PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread II

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by EastSideHBG

More info on the HS WaWa closure:

Neighborhood groups had complained to Wawa about aggressive panhandling, crime, and drug use at the store.

by Mike Newall
Updated on Jun 16, 2023, 11:15 a.m. ET

The Headhouse Square Wawa will close July 16, a company official told the Inquirer. The move comes after neighborhood associations had complained to Wawa about aggressive panhandling, crime, and drug use at the store and outside on the sidewalk.

The site will become the sixth Center City Wawa to shutter since 2020.

Joe Dain, co-founder of the Delancey Square Town Watch, which was formed earlier this year, said his group and other neighborhood organizations had met with Wawa officials in April to discuss ongoing concerns at the Headhouse Square Wawa. By that time, the company, he said, had already taken measures to curb panhandlers and other public nuisance issues, including curtailing its hours, hiring private security and working with city police to provide patrols.

“There were certainly efforts being made,” Dain said. “What we were addressing was the fact that more needed to be done.”
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philad...-20230616.html

LOL WHUT? The neighborhood association was directly lobbying Wawa because of panhandlers? How is this Wawa's fault.

Forest. Trees.

[Gatorade_Jim]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

LOL WHUT? The neighborhood association was directly lobbying Wawa because of panhandlers? How is this Wawa's fault.

Forest. Trees.

I’ve been consistently happy when a wawa near me closes. The amount of nuisance they attract relative to the service they provide is just not worth it in my opinion. Although I could say the same thing about most 7/11s around me.

[DeltaNerd]

Originally Posted by Gatorade_Jim

I’ve been consistently happy when a wawa near me closes. The amount of nuisance they attract relative to the service they provide is just not worth it in my opinion. Although I could say the same thing about most 7/11s around me.

In other counties, convenience stores are well establish clean places to hangout. Meanwhile in America it's viewed as a horrible place.

In Philly I would think we want all the retail stores to be filled up and open. Not a bunch of closed down stores. Seriously we need rent control or something because it's insane how many empty retail spaces we have around the center city and fishtown/nolibs

[Mtphilly]

Some people are ridiculous, that Wawa was fine. I can’t believe the neighborhood association essentially lobbied to get it closed down. That area has a lot bigger problems than a Wawa, do they think homeless people are going to disappear because a Wawa is closed down? As 3rd and brown said, Forest. Trees.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by Mtphilly

Some people are ridiculous, that Wawa was fine. I can’t believe the neighborhood association essentially lobbied to get it closed down. That area has a lot bigger problems than a Wawa, do they think homeless people are going to disappear because a Wawa is closed down? As 3rd and brown said, Forest. Trees.

Society Hill is already light on service offerings relative to its affluence.

This is mind boggling. Next they'll be complaining about the empty retail spaces.

[notmyworld2]

I'm going to miss Wawa. I go there for staple items and use the ATM machine frequently. This store has been around for a very long time. Vandals and homeless people are not Wawa's fault. Did anyone check to see what the landlord may have done to promote this issue. Did the Giant really "fall through"? NO! Giant was the victim of pathetic and costly business move with a horrible developer. It's been over nine years of grocery stores moving in there. MMMMore BS coming soon ( right Landlord?). Check out the shameful court dockets and proceedings for the whole crappy story. It's been nice having a well lit friendly business amidst empty storefronts. Have you walked down South Street lately. I live in Abbotts Square above it and headhouse square used to be a nice place to live. People bustling around, shopping, dining and the weekend farm market. I suspect you'll get some more plywood windows with graffiti and broken glass just like around the corner. Yay for the Abbotts Square ghetto! Nice.

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by Mtphilly

Some people are ridiculous, that Wawa was fine. I can’t believe the neighborhood association essentially lobbied to get it closed down. That area has a lot bigger problems than a Wawa, do they think homeless people are going to disappear because a Wawa is closed down? As 3rd and brown said, Forest. Trees.

They ultimately go somewhere else which pretty much happened with the 12th/Market location. The primary issue is that 99% of chronic homeless refuse services or treatment as was reported by CCD recently.

[Raja]

Originally Posted by notmyworld2

I'm going to miss Wawa. I go there for staple items and use the ATM machine frequently. This store has been around for a very long time. Vandals and homeless people are not Wawa's fault. Did anyone check to see what the landlord may have done to promote this issue. Did the Giant really "fall through"? NO! Giant was the victim of pathetic and costly business move with a horrible developer. It's been over nine years of grocery stores moving in there. MMMMore BS coming soon ( right Landlord?). Check out the shameful court dockets and proceedings for the whole crappy story. It's been nice having a well lit friendly business amidst empty storefronts. Have you walked down South Street lately. I live in Abbotts Square above it and headhouse square used to be a nice place to live. People bustling around, shopping, dining and the weekend farm market. I suspect you'll get some more plywood windows with graffiti and broken glass just like around the corner. Yay for the Abbotts Square ghetto! Nice.

