PHILADELPHIA | Schuylkill Yards Future Phases | 1,095 - 375 FT | 70 - 28 FLOORS

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Mayormccheese

I think you’re placing Philadelphia’s rowhomes on a pedestal. Sure some are fine but a lot aren’t.

The Philadelphia Rowhome design is classic. It beats out the Chicago Duplex or the California Bungalow any day.

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by Manitopiaaa

[*]Major corporations like Comcast-NBC, Crown Holdings, Amerisource Bergen (to find a wealthy spouse)

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

The Philadelphia Rowhome design is classic. It beats out the Chicago Duplex or the California Bungalow any day.

I agee. It’s probably the closest thing you’ll get to a quaint European vibe in this country.

[Mayormccheese]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

The Philadelphia Rowhome design is classic. It beats out the Chicago Duplex or the California Bungalow any day.

I agree that the classic Philly rowhome’s look has great character. But I do think they have drawbacks. The new construction homes solve a lot of the functional issues that the classic rowhomes have. I don’t think we should necessarily be mourning when a rowhome is torn down for new construction but we really do need to push for better materials on the new construction homes.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by Mayormccheese

I agree that the classic Philly rowhome’s look has great character. But I do think they have drawbacks. The new construction homes solve a lot of the functional issues that the classic rowhomes have. I don’t think we should necessarily be mourning when a rowhome is torn down for new construction but we really do need to push for better materials on the new construction homes.

newer homes are larger and have more of what buyers want in terms of closest space, central AC etc. But from design perspective they generally pale in comparison and do not age well. Some stucco clad stuff built within last 10-20 years already looks like crap. The detailing on the older homes will never be duplicated so we do need to restore and preserve as much as we can.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by Manitopiaaa

That's good to hear! I'd never buy one of those new models. Philadelphia's small historic rowhomes are one of its best assets.

And yeah, work is considering a 1 or 2 day in office requirement. If they choose 1 day in office, I'm definitely tempted to just leave D.C. altogether and move closer to the "center of it all."

D.C. is too expensive for what you get, New York gets you a lot, but the prices are even more obscene, Baltimore is a fun visit - but too dangerous. Which leaves Philadelphia as checking all boxes:

• Cheap housing - even when factoring in local income tax (I think I can get a good rowhome for my budget of $500k. In D.C., I'm essentially confided to the far-off suburbs)
• Proximity to beaches (Jersey Shore)
• Proximity to mountains (Poconos)
• Transit connections to D.C. (Northeast Regional train)
• Transit connections to New York (1h15m is really close!)
• Big arts scene (Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rodin, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts)
• Large gay scene (Gayborhood)
• Major corporations like Comcast-NBC, Crown Holdings, Amerisource Bergen (to find a wealthy spouse)
• Famous university (I'm considering going back to get my 2nd Master's - an MBA, and you can't get more prestigious than Wharton at Penn)
• Lots of historic rowhomes
• Proximity to major international airport (PHL is borderline, but EWR isn't that far away)
• Safe (parts of Philly are pretty bad, but I'd be looking south of Center City and North of Wharton, which seems really safe)
• Huge fan of It's Always Sunny

I'm also working hybrid but in Manhattan (2 days a week) and decided to take the plunge and move here as well. I moved to Fishtown but I'm heading north on Amtrak and get my train from Cornwells Heights. That doesn't work for you because you're heading south.

There's plenty of mediocrity in new construction but also a lot of really nice new stuff. It might be hard to find new construction south of 500K in your zone, at least really good new construction, but you'll have no problem finding a nice rehab.

For my money, if I were you, I'd focus on East Passyunk. I don't know how far you're willing to be from 30th Street station. On another note, sometimes in Philly what's old again is new. Meaning, sometimes certain neighborhoods get so trendy that it actually makes the old stalwarts look reasonable (cost wise) by comparison. I periodically see nice restored (smaller) rowhomes in Fitler Square and the northern (nicest) part of Graduate Hospital for around 500K. It usually shocks me when I see them at all.

