PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread X

[McBane]

Originally Posted by reparcsyks

Drug stores are pretty depressing - happy to see this one closed and watch a tower rise here. As far as retail goes, my list of depressing is:

1. Cellphone stores
2. Banks
3. Drug stores
4. Fast food/Starbucks/Dunkin

Notwithstanding the suburban design of this particular Rite Aid (and there's another bad one on S. 9th near the Italian Market), drug stores are fine. I lived a few doors down from one many years ago and it was super convenient. In NYC, you can't go a block without a bodega but in Philly, there seems to be far fewer of them. Drug stores tend to fill that void. They're brightly lit and stay open late, activating the street around them. As long as they're not housed in a single story building surrounded by parking, I don't see what's wrong with them?

But banks and cell phone stores are THE worst.

[youngniems]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Prior to COVID, SEPTA was a firm believer in having the bare minimum staff and paying those engineers and crews a shitton of overtime. During COVID, a lot of engineers quit for other railroads or better pay. So they have fewer engineers now than they did before, and the new hires are less enthusiastic about working a ton of overtime.

It takes a very long time to train conductors, but an incredibly long time to train an engineer, especially on SEPTA. SEPTA's training program is actually considered the hardest in the US. The upside is that SEPTA hasn't had a major derailment in a very long time, the downside is that it becomes almost Sisyphusian to train new hires.

There is a large class of engineers in training at the moment, but the program takes over a year. So SEPTA is almost playing catch up to demand when it comes to new hires.

SEPTA's goal is to have something like 230 qualified engineers, and right now they have something short of 180. They're getting there, but it'll take awhile. Lord knows they better get them going fast; planning wants quicker headways and more express trains.

Thank you for the explanation!

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by McBane

Notwithstanding the suburban design of this particular Rite Aid (and there's another bad one on S. 9th near the Italian Market), drug stores are fine. I lived a few doors down from one many years ago and it was super convenient. In NYC, you can't go a block without a bodega but in Philly, there seems to be far fewer of them. Drug stores tend to fill that void. They're brightly lit and stay open late, activating the street around them. As long as they're not housed in a single story building surrounded by parking, I don't see what's wrong with them?

But banks and cell phone stores are THE worst.

Dwayne Reade Philly takeover when?

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Dwayne Reade Philly takeover when?

Hard pass on the $9 deodorant.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Dwayne Reade Philly takeover when?

*Duane Reade owned by Walgreens since 2010. All or most are in NYC and they've been shrinking as well.

https://gothamist.com/news/duane-reade-nyc-closing

[summersm343]

Not the Rite Stuff: Rittenhouse Rite Aid Closing, a New Tower to Come?

For anyone who has had a late night/early morning in the Rittenhouse neighborhood and had a hankering for a quick snack when other options were closed, you may be familiar with 2301-11 Walnut St., which is home to a 24-hour Rite Aid. This set-up always struck us as odd, with a large surface parking lot taking up the front of the lot and a parking garage underneath and behind the Rite Aid, extending to Sansom Street.

The other day, we heard rumors on a Reddit thread that the Rite Aid here would soon be closing, with July 28th (today!) as the last date the store would be open. When we went to check it out for ourselves, we confirmed that things were indeed closing soon for this neighborhood stalwart. While we understand that this serves a community function, a bunker-like building with surface parking is far from the highest and best use in such a prominent location. And as you can see below, we aren’t exactly losing a design marvel in the process.

While there don’t appear to be any signs of a transaction or any new zoning notices, according to the folks who work at said pharmacy, a new residential tower may soon rise on site. This is hearsay at this point, but it makes all the sense in the world to us. The combination of a key location and an under-utilized lot give us hope that something substantial could go up on this 20K sqft property with CMX-4 zoning. This permissive zoning is surely enticing to developers and the huge amount of residential mass in the area makes apartments or condos a likely success. We should note that an office use or perhaps a life sciences building might also make sense here.

Read/view more here:
https://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-phil...-tower-to-come

[PhillyRising]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I don't get this. Maybe it's just me, but I hate working from home.

I hate it for the most part as well. I just like being at my work space. Now if I work on weekends, I don't mind working from home.

You just need to get out of the house and we do need the socialization with co workers in person.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

For the Trolleys, MFL, and BSL. One for each.

thank God. Badly needed. Maybe PennDOT can get a grant for street sweepers for shoulders next.

[iamrobk]

https://www.inquirer.com/politics/el...-20220731.html

For anyone who cares about the next Mayor, this sort of thing is super important. For example, all of Kenney's campaign staff (or at least, all of the major players) came from Ken Trujillo's campaign after he dropped out. Trujillo was one of the favorites, then Kenney came out of nowhere (he hadn't even announced his candidacy when Trujillo dropped out) and won.

That said, all of these people look to have pretty big names behind them. Will be a very interesting primary.

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by cardeza

thank God. Badly needed. Maybe PennDOT can get a grant for street sweepers for shoulders next.

