PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[PHLtoNYC]

Refreshing to see an elected official working hard toward something right!

'We have work to do': Councilmember hopes 2022 is the year Philadelphia sheds its anti-business reputation

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia...lmember-isaiah-thomas-business-2022.html

Longer article, but some snippets...

"Thomas, a Democratic at-large member of City Council, said one of the biggest hurdles Philadelphia must overcome is its anti-business stigma. While that may involve passing legislation to reform burdensome taxes on businesses or ease the process of starting a business, it is changing the perception of Philadelphia — both inside and outside the city — that is guiding Thomas' agenda in 2022."

"In the opening days of 2022, Thomas has been vocal about his intentions to continue working to bring new businesses to Philadelphia and keep local companies from leaving."

"Thomas called Philadelphia "a global city" and said he wants the city's tourism ecosystem to reflect that. In recent years, the city has played host to a papal visit, the NFL Draft and the Democratic National Convention. Philadelphia is currently a finalist to host the 2026 World Cup."

"Thomas said the continuously active and contested discussion around taxes in Philadelphia may see some progress this year. The city finished fiscal 2021 with close to an $80 million budget surplus thanks to federal pandemic relief funding.
"It gives us a little flexibility to be creative," Thomas said. "If there's ever a time to be creative around our tax structure, this is the best time because we have a cushion to be able to help put us in a position to take a little hit at least temporarily in the midst of looking at our tax structure.""

"Thomas said that it's not just about attracting businesses to the city, but cultivating the ones that are already here. The councilmember said that the best way to do that is through financial resources and tax incentives that motivate business owners to open brick-and-mortar spaces and stay in Philadelphia. Thomas said that too often business owners feel like they "hit a ceiling" in Philadelphia and look for growth elsewhere."

[summersm343]

^^Super refreshing to see and hear. Maybe there is hope for Philadelphia yet! Allan Domb may be the ONLY other pro-business councilmember. Isaiah Thomas now makes two, so he may now be the only other councilmember I actually like. There may be one or two more, but the more pro-business councilmembers the better. Philadelphia needs to act NOW to change the tax structure while they can.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Mark in Mount Airy

So here is an instance of someone I consider a relatively anti-development district Council person (Cindy Bass) actually advocating for a developer, and it is not a good look... Sigh. I think the only possible way this ridiculous councilmanic prerogative goes away is it the US Attorney's office steps in and announces it is going to thoroughly investigate councilmembers on development issues 24-7 until the practice goes away.

https://whyy.org/articles/germantown-res...tical-backer-win-a-development-contract/

It's pretty awful and needs to end. Darrell Clarke and Kenyatta Johnson have long been the WORST offenders of councilmanic prerogative.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by summersm343

It's pretty awful and needs to end. Darrell Clarke and Kenyatta Johnson have long been the WORST offenders of councilmanic prerogative.

Good luck getting rid of those two morons.

[summersm343]

Harry Potter would feel right at home at The Cauldron Magical Pub, opening soon in Philadelphia

Cocktail shaker, shot glass, stirrer ... magic wand?

London-based South Jersey native Matthew Cortland and his partners are bringing The Cauldron Magical Pub, a fantasy-theme bar-restaurant inspired by the works of J.K Rowling, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien, to a two-story space at 1305 Locust St. in Washington Square West. It will be the second Cauldron in the United States, after a location that opened in 2019 in New York City.

Target opening is this spring.

The big deal is a ticketed, one-hour-and-45-minute “potion making” cocktail experience (starting at $39.99 a person) for which customers will get a wizard robe and a working magic wand, designed by the London-based company. The wands, based on IoT (Internet of things), have sensors that keep up with the bar tab. This experience starts with a class called Spellcasting 101, during which customers pour a welcome cocktail or a nonalcoholic drink from the mouth of a glittering unicorn. Customers then move to a workstation, equipped with a cast-iron cauldron and instructions for making two drinks.

Cortland had Philadelphia in mind for the second location because his family lives and works in the area, and his first training as a teacher was with Teach for America at Overbrook High School in West Philadelphia. The Locust Street space, whose deal was brokered by Joseph Scarpone of MSC Retail, previously was Nomad Pizza.

Read/view more here:
https://www.inquirer.com/food/cauldron-harry-potter-fantasy-bar-philadelphia-20220113.html

[PHLtoNYC]

Philadelphia making more VC headlines...

