't see why we don't automatically bring in the national historic register. We've lost a lot that was on the national register and that seems like an easy get

[SEFTA]

Originally Posted by UrbanRevival

That just means that preservation approaches need to be beefed up and much more aggressive, not that the buildings themselves were not inherently worthy of being saved.

This is exactly the kind of urban fabric that Philadelphia has to be very careful to maintain as time and development marches on for its own competitive "sense of place" advantage.

I'll say it again and again: people don't come and grow an attachment to Philadelphia for its gleaming modernity, sexy beaches and glamourous lifestyle. They come to Philadelphia and grow to love Philadelphia for its history and intimate, human-scaled "sense of place," which is arguably unmatched at Philadelphia's scale anywhere else in the US. That is the city's ace.

When considered in that light, well-preserved historic fabric is a massive asset and absolutely not expendable. It's literally Philadelphia's competitive advantage.

Money spent on tourism is money returned.
Philly has a huge future with tourism and every street in Center City should be treated as a photo-op.
Beautification and infrastructure.
I think this is an exciting time for Philly.
I really can't think of any place that has what Philly has.
COMPLETELY WALKABLE
This was a great move. Such handsome buildings in a strategic location that's lost much history.

[summersm343]

Newly Designated Historic Buildings Will Stick Around at 17th & Race

Read/view more here:
https://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-phil...d-at-17th-race

[summersm343]

This is officially dead. Moving this thread to Never Built.