PHILADELPHIA | The Arthaus @ 311 S. Broad | 542 FT | 47 FLOORS

[1487]

Originally Posted by thisisforreal

Activity on the site today. Slim crew of hardhats with surveying equipment.

whoa

[mcgrath618]

You all doubted me
I'm kidding, but glad to see some progress.

[Nova08]

They are probably surveying for a 200 ft. tall building.

But honestly, still somewhat hopeful this is built as originally proposed

[Gonzo the Great]

Originally Posted by thisisforreal

Activity on the site today. Slim crew of hardhats with surveying equipment.

It's a porto potty storage sight .

[The Best Forumer]

Originally Posted by El Duderino

for what it's worth (next to nothing), i heard from someone affiliated with this a few weeks ago that a spring 2018 start is the plan.

It would be nice if it moved up a little earlier...

[Mr Saturn64]

I don't know, maybe this is more viable than we think. It can't be coincidence that there'd be people surveying the site if they didn't have plans for it, especially with "Spring 2018" as a start date. Of course, we never know, and the reality is still that Dranoff doesn't have nearly enough money for this, yet here we are. It would be dope if this got built at 550 feet (or whatever it is), but who knows?

[1487]

Originally Posted by Mr Saturn64

I don't know, maybe this is more viable than we think. It can't be coincidence that there'd be people surveying the site if they didn't have plans for it, especially with "Spring 2018" as a start date. Of course, we never know, and the reality is still that Dranoff doesn't have nearly enough money for this, yet here we are. It would be dope if this got built at 550 feet (or whatever it is), but who knows?

they can value engineer out $15m and move forward. So this nonsense about not being able to move forward without the State money never made complete sense to me.

[Mr Saturn64]

Originally Posted by 1487

they can value engineer out $15m and move forward. So this nonsense about not being able to move forward without the State money never made complete sense to me.

I agree. Dranoff is one rich guy, isn't he? He must have other sources of money to get this done than the state.

Anyway, I checked by today to see if anything changed, and I didn't notice a damn thing.

[Brandywine Rocks]

Originally Posted by Mr Saturn64

Anyway, I checked by today to see if anything changed, and I didn't notice a damn thing.

Thats a terrible look for the center of the city.A disgrace really.

Im sure Dranoff is paying taxes on that lot. The dilapidated lot is really is a city issue.They either need to enforce landlords to keep their properties up or they need to spend some of the tax money the lot generates for upkeep.

This city lacks the common sense gene. Blatsteins lot at Broad + washington has been a wasteland forever. Its unbelievable.

[christof]

What lovely weeds this site has...

[Boku]

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/re...warded-pennsylvania-grants-20171222.html

SLS got $1.4 million from the state's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. Almost there!

[City Wide]

Philly.com is reporting that in the latest round RACP grants, that the SLS proposal was allotted $1.4M. No word if this is new money, or a replacement of last years grant, or whatever. But not $10M, so the hole on S. Board St. remains for now.
I remain amazed that Dranoff who sings to high heaven about the glories of south Board St., who had no problem finding cash to tear down the old buildings which were there (and not in good shape) but can't find some money to fill in this hole and at least plant some grass.
I think the City should step in and claim this hole a public nuisance and require Dranoff to deal with it or have the City do the work. (Where's 1487 when we need a good argument!)

[Brandywine Rocks]

Originally Posted by City Wide

I think the City should step in and claim this hole a public nuisance and require Dranoff to deal with it or have the City do the work. (Where's 1487 we need a good argument!)

Im sure the city is collecting a pretty penny on the property tax of that eyesorish lot. They are just as culpable as Dranoff imo.