Also, pound for pound (if you're okay with a smaller home), check out a street in Graduate Hospital called Madison Square. It's a pedestrian garden block. One of Philly's most charming.

[bdurk]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

The Philadelphia Rowhome design is classic. It beats out the Chicago Duplex or the California Bungalow any day.

Honestly, after visiting Chicago I think I'd prefer one of those homes instead of a rowhome. For the most part, they seem to all have a garage and a backyard, with an alleyway as well. In my rowhome at Temple I don't get any outdoor space at all and I hate it.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by bdurk

Honestly, after visiting Chicago I think I'd prefer one of those homes instead of a rowhome. For the most part, they seem to all have a garage and a backyard, with an alleyway as well. In my rowhome at Temple I don't get any outdoor space at all and I hate it.

In the duplex I lived in, we only had a garage. Not as important for me because I didn't own a car and took the L everywhere, but I can see how that is important for others.

On our block, it was usually one or the other. Either you had a garage or you had a backyard. One of our neighbors even destroyed his backyard and poured concrete everywhere so that his tenants had parking (why they agreed to that is beyond me, it was a beautiful backyard).

Unfortunately, this has also led to the rat problem in Chicago. Since back alleys are constantly dirty, smelly, and trashy, and backyards have many places to hide, the rats there thrive. It's to the point that they've had to put signs up a-la spotted lanternfly.

Architecturally, both designs are rather pretty. I think Philly still wins out for me though.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

In the duplex I lived in, we only had a garage. Not as important for me because I didn't own a car and took the L everywhere, but I can see how that is important for others.

On our block, it was usually one or the other. Either you had a garage or you had a backyard. One of our neighbors even destroyed his backyard and poured concrete everywhere so that his tenants had parking (why they agreed to that is beyond me, it was a beautiful backyard).

Unfortunately, this has also led to the rat problem in Chicago. Since back alleys are constantly dirty, smelly, and trashy, and backyards have many places to hide, the rats there thrive. It's to the point that they've had to put signs up a-la spotted lanternfly.

Architecturally, both designs are rather pretty. I think Philly still wins out for me though.

I don't have a strong preference for one housing type over the other, but Chicago wins for greenery and tree coverage (IMO). So many dense streets in Chicago have grass, flowers, trees, little front yards, etc.
I know Philly's tight grid doesn't allow this in many parts, but I wish South Philly were designed with that idea in mind (from back in the day). Or at least more square parks.

[Vince_]

Chicago has incredible landscaping. So many streets have wrought iron planter boxes with flowers and street trees. I know Philly has narrower sidewalks but one of the big reasons why is that the alleys behind the houses in Chicago allow the overhead power lines to be in the alley and not on the street. Powerlines are the main thing limiting our street trees. They also have many landscaped medians while Philly can't even get Broad, Spring Garden and Delaware Ave. properly landscaped...

Just look at these street views:
https://goo.gl/maps/vaNFH8DZBSYDRtog7
https://goo.gl/maps/CM6fjV1BRKpTmwvw6
https://goo.gl/maps/PyqB5xUkqG8NQCqy8

In Philly the homeowner is responsible for the sidewalk but Chicago has this cool program to help maintain them: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/dept...lkprogram.html

[PHL10]

I agree that streetscapes are not Philadelphia's strong suit and I have heard great things about Chicago's efforts but your examples are confusing me. How are those residential streets any different from streets like this? (I tried to pick similar density neighborhoods as your examples from around the City.)

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0528...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9475...!7i5504!8i2752

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9193...7i16384!8i8192

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by PHL10

I agree that streetscapes are not Philadelphia's strong suit and I have heard great things about Chicago's efforts but your examples are confusing me. How are those residential streets any different from streets like this? (I tried to pick similar density neighborhoods as your examples from around the City.)

