PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread X

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by Frontst17

You hate the mayor because you can’t pull weeds or sweep yourself? Priorities...

A lot of people subscribe to the broken window theory - fixing schools and combatting crime (or whatever you deem as "priorities") in areas that look war torn is almost impossible.

[Knight Hospitaller]

^ My sainted mum always said that perception was 9/10 of reality. A good appearance/vibe helps create conditions for progress. A bad one leads to stagnation or worse.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by Frontst17

You hate the mayor because you can’t pull weeds or sweep yourself? Priorities...

Ad nauseum.

I sweep an entire block by hand broom myself, including pulling weeds from the gutters.

No one else does. Why should I have to look at mess everywhere.

Also, it's not the job of private citizens to maintain the street, which is a PUBLIC right of way.

You think it's funny. You know how many middle to upper middle to high income people look around their surroundings in the city periodically say, why the f*ck am I putting up with this shit? They leave and it costs the city far more than providing the basic services those tax payers deserve.

My parent's middle income suburb has street sweeping, leaf pickup etc. All of these services are provided in the taxes they already pay. And guess what? It doesn't cost that much to provide because it's maintained. Probably 1 crew of 2-3 guys that do it every day 250 days a year. The deferred maintenance problems it prevents are incalculable.

The city is a mess. It's finances are relatively in order and it's time to do something about it.

Or, just continue to bleed middle and upper income people. Have fun with that.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Ad nauseum.

I sweep an entire block by hand broom myself, including pulling weeds from the gutters.

No one else does. Why should I have to look at mess everywhere.

Also, it's not the job of private citizens to maintain the street, which is a PUBLIC right of way.

You think it's funny. You know how many middle to upper middle to high income people look around their surroundings in the city periodically say, why the f*ck am I putting up with this shit? They leave and it costs the city far more than providing the basic services those tax payers deserve.

My parent's middle income suburb has street sweeping, leaf pickup etc. All of these services are provided in the taxes they already pay. And guess what? It doesn't cost that much to provide because it's maintained. Probably 1 crew of 2-3 guys that do it every day 250 days a year. The deferred maintenance problems it prevents are incalculable.

The city is a mess. It's finances are relatively in order and it's time to do something about it.

Or, just continue to bleed middle and upper income people. Have fun with that.

Amen. Sounds exactly like LA city..

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Ad nauseum.

I sweep an entire block by hand broom myself, including pulling weeds from the gutters.

No one else does. Why should I have to look at mess everywhere.

Also, it's not the job of private citizens to maintain the street, which is a PUBLIC right of way.

You think it's funny. You know how many middle to upper middle to high income people look around their surroundings in the city periodically say, why the f*ck am I putting up with this shit? They leave and it costs the city far more than providing the basic services those tax payers deserve.

My parent's middle income suburb has street sweeping, leaf pickup etc. All of these services are provided in the taxes they already pay. And guess what? It doesn't cost that much to provide because it's maintained. Probably 1 crew of 2-3 guys that do it every day 250 days a year. The deferred maintenance problems it prevents are incalculable.

The city is a mess. It's finances are relatively in order and it's time to do something about it.

Or, just continue to bleed middle and upper income people. Have fun with that.

I wholeheartedly agree. Thank you for putting my exact sentiment into words.

But what can be done? No one is seriously opposing Kenney at this point.

[ScreamShatter]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Ad nauseum.

I sweep an entire block by hand broom myself, including pulling weeds from the gutters.

No one else does. Why should I have to look at mess everywhere.

Also, it's not the job of private citizens to maintain the street, which is a PUBLIC right of way.

You think it's funny. You know how many middle to upper middle to high income people look around their surroundings in the city periodically say, why the f*ck am I putting up with this shit? They leave and it costs the city far more than providing the basic services those tax payers deserve.

My parent's middle income suburb has street sweeping, leaf pickup etc. All of these services are provided in the taxes they already pay. And guess what? It doesn't cost that much to provide because it's maintained. Probably 1 crew of 2-3 guys that do it every day 250 days a year. The deferred maintenance problems it prevents are incalculable.

The city is a mess. It's finances are relatively in order and it's time to do something about it.

Or, just continue to bleed middle and upper income people. Have fun with that.

Agree 100%.

We clean our streets weekly in my area, but there’s so much trash on the streets that it is difficult to stay on top of. We’ve also swept the streets to remove the dirt that builds up. But there are so many things that are outside of our control, the streets around me are full of potholes...it’s like living in a 3rd world country. And the sidewalks are bad too....some places don’t even have them. The city needs to help. And let’s not forget, Kenney ran on bringing back the street sweeping program and he hasn’t kept that promise.

[iheartphilly]

^^^^
I recently took a flight back from DIA to PHL, and overheard a dude mumble filthadelphia when we landed in PHL. Sad...especially when said word is found in the online urban dictionary...

Keeping the city and neighborhoods clean should be a #1 priority...

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I wholeheartedly agree. Thank you for putting my exact sentiment into words.

But what can be done? No one is seriously opposing Kenney at this point.

Write to your council person and the mayor's office. Use 3-1-1 app or SeeClickFix to report trash violations. Use the survey that you posted to put trash/weeds as a #1 priority. They are hearing the noise a bit and that's why the absurd blower street sweeping program is slowly being implemented. Keep the pressure on in any way you can. The Mayor doesn't make policy - council does.

