PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread IX

[summersm343]

Took a bunch of photos yesterday and uploaded them today. Enjoy

[Philly-Drew]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Took a bunch of photos yesterday and uploaded them today. Enjoy

Great job summers!! Thanks a ton!

[jjv007]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Took a bunch of photos yesterday and uploaded them today. Enjoy

Went through all of them. Thanks for your efforts!

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by Larry King

I bet he picks up the dilworth site on Washington square

If he doesn't go with that neighborhood, despite praising it, I could see him taking out a parking lot in the Rittenhouse area like this one:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9458818,...5s20161001T000000!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

On Pine off of 16th. Maybe buying and demolishing the residence next store for a larger lot. Shouldn't be too much opposition from the neighbors across the street who are now across from a parking lot and stair at a black one. This would be similar to the townhomes across from 500 Walnut and what he did with 1706 Rittenhouse. Perhaps a little further for a Square than his last two projects, but it is still pretty close to Rittenhouse Square. And the Kimmel Center, Academy of Music, a revitalizing Broad Street, etc...

Or maybe this one closer to the Square at 17th and Pine: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9461793,...YBA!2e0!5s20161001T000000!7i13312!8i6656 But this is a bigger lot. Maybe with a nice ground floor garden area like 1706 Rittenhouse. Or only taking part of the lot. There is still a parking lot next to 1706 Rittenhouse.

[summersm343]

February 2016 to 2017 Job Growth

Philadelphia MSA
2,811,300 to 2,876,300 - +65,000 jobs added

Mining, Logging & Construction - +4,800
Manufacturing - +100
Trade, Transportation & Utilities - +8,500
Information - +0
Financial Activities - +2,100
Professional & Business Services - +7,900
Educational & Health Services - +29,400
Leisure & Hospitality - +6,400
Other Services - +1,900
Government - +3,900

Philadelphia City
690,100 to 712,500 - +22,400 jobs added

Mining, Logging & Construction - +200
Manufacturing - -300
Trade, Transportation & Utilities - +1,500
Information - +100
Financial Activities - -100
Professional & Business Services - +2,600
Educational & Health Services - +11,900
Leisure & Hospitality - +4,100
Other Services - +700
Government - +1,700

https://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/data/xg-tables/ro3fx9532.htm
https://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/data/xg-tables/ro3fx9527.htm

[Urbanthusiat]

^^ That's 2.3% job growth in a single year for the metro, and 3.2% for the city. Those are fantastic numbers.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

^^ That's 2.3% job growth in a single year for the metro, and 3.2% for the city. Those are fantastic numbers.

Absolutely. The percentage growth was pretty close between 2015 and 2016 as well... this leads me to believe that the census is seriously underestimating the city of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia region as a whole when it comes to the population growth. There is no other way to explain it.

[TechTalkGuy]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Absolutely. The percentage growth was pretty close between 2015 and 2016 as well... this leads me to believe that the census is seriously underestimating the city of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia region as a whole when it comes to the population growth. There is no other way to explain it.

That's great news!
That means that people are not moving out to larger cities.

I recall years back in shock at the fact that you had people moving from Philly to NYC (Brooklyn in particular) and on the flip side, people moving out of Brooklyn to the Poconos and Philly (Center City in particular).
I have always seen some sort of balance between Philly and NYC (especially since commuting is pretty common between the two cities), where people working in Manhattan commute from Philly.
It's as if to say that Philly is a more livable city, yet has the same rush-hour gridlocks you get everywhere else.

Having said all of that, I am very hopeful for the tremendous skyscraper growth coming to the Schuylkill Yards, 30th Street and beyond.

My question for city residents here on SSP is: Do you see the growth across the Schuylkill as a 2nd skyline or as THE skyline extended?

Personally, I see it as an extended skyline, especially since I enjoyed educational opportunities in the Drexel area years back.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by TechTalkGuy

That's great news!
That means that people are not moving out to larger cities.

I recall years back in shock at the fact that you had people moving from Philly to NYC (Brooklyn in particular) and on the flip side, people moving out of Brooklyn to the Poconos and Philly (Center City in particular).
I have always seen some sort of balance between Philly and NYC (especially since commuting is pretty common between the two cities), where people working in Manhattan commute from Philly.
It's as if to say that Philly is a more livable city, yet has the same rush-hour gridlocks you get everywhere else.

