PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread X

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by 700 Level

Thanks for the input, Orlando. But on an unrelated topic: I haven't been on the internet much since the 1990's. I find it slow, and my phone connection is generally unreliable. I don't think this internet thing is going to catch on.

Obviously, you haven't yet upgraded from a 28K to a 56K dial-up modem, or switched your browser over to Netscape Navigator. (Some people just REFUSE to keep up with the times! )

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

The most comparable city in the US to Philadelphia is Chicago. They have very similar stories, it’s just that Chicago has (at least since the 20th Century) always been a little bit bigger.

They have most of the same issues, same benefits, same density, etc. Hell, the L is based off of our never-finished subway system.

I've always felt at home in Chicago for that reason.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Obviously, you haven't yet upgraded from a 28K to a 56K dial-up modem, or switched your browser over to Netscape Navigator. (Some people just REFUSE to keep up with the times! )

London hasn't been the same since the Blitz.

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

London hasn't been the same since the Blitz.

You mean the Blitz has ENDED?????

[kingtut]

Great article from JLL on Philadelphia's Life Sciences .
https://www.us.jll.com/en/views/how-philadelphia-can-maintain-its-status-as-a-new-world-city

[summersm343]

Nerd Street Gamers takes space on North Broad Street in Center City

Nerd Street Gamers has expanded in its hometown and leased 35,000 square feet at 401 N. Broad St. in Philadelphia, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The deal is the latest move for the fast-growing, Philadelphia esports company. Nerd Street raised $10 million earlier this summer and is looking to raise a total of $35 million by the end of the year to support its expansion across the country.

The company is focused on adding more than 100 esports venues called Localhosts in Five Below stores, sports stadiums and college campuses over the next five years. The company so far has locations in Austin, Denver, Los Angeles and in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia and at its home base at 908 N. 3rd St.

The venues provide a space where people can game together for a fee and participate in amateur tournaments. The new location at 401 N. Broad is expected to be another such venue.

Read more here:
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia...cx_testVariant=cx_8&cx_artPos=0#cxrecs_s

[PurpleWhiteOut]

Awesome, hopefully that will help liven up that stretch a bit. I feel like that building has had a sign up for available retail space for a few years now (and nothing before that, I think?)

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by PurpleWhiteOut

Awesome, hopefully that will help liven up that stretch a bit. I feel like that building has had a sign up for available retail space for a few years now (and nothing before that, I think?)

I thought it was a server farm?

[PurpleWhiteOut]

It is. It looks like they've had space available on the first floor, though. They've had retail signs up since 2018. Before that maybe they were using the space for server uses. It'd be good to get some street level activation there though. It's kind of a gap between the Hanover apartments and the rail park. Might make the Noble st project more attractive too, if that's still happening (can't remember)

[Urbanthusiat]

Originally Posted by PurpleWhiteOut

It is. It looks like they've had space available on the first floor, though. They've had retail signs up since 2018. Before that maybe they were using the space for server uses. It'd be good to get some street level activation there though. It's kind of a gap between the Hanover apartments and the rail park. Might make the Noble st project more attractive too, if that's still happening (can't remember)

Should still be happening. Atlas says Toll closed on the land in June and it's an OZ deal, meaning they'll have had money set aside in a separate fund for the project. Figure if it was going to be a covid casualty they wouldn't have closed in June. So between this, that, and the rail park, that spot will be way more activated in a few years.

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by PurpleWhiteOut

It is. It looks like they've had space available on the first floor, though. They've had retail signs up since 2018. Before that maybe they were using the space for server uses. It'd be good to get some street level activation there though. It's kind of a gap between the Hanover apartments and the rail park. Might make the Noble st project more attractive too, if that's still happening (can't remember)

Ok thanks! Yes having something on the first floor here would make a huge difference.

[Radio5]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

The most comparable city in the US to Philadelphia is Chicago. They have very similar stories, it’s just that Chicago has (at least since the 20th Century) always been a little bit bigger.

They have most of the same issues, same benefits, same density, etc. Hell, the L is based off of our never-finished subway system.

I guess, but I don't think the only difference is size. I lived in both cities. Chicago's beautification of the city is on a scale unseen even in New York. The parks, the streets, the architecture. It's grand, it's clean, and livable. Even the southside's parks. I don't see/feel that in Philly. Philly is charming, whereas Chicago is aspirational. Chicago always wanted to be better than New York, so it had to act that way. Philly never seemed to care as much, for better or for worse. My two cents.

