PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread X

[tsarstruck]

Originally Posted by iamrobk

I don't really have a clue to be honest, though I think I heard the person say the existing shopping center is about to be (or is already in the process of being?) demolished, and I got the impression it's moving forward soon. I don't get over that way very often so can't check it out for myself though. I think this will be the first location for the tenant in this region, but that's all I feel comfortable sharing.

(Ok, I'll also add that it's not an Equinox sorry for anyone hoping for a repeat of the Laurel speculation...)

Well, if you're going to dip your toe that far into the water, you might as well get in: I heard over the winter that it was going to be one of the new Amazon-branded grocery stores.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by cardeza

This is interesting. I guess they feel its more viable as an apt complex which is its original purpose. It was compromised as a hotel location.

http://www.rising.realestate/hotel-t...n-center-city/

Back in the 70s I remember accompanying one of my older sisters when she looked at an apartment in that building. She was a nurse at Hahnemann then.

[iamrobk]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Hotel to 289-Unit Residential Building Conversion Planned in Center City

Current building:


Rendering plans for the ground floor fronting the Parkway:




Read more here:
http://www.rising.realestate/hotel-t...n-center-city/

Just walked by there about an hour ago and was wondering why the hotel looked dead. Interesting move as that's not exactly a residential hotspot. I know the Logan is directly across the street so there's some competition, but you'd have to imagine that a hotel targeting business travelers would still do very, very well there.

Originally Posted by tsarstruck

Well, if you're going to dip your toe that far into the water, you might as well get in: I heard over the winter that it was going to be one of the new Amazon-branded grocery stores.

I can neither confirm nor deny whether this is what I've heard...

[Knight Hospitaller]

I’m not sure what I think about the reversion to residential, but the competition is not just the Logan across the street. There is the Four Seasons and the impending (hopefully) hotel renovation of the family court building. In a tighter hospitality market they had a very dated and bland offering. The problem is the residential offering will be dated and bland too.

[SEFTA]

I think this is a great idea. The building looks very suited for conversion.
I hope they make some upgrades to the buildings exterior as well, as I find it a little grim.
The base can be completely redesigned
This area is on fire.

Proposals in the area.
Logan Circle

Current building:


Rendering plans for the ground floor fronting the Parkway:




Read more here:
http://www.rising.realestate/hotel-t...n-center-city/[/QUOTE]

[iheartphilly]

^
One would have to think that they will re-clad the exterior for the residential conversion. Its prime location will fetch high rent so in order to command high rent it almost needs to be marketed as a luxury residential bldg and look it. And, the current exterior obviously looks dated and nothing close to being luxurious so the developer will almost certainly have to invest in re-cladding it.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

I’m not sure what I think about the reversion to residential, but the competition is not just the Logan across the street. There is the Four Seasons and the impending (hopefully) hotel renovation of the family court building. In a tighter hospitality market they had a very dated and bland offering. The problem is the residential offering will be dated and bland too.

if the interior was just updated I would imagine the rooms are in pretty good shape.

[TK2001]

More here: https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/the...ction/16863/38

[Orlando]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

New York
Boston
Washington DC
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Nashville
Seattle
Portland

These are cities I've lived in or visit frequently enough slash am familiar enough with to confidently say there is virtually no abandonment at this point. Sure, there might be shabbiness in certain areas, but even in the "worst" areas of the Bronx today, there is little to no abandonment.

Hi there. I occasionally pop into the Philly threads since I lived there back in the mid-90's. I saw this conversation about comparing Philly to Detroit and other cities. I've lived in Philly, Atlanta, Portland, Orlando, Seattle, Salt Lake City, & Reno, but have also traveled extensively through other cities like Denver, Saint Louis, Kansas City, Memphis, Nashville, San Francisco, San Diego, etc. I would add most of those cities to the list above, including Atlanta. I would add St. Louis in the same grouping as Philly & Detroit. Sure, all cities have poor areas and some shabby areas, but Philly & Saint Louis has had huge swaths of inner city areas that were in ruin. I served as a missionary in South Philly, North Philly, and West Philly and was just amazed at how run down and gutted out some areas were in Philly. I sometimes referred to Philly as Filthadelphia. The area surrounding Temple University was horrific. I was also the victim of some violent crimes while I was there. I'm an architect now, but I saw the charm these areas must have had at one time back then. I've noticed that some of these areas have improved, but I would definitely put Philly in the same camp as Saint Louis & Detroit. Though, just from the developments that I've seen, Philly seems to have improved the best over the years.

