PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread X

[TempleGuy1000]

With Morgan Hall on one side and this on the other, along with the parking lot tower next to the movie theater, it's going to be a nicely improved gateway into campus.

[Gatorade_Jim]

Looks like the Morgan Lewis building has some lighting

on top.

[SEFTA]

TEMPLE!
3 proposals;
N Broad -Temple by

N Broad -Temple 2 by

1520 N Broad Street
1518-28 N Broad Street -Temple 9-21-23 cropped by

1600 N Carlisle Street
1600 N Broad Street cropped by

1451 N Broad Street
1451 N Broad Street by

[TK2001]

Originally Posted by Gatorade_Jim

Looks like the Morgan Lewis building has some lighting on top.

That's very random, but nice! I hope it's also on the south face, and of course hoping there's more lights coming

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by cardeza

so you are saying the entirety of North Philadelphia, including Temple's campus and all of North Broad (which is cleaned every weekday) is full of trash? Got it. the area you describe from Vine St north also includes a lot of the active street sweeping zones. It would also include Fairmount and Brewerytown.

Did I stutter? North Broad street is a tiny sliver of North Philadelphia.

[PhillyRising]

I don't know how old most of you are...but the late 80's in Center City was pretty litter strewn everywhere. It was very dismal...needles just laying on the sidewalks. I almost stepped on one on Chestnut between Broad and 15th in 1988.

I think what pisses me off the most today is the graffiti. I can deal with some of the artistic displays...but the squiggly tags just burn me up. It's not even a city problem anymore...it in the suburbs too.

I thought we had gotten past that nonsense. In the end, most of it is just vandalism. The mural arts program was created to get those who want to spray paint everything to channel their talents into art everyone can admire and appreciate. I don't want to see somebody's lame ass tag.

[Jerryiz]

Originally Posted by PhillyRising

I don't know how old most of you are...but the late 80's in Center City was pretty litter strewn everywhere. It was very dismal...needles just laying on the sidewalks. I almost stepped on one on Chestnut between Broad and 15th in 1988.

I think what pisses me off the most today is the graffiti. I can deal with some of the artistic displays...but the squiggly tags just burn me up. It's not even a city problem anymore...it in the suburbs too.

I thought we had gotten past that nonsense. In the end, most of it is just vandalism. The mural arts program was created to get those who want to spray paint everything to channel their talents into art everyone can admire and appreciate. I don't want to see somebody's lame ass tag.

I am not going to admit to my past history as a kid/young adult, but let's just put it like this. There is FARRRRRR less graffiti in Philadelphia now than there was in the 80's. I am telling you from personal knowledge. Honestly when I think about it, Philadelphia probably has less graffiti that many cities ! Definitely NY and LA, and probably even Baltimore from what i saw just a few weeks ago. This might be a case of, I know Philadelphia still has it's share of issues, but it's not as bad as you believe it to be.?

[BroadandMarket]

Originally Posted by PhillyRising

I don't know how old most of you are...but the late 80's in Center City was pretty litter strewn everywhere. It was very dismal...needles just laying on the sidewalks. I almost stepped on one on Chestnut between Broad and 15th in 1988.

I think what pisses me off the most today is the graffiti. I can deal with some of the artistic displays...but the squiggly tags just burn me up. It's not even a city problem anymore...it in the suburbs too.

I thought we had gotten past that nonsense. In the end, most of it is just vandalism. The mural arts program was created to get those who want to spray paint everything to channel their talents into art everyone can admire and appreciate. I don't want to see somebody's lame ass tag.