Startups Raked In $621 Billion in 2021, Shattering Funding Records
Cities outside of Silicon Valley show gowing promise as tech hubs.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...llion-in-2021-shattering-funding-records

[SEFTA]

Philadelphia's MASSIVE transit plans!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4DPZadvKFo&t=626s

[iheartphilly]

^
what was massive about it? unfortunately, we trail the developed countries in rail, high speed rail, and mass transit in general. developing high speed rail on the coasts and connecting to major cities should be a priority if we want want cities to continue to grow and be the economic centers and drivers in growth.

[summersm343]

Pennsylvania Receiving $1.65 Billion From New Infrastructure Act To Repair Unsafe Bridges

CBS3 is following how money from the new infrastructure act is being spent rebuilding the Philadelphia region. The transportation secretary is in Philadelphia Friday as the White House announces funding to rebuild bridges in Pennsylvania.

Over the next five years, Pennsylvania will get $1.65 billion from the federal government to repair bridges. One of the bridges that is in desperate need of repairs is the MLK Bridge. It’s been closed to vehicular traffic since the pandemic and deemed unsafe.

he U.S. Department of Transportation reports Pennsylvania has the second-highest number of bridges in any state that are deemed unsafe, with over 3,000 that have been identified as unsafe.

Eighty of those bridges are in Philadelphia and under a new funding formula that comes along with the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. The federal government is paying for 100% of the construction cost.

Read more here:
https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2022/01/14/pa-philadelphia-infrastructure-act-repair-bridges/

[PHLtoNYC]

Inside the deal: Why Century Therapeutics picked Bristol Myers Squibb for its first Big Pharma mega-deal

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia...eutics-bristol-myers-squibb-cell-3b.html

"In today's health care environment, where new technologies are revolutionizing how cancer and other diseases are treated, it's common for the smaller cell and gene therapy companies advancing new treatments to talk to larger Big Pharma firms about potential partnerships. What's not common is for those discussions to result in deals worth potentially $3.15 billion. That's what happened earlier this week when Philadelphia-based Century Therapeutics entered into a product development and licensing agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb."

"Bristol Myers was attracted to Century because of the Philadelphia company's technology and its expertise in cellular reprogramming, genetic engineering, and manufacturing."

"Century had plans to grow its headcount before the Bristol Myers deal, and those plans remain unchanged. "We had a specific growth plan that is independent of how much money is coming in [from Bristol Myers]," Flores said. "That's not going to change. We are at around 170 people right now," Flores said. "We’ll be in the mid-200s by the end of the year." About 70% of the company's employees are based in Philadelphia."

[summersm343]

Cannot be stressed enough. Keep investing in Life Sciences Philadelphia! This is going to be the industry Philadelphia dominates in.

[reparcsyks]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Cannot be stressed enough. Keep investing in Life Sciences Philadelphia! This is going to be the industry Philadelphia dominates in.

I hope and pray that this message is being drilled into our city leaders' skulls everyday. Philly has a once-in-a-generation chance to take the lead in one of, if not the most, booming industries on Earth. The right leadership can make decisions in the next 10-25 years that will impact the future of Philadelphia for the next century.

[skyhigh07]

Looks like 1525 Chestnut (Pomerantz Building) will be converted into a 37 room hotel with ground retail furniture store. Hopefully, we’ll see more developments like this on this block as the W Hotel drives the area forward.

Via Eclipse: “Change of use for existing 9-story building.
Basement: Storage, mechanical & accessory to visitor accommodations (hotel)
1st floor: Retail sales (furniture store) & hotel lobby
2nd floor: Retail sales (furniture store)
3rd - 9th floor: 37 hotel rooms & accessory spaces.“

[PurpleWhiteOut]

Originally Posted by skyhigh07

Looks like 1525 Chestnut (Pomerantz Building) will be converted into a 37 room hotel with ground retail furniture store. Hopefully, we’ll see more developments like this on this block as the W Hotel drives the area forward.

Via Eclipse: “Change of use for existing 9-story building.
Basement: Storage, mechanical & accessory to visitor accommodations (hotel)
1st floor: Retail sales (furniture store) & hotel lobby
2nd floor: Retail sales (furniture store)
3rd - 9th floor: 37 hotel rooms & accessory spaces.“

Nice! That building has been vacant for a surprisingly long time

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by skyhigh07

Looks like 1525 Chestnut (Pomerantz Building) will be converted into a 37 room hotel with ground retail furniture store. Hopefully, we’ll see more developments like this on this block as the W Hotel drives the area forward.