Having said all of that, I am very hopeful for the tremendous skyscraper growth coming to the Schuylkill Yards, 30th Street and beyond.

My question for city residents here on SSP is: Do you see the growth across the Schuylkill as a 2nd skyline or as THE skyline extended?

Personally, I see it as an extended skyline, especially since I enjoyed educational opportunities in the Drexel area years back.

I see it to as close as Philly will get to an NYC Midtown-Financial district divide.

[TechTalkGuy]

The fact that it took 20 years to build 3 skyscrapers near 30th Street is astonishing.
I expected allot more towers in that timeframe.

Imagine having to wait another 20 years to see the full extent of towers being planned for 30th Street and the Schuylkill Yards?
I'm fine with waiting for a beautiful skyline extension, but sadly, adding another 20 years means that I've been waiting for 40 years.

I'll be in retirement by the time we get the full skyline treatment.
My only hope is for Comcast to continue growing the skyline at the record pace it's been experiencing.

[jjv007]

Originally Posted by TechTalkGuy

The fact that it took 20 years to build 3 skyscrapers near 30th Street is astonishing.
I expected allot more towers in that timeframe.

Imagine having to wait another 20 years to see the full extent of towers being planned for 30th Street and the Schuylkill Yards?
I'm fine with waiting for a beautiful skyline extension, but sadly, adding another 20 years means that I've been waiting for 40 years.

I'll be in retirement by the time we get the full skyline treatment.
My only hope is for Comcast to continue growing the skyline at the record pace it's been experiencing.

Haha the key to rapid progress and an accelerated skyline if that's what you hope for is not based on individual companies or projects but on a successful market as a whole. Comcast or Schuylkill Yards will still only have a project or two going on at a time even if they come to fruition. If Philly gets its act together, then all our squabblings on a project here and there will seem parochial. Cities like Boston, Chicago, and Seattle all have several dozen cranes up for projects under construction and many more proposed. We have how many? Maybe 10? Sure that's good if you wanna see Philly as Rust Belt and compare with Detroit or St. Louis but if you wanna compare to a higher standard that's not cutting it. Worrying about the pace of Schuylkill Yards or Comcast won't really matter in a thriving market coz it will take care of itself, first off, and second, when you're having so many projects constantly proposed, you don't have to dwell so much on whether any individual one will make the cut or not.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by jjv007

Haha the key to rapid progress and an accelerated skyline if that's what you hope for is not based on individual companies or projects but on a successful market as a whole. Comcast or Schuylkill Yards will still only have a project or two going on at a time even if they come to fruition. If Philly gets its act together, then all our squabblings on a project here and there will seem parochial. Cities like Boston, Chicago, and Seattle all have several dozen cranes up for projects under construction and many more proposed. We have how many? Maybe 10? Sure that's good if you wanna see Philly as Rust Belt and compare with Detroit or St. Louis but if you wanna compare to a higher standard that's not cutting it. Worrying about the pace of Schuylkill Yards or Comcast won't really matter in a thriving market coz it will take care of itself, first off, and second, when you're having so many projects constantly proposed, you don't have to dwell so much on whether any individual one will make the cut or not.

They are one in the same thing. However, it's not really Comcast's success we need, which will only drive a small bit of additional development (by all accounts several more additional shorter towers in the vicinity of its first two per its plans). We need a couple other big, successful companies. What do you think makes for a thriving market? All of the cities you name have more and generally more successful Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies than us (though we fare somewhat better when you add the Philadelphia metro area). Residential development can only take you so far.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by TechTalkGuy

The fact that it took 20 years to build 3 skyscrapers near 30th Street is astonishing.
I expected allot more towers in that timeframe.

Presumably you are talking about the Cira developments. Cira Center was first announced in 2002. Using that date, it’s three buildings (one 700 footer and two 400 footers) in 15 years, one every 5 years. Why is that pace bad (especially considering the terrible economy smack in the middle of that period)?

