PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread X

[Milksteak]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

The below is a pretty big deal...big pharma planting a flag at Market East. 25k of space, over 100 desks. Maybe others will follow suit.

Merck to open outpost at Center City WeWork, as big companies see coworking as a passage into Philly

https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/com...ate-coworking-corporations-20200211.html

Very interesting. Big pharma has been a suburban scene for just about forever. I also don't see Merck being a long term WeWork kind of company, this is likely a test to see what they can accomplish in the city and could very well be a catalyst for things to come.

[Frontst17]

If I’m not mistaken Merck is splitting it’s operations into a spin-off company. This could be a new approach to keep them relevant with younger urban populations

[PurpleWhiteOut]

Plus there's so much biotech and pharma moving in, so I'm happy to see they've taken notice. With all the huge University City projects, maybe they'll be interested in that one day. They're missing out on a lot of young STEM grads who want to stay in Philly without doing the commute.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

The below is a pretty big deal...big pharma planting a flag at Market East. 25k of space, over 100 desks. Maybe others will follow suit.

Merck to open outpost at Center City WeWork, as big companies see coworking as a passage into Philly

https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/com...ate-coworking-corporations-20200211.html

Just a correction - it's over *200* desks - according to the article.

For whatever reason there seemed to be this feeling that research lab space required a sprawling suburban setting. But with so much new lab and research space being built in the city - CHOP's new research skyscrapers among them - perhaps the paradigm is shifting a bit and Big Pharma is slowly starting to notice.

[iheartphilly]

I can see a domino effect with big pharma and the biotech scene...the pieces are in place like research and commercialization and the arm's reach of the universities. It just needs to be realized, which seems like that is what's going on...

Philly will be able to claim this decades as it own...we are on the upward trajectory...

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by Londonee

Just a correction - it's over *200* desks - according to the article.

For whatever reason there seemed to be this feeling that research lab space required a sprawling suburban setting. But with so much new lab and research space being built in the city - CHOP's new research skyscrapers among them - perhaps the paradigm is shifting a bit and Big Pharma is slowly starting to notice.

my bad...I think i was reading the article like at 4am in the morning without my reading glasses lol...and then going on SSP to cite it...

nonetheless, >200 desks equals >200 personnel...that not bad at all...big win in my book. wonder if they will put a merck nameplate anywhere in or on the bldg or be discreet about it.

[UrbanRevival]

Originally Posted by Londonee

Just a correction - it's over *200* desks - according to the article.

Even better still, Merck's own website cites space for over *300* employees:

Through a partnership with WeWork, we currently have flexible workspaces in Philadelphia and Boston. The experiment is going so well that next year, our company plans to open flexible workspaces in London and other major cities, while expanding to a new location in Philadelphia with space for more than 300 employees.

https://www.merck.com/about/featured-sto...aces-are-redefining-the-way-we-work.html

Sharing a distinction with London and Boston is pretty good company, too, I'd say.

[Nova08]

More details about Merck's flex space strategy on their website.
https://www.merck.com/about/featured-sto...aces-are-redefining-the-way-we-work.html

Through a partnership with WeWork, we currently have flexible workspaces in Philadelphia and Boston. The experiment is going so well that next year, our company plans to open flexible workspaces in London and other major cities, while expanding to a new location in Philadelphia with space for more than 300 employees.

[Nova08]

Originally Posted by UrbanRevival

Even better still, Merck's own website cites space for over *300* employees:



https://www.merck.com/about/featured-sto...aces-are-redefining-the-way-we-work.html

Sharing a distinction with London and Boston is pretty good company, too, I'd say.

Ah, you beat me to it by 4 minutes

[PhilliesPhan]

12 stories?! Looks like we've got ourselves a proposed highrise at 5th and Spring Garden!

http://www.rising.realestate/12-story-38...go59mIX4BwNGWbdFSsFp9dexXOB3ElC79gYRyHNg

[PurpleWhiteOut]

Awesome! That strip of Spring Garden needs a lot of work, and it's well located.