Dude Abbotts Square is literally keeping the neighborhood down. That's no exaggeration. There's no excuse for what's happened to the ground level along South Street. Like, literally no excuse. It's absurd.

[Gatorade_Jim]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

He was against the Bankroll bar on Chestnut Street too because of traffic concerns... I'm glad his outdated views are ending. Thanks for the other updates!



Agree, except the Broad Street Wawa needed to close. That place was always a mess and multiple violent incidents in a short span of time. Not a good look for Broad Street. Maybe with the new fancy Arthaus restaurant, Insomnia HQ and revamped Bellevue, a national retailer or restaurant group will take interest in the space.



The Parkway also needs more food/drink options. It's a beautiful stretch, and it would be nice to have more places to sit down for snacks, coffee, wine, etc. between the Art Museum and Logan Circle.

Originally Posted by notmyworld2

I'm going to miss Wawa. I go there for staple items and use the ATM machine frequently. This store has been around for a very long time. Vandals and homeless people are not Wawa's fault. Did anyone check to see what the landlord may have done to promote this issue. Did the Giant really "fall through"? NO! Giant was the victim of pathetic and costly business move with a horrible developer. It's been over nine years of grocery stores moving in there. MMMMore BS coming soon ( right Landlord?). Check out the shameful court dockets and proceedings for the whole crappy story. It's been nice having a well lit friendly business amidst empty storefronts. Have you walked down South Street lately. I live in Abbotts Square above it and headhouse square used to be a nice place to live. People bustling around, shopping, dining and the weekend farm market. I suspect you'll get some more plywood windows with graffiti and broken glass just like around the corner. Yay for the Abbotts Square ghetto! Nice.

Do you have any sources on the landlord thing? I very rarely visit that area of South street so I'd like to learn more about what's actually going on there.

[Gatorade_Jim]

Originally Posted by Raja

Dude Abbotts Square is literally keeping the neighborhood down. That's no exaggeration. There's no excuse for what's happened to the ground level along South Street. Like, literally no excuse. It's absurd.

Forgive my ignorance, what is Abbotts Square? I know its an apartment building but that's about it.

[Raja]

Originally Posted by Gatorade_Jim

Forgive my ignorance, what is Abbotts Square? I know its an apartment building but that's about it.

It's the condo/apartment building bound by 2nd, South, 3rd, and Gaskill. Eric Blumenfeld largely owns it. He refused for years to update the building's electrical system to support a supermarket after leasing the ground floor to Giant for an Heirloom Market. It's sat empty basically ever since (going on 7 years now, I think?). There were some small businesses in there before they got booted out. But now it sits nearly totally empty, and the shuttered storefronts on the ground floor fronting South nearly uniformly have been vandalized and remain unrepaired. It's an embarrassment. IMO, it's also a big reason South between 2nd and 4th is struggling so much.

It's really something how a street bounded by Society Hill, Queen Village, and Bella Vista can be so stubborn to improve. South is actually OK during the day--there are quite a few solid independent retailers--but the blight is not getting better. And yeah... it doesn't help that Society Hill's various associations are so freaking reactionary.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by Raja

It's the condo/apartment building bound by 2nd, South, 3rd, and Gaskill. Eric Blumenfeld largely owns it. He refused for years to update the building's electrical system to support a supermarket after leasing the ground floor to Giant for an Heirloom Market. It's sat empty basically ever since (going on 7 years now, I think?). There were some small businesses in there before they got booted out. But now it sits nearly totally empty, and the shuttered storefronts on the ground floor fronting South nearly uniformly have been vandalized and remain unrepaired. It's an embarrassment. IMO, it's also a big reason South between 2nd and 4th is struggling so much.

It's really something how a street bounded by Society Hill, Queen Village, and Bella Vista can be so stubborn to improve. South is actually OK during the day--there are quite a few solid independent retailers--but the blight is not getting better. And yeah... it doesn't help that Society Hill's various associations are so freaking reactionary.

…and Giant Heirloom wasn’t the first food emporium tenant for that space to be announced with a flourish of trumpets and then just not happen. See this from 2014: https://www.inquirer.com/philly/blog...n-of-Eden.html

Also, a google search brings up a sh*t-ton of articles about the legal travails of Abbotts Square at the Inquirer: https://www.google.com/search?q=site...otts+square%22

Then too in 1982 there was their tone deaf advertising of the original condo construction, with billboards at the site touting condominiums “For a Very Fortunate Few.” See in Clark DeLeon’s Inquirer column of 4/4/1982: https://www.newspapers.com/article/t...for/126613913/

[Gatorade_Jim]

Originally Posted by Jayfar

…and Giant Heirloom wasn’t the first food emporium tenant for that space to be announced with a flourish of trumpets and then just not happen. See this from 2014: https://www.inquirer.com/philly/blog...n-of-Eden.html

Also, a google search brings up a sh*t-ton of articles about the legal travails of Abbotts Square at the Inquirer: https://www.google.com/search?q=site...otts+square%22