I was not around to see Philly in the 80s but I am curious about the needles. I find it hard to believe there are not more around now. I've seen close to 100 needles in OLD CITY in just the last year. I've even seen a few at the entrance to Elfreth's alley. I've seen thousands of orange needle caps as well in the same time frame. Like I said, I can't speak for 1988 Philly but even as recently as 5-7 years ago, I'd never see a needle in Old City and now it's almost a daily occurrence. The Septa parking lot under the Market St. Bridge and the park at Front and Chestnut have become the worst culprits of this. Obviously the city as a whole is WAY better than it was in 1988 but the opioid epidemic in Kensington has affected all of Philly and anything within a few blocks of an El stop including our most historic neighborhood.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by BroadandMarket

I was not around to see Philly in the 80s but I am curious about the needles. I find it hard to believe there are not more around now. I've seen close to 100 needles in OLD CITY in just the last year. I've even seen a few at the entrance to Elfreth's alley. I've seen thousands of orange needle caps as well in the same time frame. Like I said, I can't speak for 1988 Philly but even as recently as 5-7 years ago, I'd never see a needle in Old City and now it's almost a daily occurrence. The Septa parking lot under the Market St. Bridge and the park at Front and Chestnut have become the worst culprits of this. Obviously the city as a whole is WAY better than it was in 1988 but the opioid epidemic in Kensington has affected all of Philly and anything within a few blocks of an El stop including our most historic neighborhood.

I can confirm...

Moved to OC in the summer of 2015. We looked all through CC, Nolibs, QV etc. We chose Old City because not only was it one of the cleanest parts of town, but there was so much activity that it seemed like one of the safest.

We walk around Old City now and it's just so depressing. Market street has become a zombie $hithole. Constant downgrades to storefronts. You cant walk the southside of market anymore without stepping on a needle, a passed-out addict or an aggressive pan-handler. The vacancies are so numerous it's hard to count them all. No one is investing in this part of town now and I don't blame them. It's horrible.

(The one recent notable exception is the Society Hill Hotel that the guys from United By Blue are redoing. Those guys are super cool and their plans for that place are amazing.)

We would have NEVER chosen this 'hood if we looked now. And I am not sure that it won't get worse. The wild card for me is this new homeless shelter they're putting up at 4th and Race. Is it going to attract even more homeless
that are going to spill out onto the streets of the most historic square mile in the country? Or will it provide services that will positively address the homeless situation in Old City? With the continued complacency of law enforcement - and I'm not sure what they can even do - it just seems like this part of town is screwed.

For the life of me, the fact that the city doesn't seem to give a rat's ass about one of the biggest tourist attractions on the east coast is absolutely insane to me. Market Street from City hall to the Delaware river should be this city's biggest priority or it's gonna see a major drop-off in tourism dollars at some point.

[reparcsyks]

Hopefully the new Penn's Landing park will add some life and vibrancy back to Old City. It'll take some time, for sure, but that's the only thing I can see that will make Old City relevant again. It's crazy how different it feels from the 2000s.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by BroadandMarket

I was not around to see Philly in the 80s but I am curious about the needles. I find it hard to believe there are not more around now. I've seen close to 100 needles in OLD CITY in just the last year. I've even seen a few at the entrance to Elfreth's alley. I've seen thousands of orange needle caps as well in the same time frame. Like I said, I can't speak for 1988 Philly but even as recently as 5-7 years ago, I'd never see a needle in Old City and now it's almost a daily occurrence. The Septa parking lot under the Market St. Bridge and the park at Front and Chestnut have become the worst culprits of this. Obviously the city as a whole is WAY better than it was in 1988 but the opioid epidemic in Kensington has affected all of Philly and anything within a few blocks of an El stop including our most historic neighborhood.

You aren't wrong. I'm in my 50s. I have never seen so many drug needles and druggies/zombies in my life. It's like the crack epidemic of the 80s except it's basically hitting every demographic and every part of the city.

[Mr Saturn64]

Originally Posted by Jerryiz

Philadelphia probably has less graffiti that many cities ! Definitely NY and LA, and probably even Baltimore from what i saw just a few weeks ago.

On a related note, there's a huge graffiti in Baltimore as you approach Penn Station from the east that says "JAWN" in all caps.

Originally Posted by reparcsyks

Hopefully the new Penn's Landing park will add some life and vibrancy back to Old City. It'll take some time, for sure, but that's the only thing I can see that will make Old City relevant again. It's crazy how different it feels from the 2000s.