[Frontst17]

Broken window theory has torn down large chunks of the neighborhoods. Hence them looking like war zones. And million dollar homes are being built in those neighborhoods contrary to how they may look. Works about as well as whatever trickle down effect people tout on here. Fix the schools and infrastructure and adults in the streets and no one will look at the trash and may care about where they throw it

[iheartphilly]

Exclusive: Parkway buys coveted parcel next to Walnut Street Theatre

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel..._news_headline

Ooh and aah...this seems scintillating on a Friday evening. Any one have intel on what might happen at this location? Anything in thee works...and seems like Parkway is busy these days snatching up parking lots.

[City Wide]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
interesting, Parkway a year ago was complaining there wasn't enough money to be made in just operating parking lots as, well you know, parking lots. So they were hoping to join with developers in building on their lots, as they have.

Any idea what they paid for this new lot? That might give some clue as to what direction they want to go in.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by City Wide

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
interesting, Parkway a year ago was complaining there wasn't enough money to be made in just operating parking lots as, well you know, parking lots. So they were hoping to join with developers in building on their lots, as they have.

Any idea what they paid for this new lot? That might give some clue as to what direction they want to go in.

I don't see why purchase price has much to do with what development they will pursue. They got the cheapest price they could at $7.5MM, which seems to me a steal for a lot that can accommodate a 40- to 50-story structure that could total around 500,000 square feet.The theater sold this too cheap. Hopefully we'll see something good rise here. It's well suited for any number of uses from residential to office to hotel. Or a combo.

[El Duderino]

it’s kind of weird that Parkway is suddenly one of the big local developers. i’m still looking forward to some of the other lots (especially the one on front that is on the corner across from the penn’s landing park) they have mentioned previously as at least being in some sort of exploratory process a long while back.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by El Duderino

it’s kind of weird that Parkway is suddenly one of the big local developers. i’m still looking forward to some of the other lots (especially the one on front that is on the corner across from the penn’s landing park) they have mentioned previously as at least being in some sort of exploratory process a long while back.

I am also not sure why Zuritsky says in the article that this is the only lot left on Walnut. I guess he really means up for sale. But there is a lot a block away from the Laurel which he so highly praises in the article. The surface parking lot at 20th and Walnut is not huge, but it's big enough to do something significant. And there is still the gas station lot and the Rite Aid lot. The feelers to sell them for highrise development are both still out.

[eixample]

I'm confused. Isn't this the lot where the theater was planning an expansion?

https://www.walnutstreettheatre.org/support/future/

Edit: I can't read the article about the purchase so maybe it was discussed there

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by eixample

I'm confused. Isn't this the lot where the theater was planning an expansion?

https://www.walnutstreettheatre.org/support/future/

Edit: I can't read the article about the purchase so maybe it was discussed there

Yes, I was wondering the same thing, but the article addresses it. Expansion still on. It's only into a small portion of the land adjacent to the current theater. The lot is big. This sale is for the rest of it.

[iheartphilly]

Excavating crew working at the Arthaus on Saturday. Surprise that workers aren't working on the Laurel worksite on Saturday.

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

I don't see why purchase price has much to do with what development they will pursue. They got the cheapest price they could at $7.5MM, which seems to me a steal for a lot that can accommodate a 40- to 50-story structure that could total around 500,000 square feet.The theater sold this too cheap. Hopefully we'll see something good rise here. It's well suited for any number of uses from residential to office to hotel. Or a combo.

Easy, IMO. At this lower price range Parkside probably can afford to hold onto this property until the right deal, however they want to define that, comes along. If they had paid top dollar I would be thinking that they had something already cooking.

Parkside is still relatively new in the role as developer and I believe all their projects to date have been joint ventures, where they were the quiet partner, not the prime developer. So as long as they can pay their taxes and other carrying costs they can wait until someone dances to their tune. Parkside has owned many of their lots for a very long time, and I'm very encouraged that they seem interested and open to options other then just parking cars as a business model.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by City Wide

Easy, IMO. At this lower price range Parkside probably can afford to hold onto this property until the right deal, however they want to define that, comes along. If they had paid top dollar I would be thinking that they had something already cooking.

Parkside is still relatively new in the role as developer and I believe all their projects to date have been joint ventures, where they were the quiet partner, not the prime developer. So as long as they can pay their taxes and other carrying costs they can wait until someone dances to their tune. Parkside has owned many of their lots for a very long time, and I'm very encouraged that they seem interested and open to options other then just parking cars as a business model.

They don't have something already cooking. They are in the preliminary stages of figuring out a project. The article says that too. But I don't think the fact that they got a good deal tells us much about what they will eventually do there. Hopefully something significant, though. The site can sustain that.

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

They don't have something already cooking. They are in the preliminary stages of figuring out a project. The article says that too. But I don't think the fact that they got a good deal tells us much about what they will eventually do there. Hopefully something significant, though. The site can sustain that.

I agree the price has nothing to do with what they'll eventually do here. At any given moment I'm sure they have any number of projects they could move forward on and they'll continue to pick what looks to be the best deal for them. Even if they paid nothing for it, if their data told them the walnut street theatre lot was the best property to build on, I'm sure they'd build on it.

But that's not really what citywide is saying. He's not talking about eventually, he's talking about right now and I do think the price tells us something about that. A huge price for the lot would indicate that they probably plan to proceed on a project immediately. Why make what seems like an overpay to speculate on a lot if you're not even planning to develop it immediately and you already have better options that you would forego building on to build on this new lot? A high price definitely correlates with more immediate development.

The lower price doesn't mean they won't build something significant in the future, but I do think it means it's less likely they do anything at all in the near future other than operate a parking lot.