PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread X

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

It's a function of both.

But you know, if you're the one guy on your block who takes the time to keep the whole place tidy, it's sorta overwhelming when no one, including the city, pitches in to help.

Not to mention all of the places in the city that don't have full time residents on the block and it would be required for the city to actually maintain the place.

Am I also supposed to sweep the gutters on Lincoln Drive in addition to the ones on my own block?

i forgot to mention, its been well documented that the city spends less per person on its parks than most other large cities. This is reflected in the level of investment in the parks. YOu would need more money to change that- but that money isnt likely to materialize out of thin air. Stuff cost money, always has. There is an argument to be made about downsizing government spending and taxes, but what makes no sense to me is people who argue for massive tax cuts while they also complain not enough taxpayer money is spent on their priorities. Perhaps you can have your cake while eating it afterall.

Street sweeping makes sense in high traffic areas or in areas where residential properties are not present. Lincoln drive isnt really known for litter, I have traversed it many times. Part of the absurdity of your position is the continued insistence that the entire is dirty all the time. Its just not true. As stated, you should poll some of your chestnut hill friends about the importance of street sweeping on their list of city priorities. I'm all about clean cities, Im not all about the notion that its the governments job to do all the cleaning, including in front of every residence and business. If there are american cities that provide that I would love to see a link to that service.

link to the commercial cleaning program which will was expanded this year:

https://www.phila.gov/2020-10-21-cit...aning-program/

[mcgrath618]

Did our moderator not just ask everyone to drop it?

[City Wide]

^^^^^^ I've heard that about the spending on the parks. What does Philly do well with spending money on? Maybe the courts? I'd like to see the City charter changed so that some some percentage of the general budget was pre-authorized, say 3% on the parks, and other figures for other departments, so that council only had 50 or 60% of the budget to divide up. But in this city the citizens don't have the right to directly propose a charter change, it has to go through council.

[FairmountFellow]

Not sure if this has been posted before yet, but I just saw this development on 19th and Chestnut over the CVS. I think they said a 49 story building. Did a quick screen grab for you all. That's all I got!

https://imgur.com/a/Yo8mSa3

[El Duderino]

Originally Posted by FairmountFellow

Not sure if this has been posted before yet, but I just saw this development on 19th and Chestnut over the CVS. I think they said a 49 story building. Did a quick screen grab for you all. That's all I got!

https://imgur.com/a/Yo8mSa3

oh wow, this looks like it’s right next to the other 500+ foot residential proposal based on the ghost massing and how it’s positioned relative to the square. it would be something to see these going up side by side. thanks for snagging these, man!

[summersm343]

^^What in the literal f**k?!?!?! That’s amazing. So, they’re planning a 500+ footer built on top of the current CVS building, AND NEXT TO THE ALREADY PLANNED 500+ FOOTER?! Amazing...

[mcgrath618]

I’ve always thought that that corner was underutilized but that the CVS was gorgeous. What an exciting proposal. Glad the CVS is being kept.

[TK2001]

Originally Posted by FairmountFellow

Not sure if this has been posted before yet, but I just saw this development on 19th and Chestnut over the CVS. I think they said a 49 story building. Did a quick screen grab for you all. That's all I got!

https://imgur.com/a/Yo8mSa3

Where is this CDR document PDF? Gonna need it for a 3d model

[acenturi]

Originally Posted by FairmountFellow

Not sure if this has been posted before yet, but I just saw this development on 19th and Chestnut over the CVS. I think they said a 49 story building. Did a quick screen grab for you all. That's all I got!

https://imgur.com/a/Yo8mSa3

If the CVS stays, it'll be interesting to see where the main condo entrance will be for that amount of resident traffic. They surely won't favor walking through a Drug Store to get to their relatively high end residences.

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by acenturi

If the CVS stays, it'll be interesting to see where the main condo entrance will be for that amount of resident traffic. They surely won't favor walking through a Drug Store to get to their relatively high end residences.

Maybe I'm wrong, but the idea that the CVS is staying, to me, simply meant that the building itself wasn't being demolished and would serve as the base for the new tower. I don't think it's meant to imply that the CVS itself is staying in place.

Constructing a 500 foot tower over this building would mean the CVS would need to be closed for a few years during construction anyway. This would necessitate renegotiating their lease if it is not imminently expiring already. I suppose that part of this negotiation could include an agreement that the CVS reopens here after construction, but they'll have to completely redo their store here anyway, wouldn't be too hard to set asside some of the existing store footprint for the entrance to the tower at that point, though obviously CVS or whatever moves in to replace them will have a considerably smaller footprint than the current store.

Maybe the people living here would prefer something other than the CVS, but as someone who works very nearby, it would be a shame to see it go personally. Other than the rite aid a few blocks away, there aren't really any other drugstores in the area.

Agree with everyone about how great this building is. Though I've always thought it was a shame that all the windows are bricked over and covered up on the 19th street side. Would be nice if they returned due to this project and this building fully returned to glory. Does anyone know what this building was before it was a CVS?