[IMBY]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

^
One would have to think that they will re-clad the exterior for the residential conversion. Its prime location will fetch high rent so in order to command high rent it almost needs to be marketed as a luxury residential bldg and look it. And, the current exterior obviously looks dated and nothing close to being luxurious so the developer will almost certainly have to invest in re-cladding it.

Just my 2 cents, I think the hotel should be placed on the historic register, they'll never build hotels like this again. I Only stay in hotels with balconies, and I'd hate to lose one more hotel with balconies. During this era, there were others like this built elsewhere around the country.

[GtownFriend]

Noticing that the major projects with feeds, Laurel, Arthuas, East Market III, all seem to be working 6 day weeks. Is this true for other large projects as well? Perhaps a general thing to make up for lost time earlier this year.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by Orlando

Hi there. I occasionally pop into the Philly threads since I lived there back in the mid-90's. I saw this conversation about comparing Philly to Detroit and other cities. I've lived in Philly, Atlanta, Portland, Orlando, Seattle, Salt Lake City, & Reno, but have also traveled extensively through other cities like Denver, Saint Louis, Kansas City, Memphis, Nashville, San Francisco, San Diego, etc. I would add most of those cities to the list above, including Atlanta. I would add St. Louis in the same grouping as Philly & Detroit. Sure, all cities have poor areas and some shabby areas, but Philly & Saint Louis has had huge swaths of inner city areas that were in ruin. I served as a missionary in South Philly, North Philly, and West Philly and was just amazed at how run down and gutted out some areas were in Philly. I sometimes referred to Philly as Filthadelphia. The area surrounding Temple University was horrific. I was also the victim of some violent crimes while I was there. I'm an architect now, but I saw the charm these areas must have had at one time back then. I've noticed that some of these areas have improved, but I would definitely put Philly in the same camp as Saint Louis & Detroit. Though, just from the developments that I've seen, Philly seems to have improved the best over the years.

If you haven't been to Philly since, about, 2015 - you'd have an outmoded view of what the city has become, let alone mid-90s. I'd recommend a return trip.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by Orlando

I've lived in Philly, Atlanta, Portland, Orlando, Seattle, Salt Lake City, & Reno, but have also traveled extensively through other cities like Denver, Saint Louis, Kansas City, Memphis, Nashville, San Francisco, San Diego, etc. I would add most of those cities to the list above, including Atlanta. I would add St. Louis in the same grouping as Philly & Detroit.

Different strokes for different folks. Detroit and Saint Louis have nothing like Society Hill, Queen Village, Rittenhouse Square, University City, and Center City in general. Add to that Chestnut Hill, the Mount Airy's, East Falls, etc.

There is a lot of poverty and abandonment in Philadelphia. There are also huge swaths of the city that have an urban density, charm, and elegance that few cities even come close to.

For example. Orlando, Salt Lake, and Reno are just big suburbs. Salt Lake has the widest streets in America. Nashville has approximately a five block stretch of pedestrian activity...in the entire city. Even in Atlanta, if you walk outside of Midtown people look at you like you're lost.

So while Philadelphia for sure has problems...it's one of only 5ish cities in the country that functions as an actual city, in the conventional sense of the word.

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by Orlando

Hi there. I occasionally pop into the Philly threads since I lived there back in the mid-90's. I saw this conversation about comparing Philly to Detroit and other cities. I've lived in Philly, Atlanta, Portland, Orlando, Seattle, Salt Lake City, & Reno, but have also traveled extensively through other cities like Denver, Saint Louis, Kansas City, Memphis, Nashville, San Francisco, San Diego, etc. I would add most of those cities to the list above, including Atlanta. I would add St. Louis in the same grouping as Philly & Detroit. Sure, all cities have poor areas and some shabby areas, but Philly & Saint Louis has had huge swaths of inner city areas that were in ruin. I served as a missionary in South Philly, North Philly, and West Philly and was just amazed at how run down and gutted out some areas were in Philly. I sometimes referred to Philly as Filthadelphia. The area surrounding Temple University was horrific. I was also the victim of some violent crimes while I was there. I'm an architect now, but I saw the charm these areas must have had at one time back then. I've noticed that some of these areas have improved, but I would definitely put Philly in the same camp as Saint Louis & Detroit. Though, just from the developments that I've seen, Philly seems to have improved the best over the years.

Nice of you to pop out of your time machine and give your two cents from the mid ninties.

Seriously though, while I will agree that few cities in America can compare to the large swaths of poverty and urban decay that Philly certailyn contains, your analysis seems to ignore the walkable dense urban core of the city, the scope of which only maybe 3 or 4 cities in the country can compare to.

