PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[UrbanRevival]

Thought this would be worthwhile news to share/discuss. It will be interesting to see how the projected increase in the supply-chain capacity has an effect on Philly's corporate presence.

The Next Global Logistics Hubs

Philadelphia, Miami and Seattle are poised to join the ranks of global logistics hubs, according to a report from real-estate brokerage CBRE Inc.

The U.S. cities were among 20 global metropolises identified by the firm as primed to become “major players in the network for global trade” over the next decade.

Emerging logistics centers benefit from infrastructure investment, pro-trade policies and direct connections to both manufacturing centers and growing populations of consumers, said David Egan, CBRE’s head of U.S. industrial research. Companies flock to cities with these traits, part of a global “hub and spoke” system for manufacturing supply chains and distribution networks.

“These places tend to cluster around major transportation hubs, major ports, major manufacturing and major consumption,” Mr. Egan said. “They’re places where cargo and people come together.”

In addition to the U.S. cities named, CBRE singled out Berlin, Amsterdam, Busan, South Korea and Suzhou, China, among others.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-next-global-logistics-hubs-1447969941

[Larry King]

Originally Posted by TallCoolOne

Hey I'm a huuuge pro-pro-Philly guy. In fact, I often feel like I'm a PR person for the City when talking to friends, work ppl, etc etc. Don't take my comment above as negative, I'm pro. That stated, NYC and Chicago is way different, have to be honest. Also, they had a gigantic head start w/ building tall (like 50+ years!).

Just completely different cities. We have smaller street and smaller lot sizes, not a bad thing

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by Larry King

Just completely different cities. We have smaller street and smaller lot sizes, not a bad thing

Yup. Apples and Oranges. Nothing "negadelphian" about that.

[Williard Mouse]

Originally Posted by Williard Mouse

Having spent last week in Chicago, I couldn't help but admire the degree of certitude and bravado displayed in the dozens of high-rise projects being developed in the Windy City. Returning to Philly, the projects on our Developments and General Developments forums pale in comparison. An all around lack of confidence seems to be the culprit.

Many of the responses to my observations on Chicago seem to illustrate the problem that potential developers and ourselves have with our city - a lack of confidence. We are starting to sound like the coaches of our losing sports teams at post-game pressers .."Apples an Oranges", "it is what it is", "whatever", "nothing new under the sun", "been that way since...". Lecturing about "Negadelphians" while spewing out the same tired excuses for underperformance is hypocritical and self-defeating. I agree with acenturi 's remarks that we need to be more like Pittsburghers -Chicagoans are. Hopefully, UrbanRevival's news about Philly as an emerging Global Logistics Hub will provide the impetus we need to broaden our horizons and no longer be the "City of lowered expectations".

[iheartphilly]

The folks on this forum have high expectations of developers on new projects under construction or in the pipeline. We criticize bad design in every shape, size and form when warranted. That being said, we also recognize and applaud projects like the FMC tower, CITC, 500 Walnut, and One Riverside which are high quality all around and would fit in any other big cities known for skyscrapers. I think we have a healthy balance in attitude on this issue. Philly is certainly holding its own at this point in time. As an optimist, our trajectory for bigger and bolder projects will continue and will certainly be dependent on the wealth and business attraction factors.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by Williard Mouse

Many of the responses to my observations on Chicago seem to illustrate the problem that potential developers and ourselves have with our city - a lack of confidence. We are starting to sound like the coaches of our losing sports teams at post-game pressers .."Apples an Oranges", "it is what it is", "whatever", "nothing new under the sun", "been that way since...". Lecturing about "Negadelphians" while spewing out the same tired excuses for underperformance is hypocritical and self-defeating. I agree with acenturi 's remarks that we need to be more like Pittsburghers -Chicagoans are. Hopefully, UrbanRevival's news about Philly as an emerging Global Logistics Hub will provide the impetus we need to broaden our horizons and no longer be the "City of lowered expectations".

If it makes you feel good to accuse others of a lack of confidence when they don't need the Sears Tower to validate the worth of their city, go right ahead. It's not lowering expectations to expect Philadelphia to become an even greater city ITS OWN WAY and not need to compare to other cities. I don't want Philly to be the next New York or Chicago. I could just move there and experience the real thing (and have spent quite a bit of time in both). They are unique places, and so is Philadelphia. Exactly how is it pro-Philly to tell us we should be more like Pittsburghers or anyone else?

[Knight Hospitaller]

To continue my thoughts, it is precisely things like the global logistics hub opportunity, or World Heritage status, that really matter. Being competitive economically and taking advantage of what makes this city unique will create the conditions that increase development. If we make Philadelphia a great place to do business and restore it its status as a "headquarters" town (besides Comcast), we might just get to look more like Chicago, if that's what floats your boat. There are plenty of cities that aspire to be just like all the rest -- and they look like it too.

[iheartphilly]

Right...mark my words, developing a substantial amount of acreage or all 200 acres of Southport will be a game changer for Philly. This will certainly help continue the construction boom.