I was at Penn's Landing recently and didn't see anything resembling progress. I do recall that the project starting recently. Did I miss something?

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Did I stutter? North Broad street is a tiny sliver of North Philadelphia.

In my original comments I said the dirtiest areas are lower income areas where there are lots of vacant properties and underutilized commercial stretches. As I said, Temple is a major landowner in North Philadelphia and its absolutely insane to say everything north of Vine Street is covered in filth. YOu aren't being serious.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by reparcsyks

Hopefully the new Penn's Landing park will add some life and vibrancy back to Old City. It'll take some time, for sure, but that's the only thing I can see that will make Old City relevant again. It's crazy how different it feels from the 2000s.

Unfortunately for OC, the action has shifted to other neighborhoods in terms of bars, restaurants and cool places to be for young people. One thing that isn't being talked about is how the gains in one area can make another area less relevant- when I was younger OC was known as a place that was active on the weekends and there were restaurants, bars, lounges and related nightlife- that energy has shifted north and OC isn't relevant in that way any more which undoubtedly leads to lots of vacancy and under use of property.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by PHL10

You aren't wrong. I'm in my 50s. I have never seen so many drug needles and druggies/zombies in my life. It's like the crack epidemic of the 80s except it's basically hitting every demographic and every part of the city.

I wouldn't say that. Unfortunately for people who live or work near an El station, its primarily a problem in those areas. There is zero evidence of the opioid issue where I live- but other urban ills such as muscle cars speeding and sounds of gun shots are part of life unfortunately. Obviously you really would have no clue about the crisis when visiting areas such as Roxborough, Mt Airy and Chestnut Hill. There are LOT of issues in and around center city which are not really issues in the outer neighborhoods.

[PhillyPDX]

If you want to see a city with issues, check out Portland. Center City was amazingly clean when we were there this summer. Street life, almost no trash (thanks to the observable clean up crews), construction all over (sense of progress). I don't doubt Philly is still recovering, but man, it's light years ahead of what downtown Portland has become. Imagine Kensington being adjacent to, and infiltrating, Center City and you have current downtown Portland. Careful what you wish for....

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

If you want to see a city with issues, check out Portland. Center City was amazingly clean when we were there this summer. Street life, almost no trash (thanks to the observable clean up crews), construction all over (sense of progress). I don't doubt Philly is still recovering, but man, it's light years ahead of what downtown Portland has become. Imagine Kensington being adjacent to, and infiltrating, Center City and you have current downtown Portland. Careful what you wish for....

Glad you had a good experience! Also sad to hear Portland is struggling.

[summersm343]

CDR Submissions for October are up!

https://www.phila.gov/departments/ph...blic-meetings/

[TPZ-1]

Just came back from Philly visiting family. The city is noticeably cleaner (I use Chelten Ave. going through Germantown as a quasi barometer lol..). If they removed/painted over all of the graffiti it'd be utopia for this clean freak.

[UrbanRevival]

Originally Posted by TPZ-1

Just came back from Philly visiting family. The city is noticeably cleaner (I use Chelten Ave. going through Germantown as a quasi barometer lol..). If they removed/painted over all of the graffiti it'd be utopia for this clean freak.

Great to hear.

I know it's not the same as being in person, but I also plonk around on Google maps for more time than I should. Many streetviews across the city have been updated to months in 2023, and in the vast majority of cases you can honestly see a marked difference towards decreasing litter compared to past years, including some of the worst-off parts of the city. It really is a good, comprehensive tool for that kind of comparison.

Not saying Philly is competing with Singapore anytime soon (and dumping in particular needs to be adressed in many areas), but progress is clear.

Honestly, the biggest issue for Philly is to be much more aggressive in replacing sidewalk/pedestrian infrastructure across the city. It's in pretty unacceptable condition in too many areas (all the better if it includes as much low-mainentance greenery as possible).

It would go SO far in upgrading livability and aesthetics.