PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[summersm343]

I think we need to be patient to see what the development plan is for 3001 Chestnut. Remember, Spark is leasing 500,000 sq feet. That doesn't mean that's the entire building. All preliminary plans, renderings and massings we've seen for 3001 Chestnut had a very large podium that spans the entire block topped by one or two towers.

I understand these plans were a part of "Schuylkill Yards" and now they're saying this new development is technically not Schuylkill Yards, but whatever. Drexel is the major player in Schuylkill Yards anyways. It's certainly possible they can top the lab space with a residential tower, or with both a residential and hotel tower like the plans always were for this site. So, let's wait to see until the plans are released on what they're planning here.

Examples from what we've seen:

[Urbanthusiat]

Personally I wouldn't be surprised if it's just a massive 8-story box occupying the majority of the site (which would be why they'd distance themselves from the Schuylkill Yards name). But otherwise we'll just have to wait and see.

[summersm343]

Federal infrastructure law allocates more than $30M to Philadelphia International Airport

Philadelphia airports will receive millions in federal aid during fiscal year 2022 stemming from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that Democratic President Joe Biden signed into law on Wednesday.

The City of Philadelphia Division of Aviation has been allocated upward of $30.72 million for Philadelphia International Airport and $763,000 for Northeast Philadelphia Airport under the new law.

PHL will use the funding in part to support its extensive cargo expansion program, according to the travel hub. The airport has already invested $90 million into the initiative by way of airport revenue bonds and small grants.

The initiative, announced in June, will grow PHL’s air cargo facility footprint by 136 acres and more than double its cargo building area from 600,000 square feet to 1.4 million square feet. PHL officials say the cargo expansion program has potential to generate an annual economic impact of $870 million for the region and create as many as 6,000 permanent jobs and about 5,000 annual construction jobs over the course of the project.

The six-figure funding headed to Northeast Philadelphia Airport will go toward supporting “capital development projects that improve the airfield infrastructure,” according to the airport.

Funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for the two Philadelphia airports “will spur a once-in-a-generation investment into these important regional assets,” said Chellie Cameron, CEO at PHL and the city’s Division of Aviation. The money makes “a much-needed down payment to upgrade aging facilities and invest in our future,” she added.

PHL’s restroom modernization initiative is one that the airport may consider applying for such funding, she added. The airport has been updating its 48 sets of passenger-facing restrooms since 2012, and the third phase of the multi-year, multi-million dollar program was completed in July.

Funds received from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will enable PHL to strategically invest in its facility over the next five years, Cameron said. But the airport still has “a significant amount of need onsite from an infrastructure investment standpoint,” she added, and will need additional support from state, federal, and airline stakeholders to complete large-scale projects.

Article behind paywall here:
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia...cx_testVariant=cx_8&cx_artPos=1#cxrecs_s

[summersm343]

Gaggle of New Homes Coming Near Divine Lorraine at 13th & Wallace

Current site:


Site plan:


Read/view more here:
https://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/west-poplar/gaggle-of-new-homes-coming-near-divine-lorraine

[summersm343]

Permits Issued For The Royale At 6910 Ridge Avenue In Roxborough

Current site:


Renderings:






Read/view more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2021/12/permits-...n-roxborough-northwest-philadelphia.html

[PhilliesPhan]

I just passed the former Jimmy G’s Steaks building at the corner of Broad and Ridge, where I noticed a drilling rig actively conducting soil testing. We could see something big at this location soon!

Due to the relatively small lot size, I decided to post the update here rather than the Highrise thread.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Gaggle of New Homes Coming Near Divine Lorraine at 13th & Wallace

Current site:


Site plan:


Read/view more here:
https://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/west-poplar/gaggle-of-new-homes-coming-near-divine-lorraine

Good to see this land developed, but I wish zoning allowed for a more substantial project.

[MAF1968]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Permits Issued For 1611-41 Ruan Street In Frankford

Rendering:


Aerial of current site:


Read/view more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2021/12/permits-...eet-in-frankford-north-philadelphia.html

I would expect to see more developments near the EL stops in Frankford. Bridge/Pratt, Orthodox, and Church. Plenty of land available. On the South East corner of Frankford and Ruan is an old fire house that used to house PAL. I would love to see that get restored and the open lot get developed.

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Wait.

Did Jim Cramer move from Brooklyn to Quakertown and now he's complaining the taxes are too high? His combined city state went from 10%+ to 3.08%.

Your figures are off. Current PA income tax rate is 3.07%. Depending on where he lives in that area there's going to be an additional 1%+ local income tax, $52 emergency tax, property taxes... Not arguing that he should see an overall reduction in taxes with the move but it's not as wide of a gap as you are claiming it to be.

[KDD]

What? Jim Cramer moved to Quakertown and is complaining about taxes? Maybe he has no money left. I look forward to running into him at the Q mart, hopefully in a grape juice stained beater.

[Insoluble]

So first things first, the Cramer article absolutely sucks and he deserves to be ridiculed for writing it. But as a parent in the city, comments like this also leave me scratching my head.

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

Also, I believe that the issue with schools is valid but overblown. The Philadelphia School District was much worse in the 2000s, while I was growing up in the city; however, many schools across the city have made consistent progress. In fact, we're focusing in on the Northwest due to the strength of the schools up there. The fact is that, nowadays, a child in Philadelphia can attend a school that performs just as well as schools in the neighboring townships, but at a discount via lower taxes.