[BenKatzPhillytoParis]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

It would help if we had a robust financial sector here in Philly. Part of the reason why our skyline doesn't look like Chicago or NYC. Unfortunately, Philly is not one of the major epicenter for stocks, bonds, or other derivative trading. And the collateral white collar office jobs associated with them.

Not entirely true. PHLX is 3rd biggest options' trading in North America. Also, we do have a lot of finance, but it is concentrated in the suburbs. Due to the generational concentration of wealth, this industry is most likely not a leading indicator. So perhaps, like other sectors, more jobs will migrate downtown in the future.

[summersm343]

Southern Land to pull demo permit on Rittenhouse Square property

Southern Land Co., the developer of a proposed mixed-use property along the 1900 block of Walnut St. in Center City, has withdrawn an application to raze buildings on its site.

The company said in a statement that it will retain the Rittenhouse Coffee Shop after meeting with representatives from the Preservation Alliance and the Center City Residents’ Association. Applications for the Warwick apartment building and Oliver Bair funeral home will remain in place, the developer said.

“ Since acquiring the properties in February, Southern Land has met with many important stakeholders as part of our mission to engage the community and create a vibrant project that will bring life back to a long vacant property at an iconic location,” the company said. “During these discussions, CEO Tim Downey and Development Director Dustin Downey repeated their desire to develop the coffee shop property and retain its most important elements. The withdrawal of the coffee shop application reflects this commitment. The firm looks forward to presenting a plan that will balance preservation ideals with economic feasibility.”
The company said it will continue to work with interested parties as it finalizes its plans for the high-profile parcel that overlooks Rittenhouse Square.

Southern Land bought the site in February and anticipates constructing a tower with condominiums and apartments as well as retail space. The company still is working out what the split would be between the units. Retail will cover two or three levels and face Walnut and Sansom streets.

It’s a project that Tim Downey said in an earlier interview that it may be "the most exciting project we may do in my lifetime. Spots like that don’t come by but once in a lifetime. We’re so worried about how beautiful it is that we keep tweaking and working on it. At some point, I have to let go of it.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...emo-permit-rittnhouse-walnut-coffee.html

[Cro Burnham]

Originally Posted by UrbanRevival

Thought this would be worthwhile news to share/discuss. It will be interesting to see how the projected increase in the supply-chain capacity has an effect on Philly's corporate presence.

The Next Global Logistics Hubs



http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-next-global-logistics-hubs-1447969941

Exciting to be considered a top 20 international prospect in something.

[Cro Burnham]

Originally Posted by BenKatzPhillytoParis

Not entirely true. PHLX is 3rd biggest options' trading in North America. Also, we do have a lot of finance, but it is concentrated in the suburbs. Due to the generational concentration of wealth, this industry is most likely not a leading indicator. So perhaps, like other sectors, more jobs will migrate downtown in the future.

And Vanguard, of course, is one of the largest, most important and most stable financial institutions in the world. If only it were in Center City. Sigh.

[Outta here]

Summers , you are stating a report that has apparently swapped out a
525 ft. tower for a vacant lot and a coffee shop ????..... SHIT .

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by Cro Burnham

And Vanguard, of course, is one of the largest, most important and most stable financial institutions in the world. If only it were in Center City. Sigh.

Nah, Vanguard has like 14k employees spread throughout US and abroad. Probably several thousand in Malvern. Getting Vanguard in the city from Malvern would net 1 or 2 supertalls to house all of its employees and its own trading floors. Cira Center had a small financial firm but it does its derivative trading though a subsidary in NYC. Someone I know ran that for them and would come down from NYC to pitch to the CEO and President.

@BenKatz, PHLX had over 300 employees and dwindle down to over half recently. The numbers probably didn't tick up that much more.

NYC alone has over 350K jobs in the financial sector at my last count. Don't have Chicago's stat in my head but less than NYC but significantly more than us.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by Outta here

Summers , you are stating a report that has apparently swapped out a
525 ft. tower for a vacant lot and a coffee shop ????..... SHIT .

Naw, that's not at all what the article states.

[Macedonia is Greek]

Originally Posted by allovertown

I don't exactly disagree, but I think it's absolutely a mistake to simply dismiss the idea without fully exploring it. The problems you mention with hosting the Olympics are well founded, but as you admit there are some success stories and I've always felt that Philadelphia is really the only American city that would make any sense to host the Olympics, at least in the sense that there is at least scenario in which this city would greatly benefit from hosting the Olympics. There are 3 main reasons.

1. Philadelphia's wealth of existing sports infrastructure - Clearly the most pointless waste of money that goes into Olympic Spending is the stadiums and other like infrastructure which often becomes pointless once the games leave. But Philadelphia, with a wealth of high end stadiums and arenas (which the public has already paid for at great expense) could reduce waste in this regard like few American cities could. A new stadium for Temple (especially if they went with Mappy's plan, which I really like) only further enforces this point.

