PHILADELPHIA-CAMDEN-WILMINGTON-ATLANTIC CITY-READING | Metro Development Thread

[kingtut]

Kind of out of the domain of this thread but the old du Pont estate in Dewey Beach estate sold for $82 million only to be torn down . Just curious of who the buyer is not many people have that kind of money for a building lot . https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...Pos=0#cxrecs_s Bezos .

[Airydite]

Actually, the article states that it was $9.1 million (still beyond my price range).

[PhillyRising]

Originally Posted by Nova08

Life sciences companies sign HQ leases in Chester County as deals begin to pick up
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...in-chesco.html



We just need these founders and company leaders to keep pitching the Philadelphia area as I still believe we are on the cusp of being a top 3 global Biotech hub up there with the likes of Boston.

I live in Eagleview, and I'm surprised they are building more because it seems a number of buildings here housing the pharmaceutical companies look empty most of the time even before Covid.

That being said it is one of the best planned communities where you can live, work and play.

[PhillyRising]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

Bridgeport set to have major redevelopment on its riverfront with 348 townhomes, 250 apartments, and 7,000 square feet of retail

Apparently PRDC has brought on Lennar as a partner for the townhomes, which are set to start soon. Huge project for Bridgeport.

Lennar project website

Not sure if this is still the site plan, precisely. Can't find a higher quality image.

Hopefully they keep it from flooding out. My whole family was from Bridgeport. It was a town where everyone knew each other back in the day. I remember the spectacular fire on that land back in the 90's that led to it to be vacant all these years. It's kind of shocking it stayed undeveloped all those years. Now if they could just rebuild the old Ford St bridge that used to connect the east of of Norristown to Bridgeport. That has been gone before even my day.

[PhillyRising]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

Residential development proposed for Norristown's vacant Kennedy Kenrick property

I'm happy to see my old hometown of Norristown get this kind of new development but it will be sad to see my old high school (It's was Bishop Kenrick when I was there) get knocked down..but I guess that is better than seeing it sit vacant and rotting. The homes next to it on DeKalb Street have always been big beautiful old homes, this should help their values.

I'm not sure I like a parking lot fronting it along Johnson Highway. The school has a nice big lawn as the frontaqge and it should be more pleasing the eye than seeing a parking lot. I hope it gets changed up.

[PhillyRising]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

For sure. Sucks the highways in KoP limit growth outside of confines. But a series of walking paths/biking paths is certainly possible and I think it is part of the Upper Merion growth goal. And as you said, that township is flowing in cash and can certainly invest in this idea.

Now Upper Merion just needs a lux hotel to join the mix. A Ritz Carlton would anchor the Town Center or mall nicely.

(I was in Exton last December and that whole setup has improved so much since its inception, some nice new retail offerings too).

Yes, they finally made walking along Route 100 walkable. I used to live in a townhouse attached to the Exton Train Station. It was nice to just walk down to get on a train but that was it. Going out along 100 was taking your life in your hands and now they fixed it. Oh well. I'm happy in Eagleview with my 10 miles of walking paths.

However, the Exton Mall is a sinking ship. It is just beyond sad going inside there. It's basically screaming to be torn down and redeveloped into something better.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by PhillyRising

Yes, they finally made walking along Route 100 walkable. I used to live in a townhouse attached to the Exton Train Station. It was nice to just walk down to get on a train but that was it. Going out along 100 was taking your life in your hands and now they fixed it. Oh well. I'm happy in Eagleview with my 10 miles of walking paths.

However, the Exton Mall is a sinking ship. It is just beyond sad going inside there. It's basically screaming to be torn down and redeveloped into something better.

Yea, that mall is long past its prime. At least the abandoned KMart was replaced by a nice Whole Foods. Perhaps Exton Mall will follow a similar fate of Granite Run - Demolished and replaced with big box stores and apartments, but keep Boscovs and Macys, those are nice anchors for a new development.

A Main Street at Exton Phase II would really compliment the area, a true urban walk-able center.

Separately, are any existing buildings being demolished for that huge plan in Bridgeport? I can't tell from the site map?

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

Yea, that mall is long past its prime. At least the abandoned KMart was replaced by a nice Whole Foods. Perhaps Exton Mall will follow a similar fate of Granite Run - Demolished and replaced with big box stores and apartments, but keep Boscovs and Macys, those are nice anchors for a new development.

A Main Street at Exton Phase II would really compliment the area, a true urban walk-able center.

Separately, are any existing buildings being demolished for that huge plan in Bridgeport? I can't tell from the site map?

I guess. Granite Run shouldn't be anyone's model. It's such a colossal failure. It is a prime example of what happens when a township has too much say. Death by a thousand cuts. It is not even a good example of a poorly planned new urbanist development. It's literally nothing at this point. Not even an example of a nice shopping center.

It's so confusing.

[jonesrmj]

Effort to cap I-95 through Wilmington gains momentum

Earlier this year, a group of state lawmakers from Wilmington urged Delaware’s federal delegation to support the idea of putting a cap on top of I-95 to reconnect city neighborhoods that were split in two by the highway’s construction decades ago.

On Monday, they got their wish.