[Larry King]

Originally Posted by Radio5

I guess, but I don't think the only difference is size. I lived in both cities. Chicago's beautification of the city is on a scale unseen even in New York. The parks, the streets, the architecture. It's grand, it's clean, and livable. Even the southside's parks. I don't see/feel that in Philly. Philly is charming, whereas Chicago is aspirational. Chicago always wanted to be better than New York, so it had to act that way. Philly never seemed to care as much, for better or for worse. My two cents.

I agree, our most comparable cities are Boston, Baltimore and Montreal.

[McBane]

Originally Posted by Radio5

I guess, but I don't think the only difference is size. I lived in both cities. Chicago's beautification of the city is on a scale unseen even in New York. The parks, the streets, the architecture. It's grand, it's clean, and livable. Even the southside's parks. I don't see/feel that in Philly. Philly is charming, whereas Chicago is aspirational. Chicago always wanted to be better than New York, so it had to act that way. Philly never seemed to care as much, for better or for worse. My two cents.

Well said and I agree 100%.

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by Larry King

I agree, our most comparable cities are Boston, Baltimore and Montreal.

Baltimore? Nah, much smaller and Baltimore is in a unique situation being completely independent.

[wally]

Originally Posted by Radio5

I guess, but I don't think the only difference is size. I lived in both cities. Chicago's beautification of the city is on a scale unseen even in New York. The parks, the streets, the architecture. It's grand, it's clean, and livable. Even the southside's parks. I don't see/feel that in Philly. Philly is charming, whereas Chicago is aspirational. Chicago always wanted to be better than New York, so it had to act that way. Philly never seemed to care as much, for better or for worse. My two cents.

Chicago does have a different feel. Monumental is a pretty good way to describe it. Along with that, I’d say it feels more diffuse. Chicago is a midwestern city. I grew up in the Midwest. Travel across the region, and you can get a sense of the similarities between those cities and how they differ from the older East Coast cities. Chicago feels a lot like St. Louis or Cleveland (also on a lake)but a lot bigger. Time and geography all play into it.

Philadelphia is a older east coast city. It does feel more intimate. You can feel the city around you in a way that’s very different than a Midwestern city. I know that some people want to place absolute values on these features, but I don’t think that’s right. One person’s intimate is another person’s crowded. One person’s grand and monumental is another person’s impersonal and sterile. My dad is a lifelong Midwesterner, and he gets claustrophobic in Philly (NYC? fuggetaboutit). I came to Philadelphia and instantly loved it.

Also, saying that Philly never “wanted” to be better than NYC doesn’t make much sense to me. I think it reduces history and context too much.

I like Chicago and appreciate it for what it is and offers, but I prefer Philadelphia.

[TK2001]

2019 and 2025

[PHL10]

^^^^ Really cool! It shows that the latest round of development, while nothing may be over 600ft, it's adding significant density to the existing skyline.

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by EastSideHBG

Baltimore? Nah, much smaller and Baltimore is in a unique situation being completely independent.

Baltimore is a smaller city, but that isn't really relevant if you're kicking around in one their rowhouse neighborhoods which are so similar to Philly's.

Saying that two cities are similar could mean different things, but if you're talking about overall look and feel, basically you're asking could one be confused for the other?

If I blindfolded you, dropped you off in a city stripped of street signs and told you that you were in Philly, how long before you figured out you weren't? I don't think there's any city in America where that exercise could last nearly as long as it would in Baltimore.

The only other cities in America imo that could reasonably pull this off for any significant length of time are Boston and NYC, but I don't think they feel nearly as similar as Baltimore.

Honestly baffled by the Chicago comparison. Granted I've spent considerably less time there than Boston, NYC, and Baltimore, so maybe there are neighborhoods that have more of a philly feel. But I explored the city pretty extensively on my limited trips there and never really got a Philly vibe at all.

Chicago is the king of Midwest cities, but it's still a Midwest city and thus doesn't really feel at all like Philly, which to me has a vibe closer to some European cities even than Chicago.

[Frontst17]

Agreed Chicago feels very different than philly. It powered the Midwest/west for most of the 20th century, we’ll into the age when philly and NY began steep declines. The city and suburbs were built on new money, certainly with a NY sized chip on their shoulders. Chicago doesn’t have a “lived in” cbd like philly, NY. Baltimore maybe Allentown are the closest to feel which makes Philly unique being significantly larger than either of those. Boston even is very different once you leave the small historic core. Places like philly and Baltimore have almost be left to themselves for decades and have a more organic feel.