2. International Exposure - In a sort of tangential way, I actually work in the tourism industry here in Philadelphia. Most Americans have no idea that Philly is this country's 5th largest city and is as big and amazing as it is. Internationally, most people don't even know Philadelphia exists. Philadelphia is a city that could stand to get some exposure on the international level. Much like Barcelona in this regard, having the Olympics could boost our international tourism for decades to come. It really wouldn't be a hard sell. Millions and millions of tourists already come to America and visit NYC and then travel south to DC. How hard would it really be to convince them to stop and spend some of their time here in Philly.

I can't tell you how many times I've talked to travelers who planned a vacation to east coast of America that involves spending a few days in Boston, NYC and DC and short trips of a few hours in Philadelphia and other stops along the way. Nearly every one of those travelers I've encountered finishes their time in Philly and wished they planned for much more time here. Most can't believe that Philly is larger than Boston considering it has so much more international prestige and most who went to Boston primarily for the history often come away far more impressed with the history you can find here. Getting a few weeks to remind the world that Philadelphia is the birthplace of modern democracy and showing off our city on a global stage would be huge.

3. Pushing forward needed transportation and infrastructure projects - The first two points are nice and all, but perhaps still not worth the effort and expense that goes into hosting the Olympics. This final point is what puts it over the top. If Philadelphia hosts the Olympics we will be forced, absolutely forced to make some upgrades to our transportation infrastructure that have been overdue for decades. New light rail lines, extended subways, etc, the Olympics would like bring all of this and more, not to mention the incredible amount of work that would go into the general beautification of the city.

Now in a perfect world... scratch that... in a country more dedicated to public transit, we wouldn't need to host the olympics in order to make these types of moves. But in the reality we live in with a still criminally underfunded SEPTA, any expansion to our transit infrastructure is largely a pipe dream. Hosting the Olympics will force us to spend money on things that we should be spending money on anyway and will greatly benefit this city in the long term.


If I'm a betting man, let's be honest, hosting the Olympics would likely be a boondoggle for Philadelphia. But Philadelphia also has the very real ability to use hosting the Olympics to really improve this city. I think it's something to seriously consider and not just dismiss outright because the Olympics have failed elsewhere.

Philadelphia should actively go after the Olympics and your reasons are very solid and I just want to add some more . The Olympics will not just have events during the games . We would have events going on for the four years prior to the games and the four years after the games .imagine what the penn relays will end up like ? Also it would give us the international spot light that we are missing . As you mentioned and I think it will actually makes us in to an amazing destination with all the info structure and subway extensions and Olympic village that would be built . Because when the games are done I think philly would greatly benefit from a whole new neighborhood there would be so many things we could do with it . And if it where up to me it would be east of the navy yard . So the Olympics is a must for us not even a conversation . It will push us ahead of cities that think they are as good as us. When they are clearly not . But this is what makes the difference .

[Williard Mouse]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

If it makes you feel good to accuse others of a lack of confidence when they don't need the Sears Tower to validate the worth of their city, go right ahead. It's not lowering expectations to expect Philadelphia to become an even greater city ITS OWN WAY and not need to compare to other cities. I don't want Philly to be the next New York or Chicago. I could just move there and experience the real thing (and have spent quite a bit of time in both). They are unique places, and so is Philadelphia. Exactly how is it pro-Philly to tell us we should be more like Pittsburghers or anyone else?

Perhaps you are right. A "Volvo" is not a Rolls Royce, University of Pennsylvania is not Harvard or Yale, and Philadelphia is not NYC or Chicago. My condolences.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by Williard Mouse

Perhaps you are right. A "Volvo" is not a Rolls Royce, University of Pennsylvania is not Harvard or Yale, and Philadelphia is not NYC or Chicago. My condolences.

Your problem is that you think condolences (and comparisons) are necessary. I drive a Volvo, went to Penn and live in the Philadelphia area. I'm happy. Why aren't you? Probably because you feel the need to measure your city against others. You're the one who thinks Philly falls short, not me.

[SJPhillyBoy]

Originally Posted by Williard Mouse

Perhaps you are right. A "Volvo" is not a Rolls Royce, University of Pennsylvania is not Harvard or Yale, and Philadelphia is not NYC or Chicago. My condolences.

Seriously? University of Penn is a top 10 university and Wharton is considered the #1 business school in the world. How many cities can boast that? University City is exploding with billions of dollars of new and modern construction that will make it an even more world class location.
Princeton University, which is only a stones throw from Philadelphia (30-40 minutes), is consistently ranked better than Harvard or Yale and most times is the #1 ranked university in the world.

We are not inferior.
You are blind, my condolences to you.

[SJPhillyBoy]

Originally Posted by Williard Mouse

Perhaps you are right. A "Volvo" is not a Rolls Royce, University of Pennsylvania is not Harvard or Yale, and Philadelphia is not NYC or Chicago. My condolences.

Did I forget to mention that Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is consistently ranked as the #1 children's hospital in the United States?
My condolences to you and the rest of the nation.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/bes...ospitals-2015-16-honor-roll-and-overview

How many cities can boast that?

And CHOP is going on a major construction boom itself.