PHILADELPHIA | Schuylkill Yards Future Phases | 1,095 - 375 FT | 70 - 28 FLOORS

[volguus zildrohar]

Intensely optimistic...for a change. That's a massive program which I hope means a great deal of research was done into the potential for private sector growth to support it. The KOZ designation is obvious and necessary but the most important piece - the human capital - is what needs building right now. The timeline of the proposal is certainly smart if paired with some educational investment (starting at the pre-college level) to ensure its viability. That's an area where everyone invested in the success of this proposal comes in. This is Philadelphia...not quite yet at the point of being able to sustain such a large program on the strength of our reputation alone like other cities. There's time built into this project. I hope that it's smartly used.

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by volguus zildrohar

Intensely optimistic...for a change. That's a massive program which I hope means a great deal of research was done into the potential for private sector growth to support it. The KOZ designation is obvious and necessary but the most important piece - the human capital - is what needs building right now. The timeline of the proposal is certainly smart if paired with some educational investment (starting at the pre-college level) to ensure its viability. That's an area where everyone invested in the success of this proposal comes in. This is Philadelphia...not quite yet at the point of being able to sustain such a large program on the strength of our reputation alone like other cities. There's time built into this project. I hope that it's smartly used.

I believe there is an obvious connection between this proposal and the proposal being pushed by Brandywine for property tax reform. I am ready to write our senators/representatives if they really have research suggesting that we can accelerate job growth in the professional sector to levels unseen in a very long time. I am optimistic.

[UrbanRevival]

Truly stunning master plan! Despite the robust ambition, this is exactly the kind of tangible vision that Philly/Pennsylvania leaders can coalesce around to make a reality via policy changes and other economic development tools. The city can much more easily make its case for tax reform with these exact types of plans.

Originally Posted by TempleGuy1000

I believe there is an obvious connection between this proposal and the proposal being pushed by Brandywine for property tax reform. I am ready to write our senators/representatives if they really have research suggesting that we can accelerate job growth in the professional sector to levels unseen in a very long time. I am optimistic.

Very true, and that's an excellent idea.

Aside from anticipated trends due to tax reform, I do think the 20-year timeline will also be able to capitalize on some very unsustainable real estate trends in the other 3 major East Coast hubs of DC, NY and Boston, whereby these cities are on an undoubted path of really pricing out startup firms and even middle-class professionals themselves--much moreso than they are now.

Tie in the very real threat of climate change beginning to effect cities directly on the coast and suddenly Philly also looks like a slightly more inland urban haven.

Of course, the long-term timeline forces us all to think more abstract about things for which there is no firm prediction, but the point is there are multiple trends that will likely converge in the coming years that will only make Philly an ever-attractive economic stalwart.

[Jelly Roll]

I would not be surprised if this gets built in less then 20 years. The developer has the funding to build all of it and given the prime location and the healthy level of tax incentives I think it is going to shock people how much demand there is for this project. Add in the lack of new office space in Philly along with the already established viability for new apartment construction and it is a perfect storm for this development.

[summersm343]

Drexel, Brandywine Take Wraps Off Schuylkill Yards

The next big step in the evolution of University City into Philadelphia’s “second downtown” began this afternoon inside a tent next to One Drexel Plaza, where Drexel University President John Fry and Brandywine Realty Trust CEO Gerard Sweeney unveiled the master plan for the new mixed-use “innovation neighborhood” they will create together. They also announced its name: Schuylkill Yards.

The development, which will be built in several phases starting in a few months and stretching over 20 years, will contain about 5 to 6 million square feet of space when fully built out. About 55 percent of the total will be office space, with the rest a mix of laboratory space and residential buildings, with street-level retail throughout and a landscaped public park at its heart.

Accordingly, the central public space, to be called Drexel Square, is part of the project's first phase. Work on the 1.3-acre park across from 30th Street Station and the transformation of JFK Boulevard west of the station into a pedestrian-friendly promenade will begin later this year, followed by a reimagination of One Drexel Plaza, the former home of The Evening Bulletin, starting in early 2017. The first new building, a 700,000-square-foot office building with street-level retail across JFK Boulevard from Drexel Square, should get under way in late 2017 or early 2018.

Fry sees this project as a major step towards making the Schuylkill a focal point for a greater city center instead of a dividing line between Center City and University City.

Also speaking along with Fry and Sweeney at the formal unveiling ceremony were City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, Bruce Katz of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Center and Jim Bean, vice president of retail at Apple Inc. and a Drexel alumnus.

Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/property/20...wO7fCeWYAKI.99

[Noam215]

This proposal looks AMAZING and I can't wait for work to begin.
One question- because this is a Drexel project does that mean that none of these properties, when competed and after the 10 year abatement, will be subject to real estate taxes?