[Urbanthusiat]

NY developer Durst buys Dave & Buster's, Morgan's piers with eye toward apartments

One of New York’s most established real estate companies has bought an assemblage of piers along the Delaware River for eventual development into an apartment complex, vindicating efforts to spur private investment on the Philadelphia waterfront by enlivening in its public spaces.

The Durst Organization, which counts Manhattan's One World Trade Center and 4 Times Square office buildings among its holdings, bought the four Delaware River piers just north of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge this month from Brandywine Realty Trust for $21.4 million, in what the company said is its first acquisition outside New York state.

The properties, collectively known as the Philadelphia Piers at Penn’s Landing, encompass about 5.3 acres. They are the current sites of waterfront restaurants – Dave & Buster’s, Morgan’s Pier, and Hibachi Japanese Steakhouse – as well as a marina and a parking lot.

In an interview, Alexander Durst, chief development officer, said the company was drawn to the site by its existing public spaces, such as the Race Street Pier, and the long-discussed plans for a park over Interstate 95 that would connect Old City with Penn’s Landing. Last month, those plans received about $190 million in city and state funding commitments.

“There’s quite a bit of potential on that waterfront,” Durst said. “There’s a lot of transformation that may continue to occur from a post-industrial site to something more recreational and residential.”

The company’s plans for apartments at the site are in their very early stages, and it will be years before any work can begin, Durst said. One consideration, he said, is Dave & Buster’s lease, which lasts until at least 2020 on one of the assemblage’s most readily developable piers.

What is interesting to me is that this is yet another disposition by Brandywine for more liquidity. Good for them for selling high, after the Penn's Landing park/cap was announced. That, paired with a new promo video from them I saw on Twitter this morning saying "expect big things from us in 2017" makes me believe, as Summers has noted, that we'll be seeing movement on Schuylkill Yards/Cira II sooner rather than later. It's also nice to see more out-of-town investors choosing assets in Philly.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

NY developer Durst buys Dave & Buster's, Morgan's piers with eye toward apartments



What is interesting to me is that this is yet another disposition by Brandywine for more liquidity. Good for them for selling high, after the Penn's Landing park/cap was announced. That, paired with a new promo video from them I saw on Twitter this morning saying "expect big things from us in 2017" makes me believe, as Summers has noted, that we'll be seeing movement on Schuylkill Yards/Cira II sooner rather than later. It's also nice to see more out-of-town investors choosing assets in Philly.

Another NYC developer coming down here? Awesome!

[jjv007]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

They are one in the same thing. However, it's not really Comcast's success we need, which will only drive a small bit of additional development (by all accounts several more additional shorter towers in the vicinity of its first two per its plans). We need a couple other big, successful companies. What do you think makes for a thriving market? All of the cities you name have more and generally more successful Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies than us (though we fare somewhat better when you add the Philadelphia metro area). Residential development can only take you so far.

Exactly, well stated. New office construction is vital and can only be induced by attracting successful companies. We need more outside of eds, meds, and residential.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

NY developer Durst buys Dave & Buster's, Morgan's piers with eye toward apartments



What is interesting to me is that this is yet another disposition by Brandywine for more liquidity. Good for them for selling high, after the Penn's Landing park/cap was announced. That, paired with a new promo video from them I saw on Twitter this morning saying "expect big things from us in 2017" makes me believe, as Summers has noted, that we'll be seeing movement on Schuylkill Yards/Cira II sooner rather than later. It's also nice to see more out-of-town investors choosing assets in Philly.

Very nice! I would like to see Morgan's Pier and Dave & Buster's stay honestly. They add vibrancy to the waterfront. Hopefully Dave & Buster's will find a new space to lease.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Very nice! I would like to see Morgan's Pier and Dave & Buster's stay honestly. They add vibrancy to the waterfront. Hopefully Dave & Buster's will find a new space to lease.

Although it does, I'd also be happy to see a relocation to East Market. Seems to fit well with the vibe they are shooting for.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by jjv007

Exactly, well stated. New office construction is vital and can only be induced by attracting successful companies. We need more outside of eds, meds, and residential.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

Although it does, I'd also be happy to see a relocation to East Market. Seems to fit well with the vibe they are shooting for.

East Market would work well, or the Penn Treaty development along Canal Street where Revolutions and the Fillmore, etc. are now.