Regardless of how you want to evaluate Philadelphia, and how you balance its successes with its failures, if you're comparing it to St. Louis, I would say you don't have a very firm grip on the current state of either city.

[Boku]

Originally Posted by Orlando

Hi there. I occasionally pop into the Philly threads since I lived there back in the mid-90's. I saw this conversation about comparing Philly to Detroit and other cities. I've lived in Philly, Atlanta, Portland, Orlando, Seattle, Salt Lake City, & Reno, but have also traveled extensively through other cities like Denver, Saint Louis, Kansas City, Memphis, Nashville, San Francisco, San Diego, etc. I would add most of those cities to the list above, including Atlanta. I would add St. Louis in the same grouping as Philly & Detroit. Sure, all cities have poor areas and some shabby areas, but Philly & Saint Louis has had huge swaths of inner city areas that were in ruin. I served as a missionary in South Philly, North Philly, and West Philly and was just amazed at how run down and gutted out some areas were in Philly. I sometimes referred to Philly as Filthadelphia. The area surrounding Temple University was horrific. I was also the victim of some violent crimes while I was there. I'm an architect now, but I saw the charm these areas must have had at one time back then. I've noticed that some of these areas have improved, but I would definitely put Philly in the same camp as Saint Louis & Detroit. Though, just from the developments that I've seen, Philly seems to have improved the best over the years.

Thanks for the input, please never come back.

[UrbanRevival]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Different strokes for different folks. Detroit and Saint Louis have nothing like Society Hill, Queen Village, Rittenhouse Square, University City, and Center City in general. Add to that Chestnut Hill, the Mount Airy's, East Falls, etc.

There is a lot of poverty and abandonment in Philadelphia. There are also huge swaths of the city that have an urban density, charm, and elegance that few cities even come close to.

For example. Orlando, Salt Lake, and Reno are just big suburbs. Salt Lake has the widest streets in America. Nashville has approximately a five block stretch of pedestrian activity...in the entire city. Even in Atlanta, if you walk outside of Midtown people look at you like you're lost.

So while Philadelphia for sure has problems...it's one of only 5ish cities in the country that functions as an actual city, in the conventional sense of the word.

Very well put. Having a robust, thriving, vibrant and authentically urban core is absolutely critical asset to being a wholly successful and attractive city, which is very few and far between in an American context.

Not to mention, the only reason most of the other cities mentioned are able to maintain a more manicured, whitebread-friendly image is historic annexation of vast suburban areas. It's a ridiculous apples-oranges comparison to look at Philadelphia versus Orlando.

The only American cities that Philadelphia should ever (or would ever) want to emulate relative to furthering its progress in revitalization are New York, Chicago, San Francisco, or Boston, and to a lesser extent, DC. That, literally, is it.

[Milksteak]

Those who compare Philly to Detroit have spent no time in Detroit. The history, layout and density couldn't be more different. As a native Michiganian, I want nothing but the best for Detroit, but it is very much a Midwest city that was gutted from the inside out by being dependent on a single industry, and it never bounced back (there are still some glimmers of hope though).

[iamrobk]

Originally Posted by UrbanRevival

The only American cities that Philadelphia should ever (or would ever) want to emulate relative to furthering its progress in revitalization are New York, Chicago, San Francisco, or Boston, and to a lesser extent, DC. That, literally, is it.

I wouldn't mind stealing the weather from LA or San Diego!

[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.

[700 Level]

Originally Posted by Orlando

Hi there. I occasionally pop into the Philly threads since I lived there back in the mid-90's. I saw this conversation about comparing Philly to Detroit and other cities. I've lived in Philly, Atlanta, Portland, Orlando, Seattle, Salt Lake City, & Reno, but have also traveled extensively through other cities like Denver, Saint Louis, Kansas City, Memphis, Nashville, San Francisco, San Diego, etc. I would add most of those cities to the list above, including Atlanta. I would add St. Louis in the same grouping as Philly & Detroit. Sure, all cities have poor areas and some shabby areas, but Philly & Saint Louis has had huge swaths of inner city areas that were in ruin. I served as a missionary in South Philly, North Philly, and West Philly and was just amazed at how run down and gutted out some areas were in Philly. I sometimes referred to Philly as Filthadelphia. The area surrounding Temple University was horrific. I was also the victim of some violent crimes while I was there. I'm an architect now, but I saw the charm these areas must have had at one time back then. I've noticed that some of these areas have improved, but I would definitely put Philly in the same camp as Saint Louis & Detroit. Though, just from the developments that I've seen, Philly seems to have improved the best over the years.

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.