[Cro Burnham]

Originally Posted by Chubbs Peterson

What's up with the pre-boiled spaghetti facade on the super-tall? Does anyone know of any existing buildings with that type of design?

I love this project. I just thought the exterior looked kind of funny at first glance.

111 W 57th in NYC (also SHoP).

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...198228&page=75

[hammersklavier]

After the Cira South fiasco, I think what I'm going to do is keep this thread as the overall Schuylkill Yards development thread and fork new threads on the individual high-rises as they're proposed.

Originally Posted by boxbot

Build it! Build all of the things!

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

For all of the fussing about the highline on the high-rise development thread, note that a portion of the current lowrise building behind the Bulletin extends beneath it. The site plan for SY is simply contemplating the same thing for whatever new project is built there.

A possibility to consider: The little shed is being kept in part because that part of the old press building is simply too expensive to remove, what with the High Line itself being right over it.

[Kidphilly]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Drexel, Brandywine Take Wraps Off Schuylkill Yards



Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/property/20...wO7fCeWYAKI.99

Interesting quote on the Apple connection, while nothing I can source I can say I have good information that these discussions have been underway with Apple for over a year now. Can anyone say Apple East...

apparently the Alumni connection has some pretty strong roots and this would be a huge win should win should it happen

[Swede]

The motherland is proud that New Sweden is reaching new heights.


/In all the lands ever part of or ruled by Sweden Philly already has the 6 tallest buildings.

[Boku]

Originally Posted by Kidphilly

Interesting quote on the Apple connection, while nothing I can source I can say I have good information that these discussions have been underway with Apple for over a year now. Can anyone say Apple East...

apparently the Alumni connection has some pretty strong roots and this would be a huge win should win should it happen

What sort of discussions?

[Kidphilly]

Originally Posted by Boku

What sort of discussions?

mostly around whether to put a franchise tag on Bradford...

[Flyers2001]

Originally Posted by Kidphilly

mostly around whether to put a franchise tag on Bradford...

Thank god they went with the 2 year leasing option. Gives both the parties options heading forward. Don't want to lock up to much space, never know when your going to have to move.

[Justin7]

Higher res:

[boxbot]

I don't know. I feel the tower is...missing something. You know? Like it could be classier. More luxurious.

[Mappy]

I sent some comment/ideas/images to the consultants working on the "Philly District 30" Plan a while ago which included some building massings exactly where they have placed a few of these buildings, but they are way more ambitious than I would have dreamed.



I thought my 650' building would be scoffed at, who'd have thought I was being way to conservative!

Anyway, the rest of my sketches are here if you are interested (It mostly pertains to designs on capping the rail yard for development, and expanding the 30th St Station) I guess Ill have to update my designs with the new proposed buildings,

[japmes]

[QUOTE=Justin7;7357144]Higher res:

I like how the renderings emphasize the green space by making the trees almost fluorescent. Slick marketing. Hopefully the same sort of exaggeration wasn't used for the Supertall, making an 800' look like a 1200' just for effect.

[Arch+Eng]

I am thinking this building should be a mall, or at least have a floor or two of retail with it being right next to 30th St. Station.

[Scottydont]

[QUOTE=japmes;7357170]

Originally Posted by Justin7

I like how the renderings emphasize the green space by making the trees almost fluorescent. Slick marketing. Hopefully the same sort of exaggeration wasn't used for the Supertall, making an 800' look like a 1200' just for effect.

While it is probably slick marketing too, I think the exaggerated colors also are a good visual indication that this would be new green space, and not currently existing.

[McBane]

A couple of tidbits:

700,000 sq ft of offices and labs for the first tower confirms that the first tower being built is the "short" reddish hued building next to the Cira II site. That building looks to be slightly shorter than the Cira Center which is 29 floors, 730,000 sq ft and 428 feet tall. So we can expect something in the realm of 25-28 floors and about 375 feet. One reason for Cira's height is the embellished roof design which the proposed tower lacks, so it will likely be under 400 feet.

Regarding the building designs - I wouldn't read too much into them. They're just very fancy mock-ups. The only one that looks to resemble the finished product is the reskinning of the Bulletin Building, which is a huge improvement (though it's still a 4 measly floors). The tri-colored tall one, for example, is awful in my eyes but again, it's so early, I wouldn't even call it a preliminary design.

One thing however that I do like about the buildings is that, while they're all pretty different in design, all seem to incorporate clear and gold glass. I think that's a cool feature that helps tie all the otherwise different buildings together. I hope that the gold color scheme is kept, it's very different.