U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware was joined by U.S. Sen Tom Carper and Congressman Dwight Evans of Pennsylvania at a roundtable discussion in Wilmington to talk about how federal money could repair the divide 95 has caused with construction of an urban park on top of the capped highway.

“Once in a generation do we have an opportunity to right a wrong, once,” Blunt Rochester said. “This is big, it’s sort of like all the stars aligned. We are now doing an infrastructure package, and all of this work has been put in. Now is the time for us to seize this moment.”

Both Blunt Rochester and Evans are co-lead sponsors of the $3 billion Reconnecting Communities bill which recently passed the House. In part, the measure will fund projects that “restore or improve connectivity, mobility, and access in disadvantaged and underserved communities.”

https://whyy.org/articles/effort-to-...-momentum/amp/

[SEFTA]

"Effort to cap I-95 through Wilmington gains momentum"
In the pic it's shown as an elevated highway.
Is that where they want a cap?
Or bury the whole highway? $$$

[Jawnadelphia]

Originally Posted by SEFTA

"Effort to cap I-95 through Wilmington gains momentum"
In the pic it's shown as an elevated highway.
Is that where they want a cap?
Or bury the whole highway? $$$

This is all very preliminary, but the cap would be over a few blocks that run through the heart of the city, from 4th to 10th Street area of I-95. Most likely, a two to three block area. 95 is underneath, and the city streets run above it (across and over 95). It’s a very similar dynamic to the Vine Street Expressway. So 95 would become a tunnel effectively for drivers, and the cap a new greenway for city pedestrians.

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by SEFTA

"Effort to cap I-95 through Wilmington gains momentum"
In the pic it's shown as an elevated highway.
Is that where they want a cap?
Or bury the whole highway? $$$

Have you ever been to Wilmington before SEFTA?

[PHLtoNYC]

Open Space, Closed Gates
How the rich carved up a famed Main Line estate — and qualified for big tax breaks

https://www.inquirer.com/business/in...-20210716.html

Excellent article about the famed Ardrossan Estate, land trust, tax breaks, and the new luxury homes dotting the land. If anyone is ever in Radnor, it is a fascinating drive down the winding trails (now dotted with several estates). Just don't get caught! The roads aren't for public use.

This piece is what the Inquirer should always strive for.

[summersm343]

Topping-Out Ceremony Held At Matson Mill At 101 Washington Street In Conshohocken, PA

Rendering:


Current progress:




Read/view more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2021/07/topp...hocken-pa.html

[summersm343]

First look: Inside Jefferson Health Washington Township's $222M campus 'transformation' project

Article behind paywall here:
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...loucester.html

[SEFTA]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

Have you ever been to Wilmington before SEFTA?

no

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by SEFTA

no

Well that would explain it. No worries man.

[PHLtoNYC]

Longtime Main Line luxury homebuilder plans for succession, ownership transfer

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...-builders.html

Very good homebuilder, glad they are doing well.

[summersm343]

Suburban apartment market remains hot, but 'gangbusters' Philadelphia leasing catching up

From Exton to Paoli and King of Prussia to Cherry Hill, the suburban multifamily market has outperformed Philadelphia as renters flock to bigger apartments, more open space and less dense communities.

Momentum in renting suburban apartment communities picked up last summer after a spring lull and has so far gone unabated. In many cases, new developments that were just starting to lease when the Covid-19 pandemic hit eventually saw heightened activity over the course of the last 12 months and reached full occupancy.

In Exton, Hankin Group’s Keva Flats, a five-building, 242-unit apartment complex off Waterloo Boulevard, is 95% occupied and the company’s entire 2,500-unit portfolio — much of which is in Chester County — is 99% leased.

“I think at the end of the day, until the housing market slows down, apartments will be in demand,” said Michael Hankin, president of the real estate company.

In Malvern, Lcor Inc.’s Arlo, a 244-unit complex off Route 202, is also fully leased despite hitting some bumps. The real estate company started leasing the project in the summer of 2019. “Things started off the way we planned but the pandemic did provide some punches,” said Peter DiLullo III, senior vice president at Lcor.

The company increased concessions including adding a couple of months of free rent. When leasing activity picked up, the free rent went by the wayside.

Not too much farther down the road in Paoli, Linden Lane Capital Partners’ Airdrie, a newly constructed 154-unit apartment complex adjacent to the Paoli train station, is 85% leased up. It was just starting to rent units when the pandemic struck in the spring of 2020.

Exton, Malvern and Paoli are located in Chester County, which was the top performer of all of the suburban counties between July 2020 and this past January when it came to people moving into apartments, according to CoStar data. Right behind were Burlington County and Montgomery County.

Rent growth in South Jersey was the strongest, according to Delta’s second quarter report. Rents grew by 11.6% from June 2020 to this June, according to Delta. Rate swung up by 8.7% in the suburbs while growing in Philadelphia by 6.9%.

Article behind paywall here:
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel..._8&cx_artPos=0

[PHLtoNYC]

Vanguard's move to hybrid work could provide competitive advantage, impact real estate plans

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...Pos=0#cxrecs_s

Vanguard acting differently than other large investment firms. Could be a good talent attractor for burbs and Philadelphia (assuming Vanguard is still energetic in developing its Center City Innovation Center).

My company is going back full-time in September with no remote options, I am not happy.