I'm the farthest thing from a negadelphian and am constantly talking up the city to others, but the public school system here is a mess and just hoping it gets better and throwing more money at it aren't doing much to fix it. It's a serious problem that does hold the city back in many ways. Thankfully there are other options for parents, charter schools and private schools. Otherwise we would probably have had to leave the city when we pulled our kid out of what was supposed to be one of the better public elementary schools when it became apparent how bad things were there. The pandemic really exposed a lot of the underlying issues with management etc. to a lot of parents too, and the system has been hemorrhaging students at a faster rate than before.

So I'm a believer that the city is on a huge winning streak and keeps getting better all the time. Like I said, there are other options for parents in the city. But the school district is still holding us back quite a bit and really needs a complete overhaul.

[Philly Fan]

Penn enters agreement to purchase McDonald's on 40th and Walnut streets

Penn is under agreement to purchase the McDonald's located on 40th and Walnut streets at an unspecified future date.

The location will be renovated into a mixed-use office building, Executive Director of Real Estate Ed Datz wrote in an emailed statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian on Dec. 16. The McDonald's will be relocated into the new building.

[iheartphilly]

^
Excellent and about time! This bldg has got to be one of the early designs of a free standing McDonalds. I've seen McDonald's in low and mid-rise buildings so if they want one back, maybe that's an option but hoping for better food choices in the future mixed-use proposal.

[TempleGuy1000]

You guys like to talk about urban politics a lot on here, which is all good because I do think it's all related.

HOWEVER.. I find it surprising how little conversation there has been around actual urban development and zoning issues. Philadelphia City Council seems to have spread the NIMBY bug to nearly every member. In fact, looking at how there has been zero progress on many urbanist projects like Washington Ave., the rampant down zoning going on, the inclusionary zoning law, and more idiotic moves before ending the year's session, I would say good urbanity is about the last priority of city council.

Many people in city government often tout themselves as being 'progressive' while instituting policies that exasperated many of the problems they claim to be trying to 'solve'. For instance, the inclusionary zoning law.

The people that work in city hall are so confused and inept they thought this was an awesome press release to show how good council is:

PHILADELPHIA’S FIRST LARGE-SCALE MANDATORY INCLUSIONARY ZONING LEGISLATION RECEIVES FINAL APPROVAL FROM CITY COUNCIL

Unfortunate timing given the same day a study of NYC's similar policy was published, showing inclusionary zoning being a massive flop.

Where New York City’s Affordable Housing Push Fell Short

In particular, Williams gives special attention to the city’s mandatory inclusionary housing program, a cornerstone of the de Blasio housing agenda. Under the zoning resolution passed by the city in 2016, developers are required to include affordable housing when they’re building new construction or when a neighborhood zoning change enables more residential floor area in a building.

But this law ended up producing only a tiny amount of housing — just 2,065 units, according to the Manhattan Institute’s Eric Kober.

I just really find it unbelievable how stupid it seems most on Philadelphia's city council actually are. I honestly believe if it was up to Cherelle Parker, Helen Gym, and the rest of the goon squad, the only thing that would get built in Philadelphia are million dollar townhouses because nothing else is going to work out financially.

[summersm343]

^^It's pretty rage inducing. This, coupled with the fact that the 10 year tax abatement is being reduced starting January 1st, and a lot less projects are going to pencil out financially. Plus, city council-members trying to downzone areas of the city. Plus, Philadelphia is already an expensive city to build in for the returns these developers see. We're going to see less development because of these changes I think.... which in turn means less tax revenue for the city, less new construction units, and drives housing costs upward. It's also almost like they WANT a lot of the city to remain empty lots, abandoned buildings and blighted.

These people are so short sighted it's not even funny.

[summersm343]

Permits Issued For 37-Unit Mixed-Use Building At 225 West Rittenhouse Street In Germantown

Current site:

Permits have been issued for the construction of a five-story mixed-use building at 225 West Rittenhouse Street in Germantown, Northwest Philadelphia. The structure will span around 40,000 square feet and will feature 37 residential units, commercial space, parking, and full sprinkling. Permits list Designblendz as the designer and TDAK Development & Construction LLC as the contractor. Construction costs are specified at $4.3 million.

Read/view more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2021/12/permits-...n-germantown-northwest-philadelphia.html

[summersm343]

Permits Issued For 42-Unit Residential Building At 879-85 North 40th Street In Belmont

Current site:

Permits have been issued for the construction of a six-story, 42-unit residential building at 879-85 North 40th Street (Parcel C) in Belmont, West Philadelphia. The structure will rise on the east side of the block between Ogden Street and Westminster Avenue. The building will span a footprint of around 6,000 square feet and hold 37,710 square feet of residential space, lending an average of just below 900 square feet per apartment. Permits specify Francesco Zampetti as the designer and Haveerford SQ GC LLC as the contractor. Construction costs are listed at $2 million.

Read more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2021/12/permits-...street-in-belmont-west-philadelphia.html

[summersm343]

Permits Issued For 59-Unit Mixed-Use Building At 1148-62 Frankford Avenue In Fishtown

Current site:


Rendering:


Aerial massing:


Read/view more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2021/12/permits-...kford-avenue-in-fishtown-kensington.html

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Old school mansard McD's are getting few and far between. That one looks like a little alien named Mac might be dancing inside.

[cardeza]

goon squad?? wow. So what is the new claim- that this bill is going to kill development in Philadelphia? I feel like we have heard that a few times in the recent years. No one should be surprised by these things- people in council are not elected by developers.