[PurpleWhiteOut]

It was a movie theater called the Aldine theater


Some more history info here

It's hard to see the details in a lot of the photos, but it looks like the windows on 19th St were always bricked up faux windows to create symmetry with the Chestnut St side. Probably that was the part with the actual theater.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by summersm343

^^What in the literal f**k?!?!?! That’s amazing. So, they’re planning a 500+ footer built on top of the current CVS building, AND NEXT TO THE ALREADY PLANNED 500+ FOOTER?! Amazing...

All these proposals for sure have New York money behind them.

The returns in NYC have disappeared, so they're chasing them elsewhere with their big pockets.

Philly probably stands to benefit more than any other city. Hopefully we can keep pace by getting these buildings filled. We'll see.

[FairmountFellow]

The presenter did mention the current building is being preserved, the CVS pharmacy will relocate during construction nearby, and return once construction is completed. This lawyer is constantly working on zoning issues in the Rittenhouse area, so he may have had access to info prior to a CDR submission.

[iamrobk]

Originally Posted by City Wide

^^^^^^ I've heard that about the spending on the parks. What does Philly do well with spending money on? Maybe the courts? I'd like to see the City charter changed so that some some percentage of the general budget was pre-authorized, say 3% on the parks, and other figures for other departments, so that council only had 50 or 60% of the budget to divide up. But in this city the citizens don't have the right to directly propose a charter change, it has to go through council.

Sort of related to what you mentioned: https://whyy.org/articles/how-would-...e-next-budget/

Only $1m, but its a start, lol.

[PHL10]

OK, two 500 footers on the same block there is pretty crazy. That's not something I would have ever predicted.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

All these proposals for sure have New York money behind them.

The returns in NYC have disappeared, so they're chasing them elsewhere with their big pockets.

Philly probably stands to benefit more than any other city. Hopefully we can keep pace by getting these buildings filled. We'll see.

The business world too. Silverstein Properties, a huge developer in New York is now involved in a development in University City and Silverstein reps were quoted stating their excitement to enter the Philadelphia market. Cantor Fitzgerald, a New York financial firm is also involved.

The momentum and interest is certainly there, lets just hope the city doesn't screw it up (and I mean City Hall).

[Knight Hospitaller]

With respect to the CVS, I recall reading, years ago when it opened, that they deliberately preserved the Aldine's interior features behind the drywall. If ever CVS didn't return, I wonder what they could do with that space. Interesting that the photo was taken days before my late mother's birth.

[mcgrath618]

I find it really funny that now, after the Laurel started, new proposals are popping up on lots just off of the Square itself.

Yet 20th and Walnut, an empty parking lot with no historical structures to worry about, remains just that.

[thoughtcriminal]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

The business world too. Silverstein Properties, a huge developer in New York is now involved in a development in University City and Silverstein reps were quoted stating their excitement to enter the Philadelphia market. Cantor Fitzgerald, a New York financial firm is also involved.

The momentum and interest is certainly there, lets just hope the city doesn't screw it up (and I mean City Hall).

you might remember them from such developments as The World Trade Center...


Here is what Silverstein's website says about Philadelphia:
Silverstein Properties Inc. and Cantor Fitzgerald have made a $56 million investment in the development of 3.0 University Place, a proposed 250,000-square-foot life sciences building in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia.

The two New York firms will join Philadelphia-based University Place Associates on the eight-story $100 million project that will have a combination of office and lab space. Under the terms of the deal, Silverstein and Cantor Fitzgerald own 90% of the development at 4101 Market St. and intend to hold the property on a long-term basis.

This marks Silverstein's second acquisition in Philadelphia. It bought in early 2019 the BNY Mellon Bank Center, a 54-story, 1.3-million-square-foot trophy office tower for $451.6 million. The company, bullish on Philadelphia, has been looking for another investment in the city and adding to its growing portfolio of life sciences buildings.

“It’s a city that has many attributes of New York,” said Larry A. Silverstein, chairman of Silverstein Properties. “It’s an attractive city and a cosmopolitan city with lots of activity that mirrors New York. Having an opportunity to actively participate in the dynamism of Philadelphia, I find very exciting. Given a chance to do in Philadelphia what we are doing in New York, I like to take advantage of that.”

Silverstein’s focus on Philadelphia comes as it winds down the work it undertook at the World Trade Center, providing the company a chance to look outside of New York, Silverstein said. The company has spent nearly two decades rebuilding Lower Manhattan with several new office towers. “We look forward to doing more in Philadelphia,” he said.

The company was introduced to University Place Associates by JLL, which was marketing the project to investors, said Jason Kaufman, senior vice president at Silverstein. The project hit on much of what the New York real estate was looking for in an investment, especially in the life sciences sector. “It was just one of these perfect storms,” Kaufman said.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I find it really funny that now, after the Laurel started, new proposals are popping up on lots just off of the Square itself.

Yet 20th and Walnut, an empty parking lot with no historical structures to worry about, remains just that.

Was thinking the same thing (and being driven nuts by it).