Cardeza is someone else using your account???? This is a much different take then before

On another note when I was on N 18th St taking care of some “litter business” Street sweepers came down, the only issue; cars were still parked on the block so it didnt really help.

Cars have to move if we want to really clean these streets up.

[Jawnadelphia]

Fun video of the W Hotel - thought y'all might enjoy.
elevated.angles on IG:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgkmaZWP0aF/

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by Jawnadelphia

Fun video of the W Hotel - thought y'all might enjoy.
elevated.angles on IG:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgkmaZWP0aF/

I went to the W Hotel opening weekend last year, and my boyfriend and I had the entire pool to ourselves. Not the case anymore! Looks great though.

[iheartphilly]

^
For the size of the combined brands of hotel, that pool should be twice the size. Looks kinda small.

[PurpleWhiteOut]

Originally Posted by Jawnadelphia

Fun video of the W Hotel - thought y'all might enjoy.
elevated.angles on IG:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgkmaZWP0aF/

I never realized how perfectly the glass matches the Residences at Ritz Carlton. It really makes it look cohesive.

[TK2001]

https://www.shapeways.com/product/C6...44936&li=shops

Check it out!

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

Cardeza is someone else using your account???? This is a much different take then before

On another note when I was on N 18th St taking care of some “litter business” Street sweepers came down, the only issue; cars were still parked on the block so it didnt really help.

Cars have to move if we want to really clean these streets up.

Uh no- all I was saying before is that other states with much cleaner interstates often have toll revenue- something that should be obvious to anyone who understands funding. Many here said the extra money wasnt a factor- only that other states have grade A transportation agencies and we don't- in spite of the fact that the PA turnpike is free of debris and well maintained due to its dedicated funding stream.

No one on here has placed more complaints for shoulder conditions with PennDOT than I have. Trust me on that.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

Wasn't me that time, that may have been the Elevated.shots dude from IG tho he does a lot of shots near there.

I'm sorry for the delay as well, been dealing with the Newborn, and some business stuff so I've been packed, also some news regarding some QOL stuff in the city, I won't say anything about it yet, but it has to do with litter...

when can you tell us about the good QOL news in Philly?

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

^
For the size of the combined brands of hotel, that pool should be twice the size. Looks kinda small.

I think the pool is only accessible for W guests (in theory). Element has an a different hotel entrance, and I'm not sure if those elevators stop on the pool floor.

But yea, it is on the small side. The setup is cute and there is a good amount of seating between the W and Ritz Residences, but it gets cramped quickly and turns into a loud party almost every weekend, (think Soho House style).

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I don't get this. Maybe it's just me, but I hate working from home.

You're not the only one! I hate working from home as well. In fact, one of the reasons I enthusiastically accepted the offer for my current role is due to the ability to work in the office. I have the option to work from home, and I do utilize it occasionally, but I'm mostly in the office five days a week.

There are three reasons why I prefer working in the office: health reasons, work-life balance, the social aspect/advancement opportunities. Before moving to Northwest Philly, I had an easy 25 minute walk to Two Liberty from my old apartment. When my prior company went full WFH, I immediately missed my morning walk. Not only do I have that back, but I also get to take the Regional Rail into Center City. Also, being in the office allows me to maintain a hard line between my work and evenings with my fiancée and puppy. Though I take my laptop home, I rarely open it after I've stepped on the train. Finally, I love being able to connect with other people. As a 26 year old working in an environment full of people who have 20-30 years of experience and hate responding to emails, being in the office has enabled me to form good relationships with those who make the decisions that may affect my career advancement opportunities.

I understand the appeal of WFH and even enjoyed it for a while (especially rolling out of bed minutes before I'd usually log in, or even sleeping past that time and waking up to little/no work), but I'd rather be in the office. Hybrid work is the way to go, however, as I love having the option to WFH whenever it is needed.

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by cardeza

Uh no- all I was saying before is that other states with much cleaner interstates often have toll revenue- something that should be obvious to anyone who understands funding. Many here said the extra money wasnt a factor- only that other states have grade A transportation agencies and we don't- in spite of the fact that the PA turnpike is free of debris and well maintained due to its dedicated funding stream.

No one on here has placed more complaints for shoulder conditions with PennDOT than I have. Trust me on that.

I agree with you, I know we all have gone back and forth about it; however its because we all care about the city and the quality it is in, its all love in SSP.

Originally Posted by cardeza

when can you tell us about the good QOL news in Philly?

An organization and my business are working on litter issues in the city this organization has already been going for a year, and its doing well, however more has to be done so we have been discussing landscaping services for blocks, (overgrowth, weeds, branches, tree beds, leaves etc.) to go along with the litter clean up, as well as introducing Trashcans to blocks to curb litter and dumping.

There's a couple things we will roll out in the next months so ill keep y'all updated as well.

I can see we are making a dent every week with block clean ups, as well as reporting dump sites.

There's a lot of trash in the city and the mentality on it is tough, however nothing worth changing is easy.