That lot doesnt look good on either of them and it blows my mind that either think its OK for Broad Street to look like this. No pride in either party imo.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by City Wide

Philly.com is reporting that in the latest round RACP grants, that the SLS proposal was allotted $1.4M. No word if this is new money, or a replacement of last years grant, or whatever. But not $10M, so the hole on S. Board St. remains for now.
I remain amazed that Dranoff who sings to high heaven about the glories of south Board St., who had no problem finding cash to tear down the old buildings which were there (and not in good shape) but can't find some money to fill in this hole and at least plant some grass.
I think the City should step in and claim this hole a public nuisance and require Dranoff to deal with it or have the City do the work. (Where's 1487 when we need a good argument!)

It's not a replacement. It's $1.4 million on top of the previous $1 million for a total of $2.4 million. http://www.philly.com/philly/business/re...warded-pennsylvania-grants-20171222.html At least if philly.com is right it says he already received the previous $1 million. This is not bad considering what this project is. While a luxury hotel/condo on this lot will be great, it's one of the less worthy recipients of RACP grants. Dranoff actually requested $19 million, but that's wholly unrealistic. I wonder what percentage the $2.4 million constitutes out of what he reasonably expected.

[ebuilder]

Will this actually happen now? They will never get $20M. Does the developer plan to wait another year and hope the state offers the full amount? Not a winning strategy.

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by ebuilder

Will this actually happen now? They will never get $20M. Does the developer plan to wait another year and hope the state offers the full amount? Not a winning strategy.

Personally-----I don't expect this project to go anywhere, at least in the next year or two. Which I think is unfortunate, since I think it could be, it should be a successful concept. I would be thrilled to be wrong!

I don't claim to understand the hotel business and I don't believe that Dranoff has every publically said what market point the condos would be built for. So, its hard to get a handle on the overall financial scale of this project. I've often wondered if this is basically a hotel project with a few condos on the top, or the other way around. Is one of them basically the driving force, or are they equal?

Meanwhile, we have a hole in our city. As his new years promise he should resolve that one way or another the hole will be dealt with by July 1st. How can he be singing the praises of S. Broad St. and just leave that eyesore just sit there for years.

[iheartphilly]

^ Carl Dranoff has a storied history as a Philly developer. Both a Harvard and Harvard MBA grad, I think he gets what it takes to be a successful developer both from his prior and current experience and understanding of finance. I think Broad street land is hot right now and in limited supply. So, I rather wait a little longer, even if it means having a patch of un-manicured land sitting around, for the right scale, right looking property, high profile high-rise to to be concepted and built.

[Urbanthusiat]

They call him can-do Carl for a reason. I don’t know anything about Dranoff Properties but they have demonstrated an ability to wait a very long time for projects to get off the ground. One Ardmore took many years.

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

It's not a replacement. It's $1.4 million on top of the previous $1 million for a total of $2.4 million. http://www.philly.com/philly/business/re...warded-pennsylvania-grants-20171222.html At least if philly.com is right it says he already received the previous $1 million. This is not bad considering what this project is. While a luxury hotel/condo on this lot will be great, it's one of the less worthy recipients of RACP grants. Dranoff actually requested $19 million, but that's wholly unrealistic. I wonder what percentage the $2.4 million constitutes out of what he reasonably expected.

At this point it seems like giving him more money almost makes this thing less likely to happen. If he didn't receive an additional reward, he might start to assume he's never getting any more, factor that into the project, and get moving, even if it means a reduced scale/quality.

Getting a million or two year, while well short of goal, seems to just encourage him to wait around. At this pace, in a decade or so he should have the full 20 million. And considering how ugly this looks right now, I'd rather something happen sooner than later.

[Urbanthusiat]

Originally Posted by allovertown

At this point it seems like giving him more money almost makes this thing less likely to happen. If he didn't receive an additional reward, he might start to assume he's never getting any more, factor that into the project, and get moving, even if it means a reduced scale/quality.

Getting a million or two year, while well short of goal, seems to just encourage him to wait around. At this pace, in a decade or so he should have the full 20 million. And considering how ugly this looks right now, I'd rather something happen sooner than later.

The grant is conditional on building the project. He’s not pocketing this money.