[SEFTA]

Can't wait to see some renderings. I believe this area is going to boom. It has a huge future.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

12 stories?! Looks like we've got ourselves a proposed highrise at 5th and Spring Garden!

http://www.rising.realestate/12-story-38...go59mIX4BwNGWbdFSsFp9dexXOB3ElC79gYRyHNg

Super good news. This is one of the (many) psychological barriers that makes NoLibs feel more separate from Center City and Callowhill than it really is.

You rarely see people walking west on Spring Garden. Hopefully this, Yards, The Target, Target apartment building, etc start to close that gap.

I hope it's a big player with deep pockets so it just gets done.

[tsarstruck]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

12 stories?! Looks like we've got ourselves a proposed highrise at 5th and Spring Garden!

http://www.rising.realestate/12-story-38...go59mIX4BwNGWbdFSsFp9dexXOB3ElC79gYRyHNg

I heard a credible rumor that Amazon had signed a lease to open an Amazon branded grocery store (one of their new concepts ones, not a Whole Foods) at Fifth and Spring Garden. Seems conceivable that this is the location.

[acenturi]

Originally Posted by tsarstruck

I heard a credible rumor that Amazon had signed a lease to open an Amazon branded grocery store (one of their new concepts ones, not a Whole Foods) at Fifth and Spring Garden. Seems conceivable that this is the location.

Assume it's this one, previously identified: https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/11/20959459/amazon-grocery-store-chain-los-angeles-woodland-hills

[reparcsyks]

Originally Posted by acenturi

Assume it's this one, previously identified: https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/11/20959459/amazon-grocery-store-chain-los-angeles-woodland-hills

Demo'ing that shitty structure has been a fantasy of mine since the 90s. I hope I live long enough to see it demo'd and replaced by a 12-story building. It will be transformative.

[tsarstruck]

Originally Posted by acenturi

Assume it's this one, previously identified: https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/11/20959459/amazon-grocery-store-chain-los-angeles-woodland-hills

Yep.

[Redddog]

This will be one of the more satisfying transformations in the city. That crappy strip mall isn't the only one that needs to go but it's a bad one for sure. With Yards and Target, that area is really shaping up!

[iheartphilly]

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia...-society-hill-site-moves-ahead-with.html

LCOR closes on Society Hill site, moves ahead with plans for 31-story tower

Article behind paywall so I don't have details of the article.

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia...-society-hill-site-moves-ahead-with.html

LCOR closes on Society Hill site, moves ahead with plans for 31-story tower

Article behind paywall so I don't have details of the article.

You can bypass PBJ still by hitting stop on your browser when its loading.

I think the important paragraphs are this:

The proposed apartment tower has been tied up in litigation, though LCOR Senior Vice President Pete DiLullo III said in an email the company is moving ahead with construction drawings. The development, which would have 272 apartments, has been met with fierce resistance from community groups for its size, traffic concerns, design and potential to block views.

The Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment last year denied a request by the Society Hill Civic Association and Society Hill Towers Owners Association to halt what is a by-right project. The property is zoned CMX-3, which allows for mixed-use development.

As a result of the board’s decision, Society Hill Towers went forward with a lawsuit in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas to stop the project only to have the court rule in favor of LCOR last fall. The court affirmed LCOR's as-of-right zoning permit as well as the zoning board of adjustment's denial of the permit's appeal. Society Hill Towers has appealed that ruling to Commonwealth Court.

“The zoning process is going as anticipated,” DiLullo said.

Advocates of preserving Society Hill and limiting development in the Philadelphia neighborhood were delivered a setback at the end of last year when Mayor Jim Kenney used his authority under what is called a pocket veto to essentially kill legislation proposed for the neighborhood. The bills were introduced by Councilman Mark Squilla and would have made it more difficult to develop affordable housing in the neighborhood, limited the height of new buildings and implemented new parking requirements on new construction. Squilla has since reintroduced those bills.