Then too in 1982 there was their tone deaf advertising of the original condo construction, with billboards at the site touting condominiums “For a Very Fortunate Few.” See in Clark DeLeon’s Inquirer column of 4/4/1982: https://www.newspapers.com/article/t...for/126613913/

Wow. That's wild. I had no idea the landlord was such a POS. Seems strange that he wouldn't want to improve the neighborhood to appreciate his property value. I agree that south street from 7/8th to Front is a whole different beast at night. It's really wild. I went to Jim's quite a bit during the day last summer. Then I ran down South to the water at night in late July. I felt so uncomfortable around the Fat Tuesdays I cut down to Bainbridge for a few streets. It's particularly strange too since it's basically boxed in by wealth. North to society hill, south to queen village, and bookended on South by the Whole Foods. Very bizarre.

[Redddog]

Society Hill association is the dumbest neighborhood association on the East Coast.

LOL.

You get what you deserve. I think it's hilarious that Wawa told them to pound salt.

[TonyTone]

Amazing, another great store out the door because people don't like other people in their neighborhoods, it's almost like we don't reside in a city. You can't HOA a block, thats just not how it works in the city sorry.

Also I get a little confused when people say South st is bad or declining? I'd say from viewing it on street level it had a 95% occupancy rate, and other then the wild weekend nights in certain locations like fat Tuesdays, it is one of the cities liveliest and money making strips, I'd say its a good model for how other strips in the city should be because it is successful.

[TonyTone]

PER PENNDOT

https://www.penndot.pa.gov/RegionalO...rtDetails.aspx

11:00 a.m. on June 17, Today, Governor Josh Shapiro joined President Biden for an aerial tour of the I-95 construction site and briefed him on the Shapiro Administration’s all-hands-on-deck response to get the highway reopened safely and as quickly as possible. During the briefing, Governor Shapiro announced that I-95 will reopen within the next two weeks.

“I can state with confidence that we will have I-95 reopened within the next two weeks,” said Governor Josh Shapiro at the briefing with President Biden at Philadelphia International Airport. “We are going to get traffic moving again thanks to the extraordinary work of those here and our incredible union trade workers.”

After the aerial tour, Governor Shapiro and key members of his cabinet – PEMA Director Padfield, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Chris Paris, and Secretary of Transportation Mike Carroll – briefed the President on the initial response, the reconstruction plan, and the continued coordination between all levels of government.

[thoughtcriminal]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

PER PENNDOT

https://www.penndot.pa.gov/RegionalO...rtDetails.aspx

Damn, two weeks? I wish they would fix the potholes in my neighborhood that quickly.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by Raja

It's the condo/apartment building bound by 2nd, South, 3rd, and Gaskill. Eric Blumenfeld largely owns it. He refused for years to update the building's electrical system to support a supermarket after leasing the ground floor to Giant for an Heirloom Market. It's sat empty basically ever since (going on 7 years now, I think?). There were some small businesses in there before they got booted out. But now it sits nearly totally empty, and the shuttered storefronts on the ground floor fronting South nearly uniformly have been vandalized and remain unrepaired. It's an embarrassment. IMO, it's also a big reason South between 2nd and 4th is struggling so much.

It's really something how a street bounded by Society Hill, Queen Village, and Bella Vista can be so stubborn to improve. South is actually OK during the day--there are quite a few solid independent retailers--but the blight is not getting better. And yeah... it doesn't help that Society Hill's various associations are so freaking reactionary.

So Eric Blumenfeld is responsible for Giant falling through?
It still confuses me that he would rather have a retail space sit vacant and rot for years instead of making small investments to accommodate an excellent long-term retailer like Giant that would benefit thousands of nearby neighbors.

And while on the topic, local media loves their dramatic headlines "Another Philadelphia Retail Closure", "Another Retailer Shuttered in Center City", garnering thousands of troll comments.

Yet the major Stephen Starr restaurant announcement received minimal online reaction and the new J. Crew Factory at 16th and Chestnut (opened on Friday) wasn't even mentioned by local news outlets.
Go figure...

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by thoughtcriminal

Damn, two weeks? I wish they would fix the potholes in my neighborhood that quickly.

Though this tragedy was terrible and caused a big headache for the metro, the silver lining in this is that it proves Infrastructure can be completed if it has the support behind it.

I think this will lead the way for more infrastructure projects like the Roosevelt Blvd Subway & others to actually get done because it shows we are well equipped to do these jobs without all the extra fat as well as providing the needed jobs to people.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

And while on the topic, local media loves their dramatic headlines "Another Philadelphia Retail Closure", "Another Retailer Shuttered in Center City", garnering thousands of troll comments.

Yet the major Stephen Starr restaurant announcement received minimal online reaction and the new J. Crew Factory at 16th and Chestnut (opened on Friday) wasn't even mentioned by local news outlets.
Go figure...

I actually find it helps if you send an email/tweet to shame the journalist a bit. We have such an inherent Negadelphian attitude in our media it’s terrible for the city. We should all start calling them out on it.