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0528...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9475...!7i5504!8i2752

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9193...7i16384!8i8192

I could probably just as easily cherry pick streets in Chicago that don’t have any green, and look like South Philly.

Pretty much all of Belmont Avenue, for example. I feel like there might have been some trees around the L stop but the further west you go (especially around Kuma’s) the more concrete jungle it gets.

[UrbanRevival]

Originally Posted by PHL10

I agree that streetscapes are not Philadelphia's strong suit and I have heard great things about Chicago's efforts but your examples are confusing me. How are those residential streets any different from streets like this? (I tried to pick similar density neighborhoods as your examples from around the City.)

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0528...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9475...!7i5504!8i2752

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9193...7i16384!8i8192

I think where Philadelphia streets have incorporated tree canopy/landscaping, it has done so fantastically, but there's no doubt that a significant chunk of the city could use the same treatment. Tight streets in South Philly like this one tend to be the worst offenders. Tree cover/plantings would be an incredible upgrade.

The good news is that it's still certainly possible to "greenify" these very narrow Philadelphia right-of-ways, such as Kimball Street in Bella Vista, but it's going to take more resources and dedication of residents to make it possible in much more of the city.

[TonyTone]

Hold on now.

Philly has many neighborhoods, streets & parks with great landscaping, trees & art.

Spring garden for example is probably one of the most landscaped beautiful strips in the city as well as the parkway & Delaware Ave, Hopefully we can add Girard to this list in a couple years it would look great with trees and the new trolleys.

Also areas like South Philly were built in a different era where trees weren't thought of or they put the wrong type of trees and it destroyed the sidewalk & buildings as we see plenty examples of buckled sidewalks from trees today.

Now if we look in the areas that were built in later eras such as Northeast with the neighborhoods of Oaklane, Oxford Circle & etc we see more tree lined strips, neighborhoods and just bigger Streets, Alleys, Homes & etc. As we all know this is due to the fact of better planning compared to the lates 1800's-1900's

The only option now to add trees in many strips across the city would be to ramp up the current program and redo streets/sidewalks in many neighborhoods to allow Tree Aprons & better streets.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

Hold on now.

Philly has many neighborhoods, streets & parks with great landscaping, trees & art.

Spring garden for example is probably one of the most landscaped beautiful strips in the city as well as the parkway & Delaware Ave, Hopefully we can add Girard to this list in a couple years it would look great with trees and the new trolleys.

Also areas like South Philly were built in a different era where trees weren't thought of or they put the wrong type of trees and it destroyed the sidewalk & buildings as we see plenty examples of buckled sidewalks from trees today.

Now if we look in the areas that were built in later eras such as Northeast with the neighborhoods of Oaklane, Oxford Circle & etc we see more tree lined strips, neighborhoods and just bigger Streets, Alleys, Homes & etc. As we all know this is due to the fact of better planning compared to the lates 1800's-1900's

The only option now to add trees in many strips across the city would be to ramp up the current program and redo streets/sidewalks in many neighborhoods to allow Tree Aprons & better streets.

Would recommend we probably move this discussion to the Lowrise thread.

The entirety of Baring is one of the prettiest streets I've ever seen, period. And I'm not just saying that because I live there!

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

Also areas like South Philly were built in a different era where trees weren't thought of or they put the wrong type of trees and it destroyed the sidewalk & buildings as we see plenty examples of buckled sidewalks from trees today.

Also, many of those neighbors today don’t want street trees. One has to clean up the leaves and they can get in the way of cars and pedestrians on narrow streets. I think they are worth the hassle but many do not.

[TK2001]

3025 JFK by Philly SkyGuy, on Flickr

[Urbanthusiat]

That’s a deep hole!!

[PHL10]

Thanks TK! That happened quick.

[SEFTA]

thinking back, less than 10 years ago...
the fact a residential tower is going up here is astounding