Via Eclipse: “Change of use for existing 9-story building.
Basement: Storage, mechanical & accessory to visitor accommodations (hotel)
1st floor: Retail sales (furniture store) & hotel lobby
2nd floor: Retail sales (furniture store)
3rd - 9th floor: 37 hotel rooms & accessory spaces.“

Interesting, because a previous iteration in a 2020 zoning permit, had it with only 14 hotel rooms. The building sold last month for $4M, having been listed the previous year at $6M.

https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/pa/philadelphia/1525-chestnut-st/pid_38145341/

I see too they've brought in a different architect. Sharing my notes added in my facebook group:

The only diagram we have (there's no drawing yet attached to the new zoning permit) is from the 2020 permit ZP-2020-008588 for the 2-story addition. That is by a different architect — Yao Chang Huang at Sky Design Studio — than the new permit and specifies in the drawing's text:
--quote--
SCOPE OF WORK: FOR THE ERECTION OF A TWO-STORY ADDITION ON AN EXISTING SEVEN STORY MIXED-USE BUILDING. FOR USE AS RETAIL AND OR EATING/ DRINKING ESTABLISHMENTS ON FIRST & SECOND FLOORS, AND VISITOR ACCOMMODATIONS FOR FOURTEEN GUEST ROOMS (14) FROM THIRD THROUGH SEVENTH FLOORS, AND HOTEL ACCESSORY GYM SPACE ON EIGHTH & NINTH FLOORS.

The latest zoning permit ZP-2022-000231 lists the design professional as Carolina Peña at Parallel Design Studio (where she is principal) and while the number of rooms doesn't appear in the online version of the permit, it does appear in the notes of the Daily Zoning Report in eclipse* as 37 hotel rooms:
—quote—
ZP-2022-000231 Jan 13, 2022 1525 CHESTNUT ST, Philadelphia, PA 19102-2501 TGDGME CHESTNUT LLC 5
Change of use for existing 9-story building. Basement: Storage, mechanical & accessory to visitor accommodations (hotel) 1st floor: Retail sales (furniture store) & hotel lobby 2nd floor: Retail sales (furniture store) 3rd - 9th floor: 37 hotel rooms & accessory spaces.

*I’ve noticed that the Daily Zoning Report view often includes notes that don’t otherwise appear in the online version of the permit in either eclipse or atlas.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by reparcsyks

I hope and pray that this message is being drilled into our city leaders' skulls everyday. Philly has a once-in-a-generation chance to take the lead in one of, if not the most, booming industries on Earth. The right leadership can make decisions in the next 10-25 years that will impact the future of Philadelphia for the next century.

Yup. But common sense thinking is unfortunately often lost in City Hall. I'm hoping the few pragmatic leaders combined with the areas motivated institutional leaders will spearhead the momentum going forward.

As you and others said, Philadelphia has the potential to become a global leader in this industry if smart and forward thinking decisions are made today.

[PHLtoNYC]

Good zoning and a great project. This stretch of Girard is coming along nicely.

Are there any replacement plans for the Dollar Tree across the street?

Brewerytown’s Bordeaux Building Bets on Bricks, Bringing Better Design Than Most

https://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/b...-bricks-bringing-better-design-than-most

[PHLtoNYC]

Thoughts? I can share some tidbits if people need.

The city desperately needs more public housing. There’s a perfect site in West Philadelphia.

https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/ing...lic-housing-fairmount-fire-20220115.html

[summersm343]

Permits Issued For 23-Unit Building At 846 East Woodlawn Street In East Germantown

Current site:


Site massing:


Aerial rendering:


Read/view more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2022/01/permits-...n-germantown-northwest-philadelphia.html

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by summersm343

^^Super refreshing to see and hear. Maybe there is hope for Philadelphia yet! Allan Domb may be the ONLY other pro-business councilmember. Isaiah Thomas now makes two, so he may now be the only other councilmember I actually like. There may be one or two more, but the more pro-business councilmembers the better. Philadelphia needs to act NOW to change the tax structure while they can.

what we need are officials that are "pro" making Philadelphia a better place to live. That includes many facets, not just taxes. I think that its a little over simplistic to believe (although many here seem to) that the only people who care about Philadelphia succeeding are those who focus solely on taxes or on making the zoning code pro-density. As if there are no other issues that an elected official could possibly care about and still be considered intelligent or pro-Philadelphia.