PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[nimshady]

^sexy, that will really change that intersection!

[mcgrath618]

I can see that site from my dorm. I'm on the 14th floor actually; I have great views of this site and of the UCity site. I'll definitely post updates when they're U/C

[iheartphilly]

^
Very sleek and sexy design. I like the color bricks and the pops of bold yellow strips and dark glass. It all works well together. Excellent location too!

https://www.30universityplace.com/

[City Wide]

in a slightly different direction---------------
In the first drawing on the upper left you can sortof see Christ Memorial Church which is the latest great Philly church to fall to the wrecking ball. One of the City's great buildings, sold for $10M and probably soon to be turned into more terrible, poorly designed and cheaply built, west Philly 'student' housing.

http://www2.philly.com/philly/column...-20180421.html

[Urbanthusiat]

Wow this looks like it will be a very cool building, inside and out. A lot happening that direction. 40th street approaching Market is really changing.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by City Wide

in a slightly different direction---------------
In the first drawing on the upper left you can sortof see Christ Memorial Church which is the latest great Philly church to fall to the wrecking ball. One of the City's great buildings, sold for $10M and probably soon to be turned into more terrible, poorly designed and cheaply built, west Philly 'student' housing.

http://www2.philly.com/philly/column...-20180421.html

Good, I would rather have the chance at a new development than a decrepit old church.
We have plenty of churches that are just as pretty and from the same era. Saint Joes (both the college and the high school) comes to mind.

[Mr Saturn64]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Good, I would rather have the chance at a new development than a decrepit old church.
We have plenty of churches that are just as pretty and from the same era. Saint Joes (both the college and the high school) comes to mind.

Disagree completely. Christ Memorial was one of, if not the, most beautiful buildings in the neighborhood. And not nearly enough is being done to preserve historic buildings in West Philly. It absolutely was worthy of being saved, but TBH it was too late 10 years ago.

[McBane]

I recall Inga wrote an article about how the Kenny administration had made preservation a top priority and put together a committee to evaluate current procedures and propose room for improvement; but apparently the committee met only a few times and hasn't done jack.

[Jawnadelphia]

Some random developments - took a stroll down Bainbridge, beginning just off Broad Street down to about 4th Street -- here's new construction:
















Queen Village, at E. Passyunk and Christian:

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by allovertown

In general, I agree that some historic neighborhoods should have their architectural identity preserved. Society Hill is such a place, some of the Victorian neighborhoods in West Philly are another. But I am sorry, I just don't understand why you think Old City is an example of this type of place. What exactly do you find homogenous and cohesive about old city architecture?Old city is one of the most architecturally diverse neighborhoods in the city, incredibly diverse really, if Old City doesn't have a building built from every decade in US history, I'm sure they're damn close. Every style of architecture imaginable. What does an old city building look like? People should be able to continue building diverse architecture in Old City. Just as they have for 200+ years.

And I walked by her national again today and I won't make any apologies for liking it. Not great, feels kind of cheap, but overall I like it. Once you concede there is no way to change the tile base, I like how they worked with it.

This is a very perplexing view of Old City. Please take a walk up or google street view N 3rd St. I would say the typical Old City building would be the multistory early 19th century Federal converted warehouse. In fact, I think this is rather obvious...

Also, you have what is perhaps the most significant ecclesiastical structure and the best example of Georgian architecture in the country - that being Christ Church.

While there are many aspects of Old City that need to be improved to enchance its existing character (including restoration and of course infill projects). However, the city has other districts that do and should allow for architecturel diversity. Old City is absolutely not one of them.

[Knight Hospitaller]

It's about context. Architectural diversity is not an all or nothing thing. Old City can handle structures that aren't pastiches of colonial, federal, or early 19th Century structures. However, I do feel that materials, heights, massing, etc., should be contextually appropriate. The "Gherkin" should not be dropped next to Christ Church.

[McBane]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

The "Gherkin" should not be dropped next to Christ Church.

Why not? The Bridge is very modern but looks amazing exactly where it is - it provides a sharp contrast to the surrounding historic buildings. So does 108 Arch Street (same developer).

I think the real issue here is crappy architecture and shoddy materials, which will look bad no matter the height, design style, or context within its surroundings.

Regardless, I don't think a developer/architect should be constrained by regulations meant to encourage a specific look in order to fit into the neighborhood. A well designed building with quality materials will look good just about anywhere. I think the Bridge is evidence of that. Or go north - NoLibs is full of contemporary structures sitting side by side with 19th century buildings.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by McBane

I recall Inga wrote an article about how the Kenny administration had made preservation a top priority and put together a committee to evaluate current procedures and propose room for improvement; but apparently the committee met only a few times and hasn't done jack.

The Historic Preservation Task Force has been conducting meetings, including public feedback meetings around the city, during the past year. Their final public feedback meeting was held in late September and they'll be meeting next week to work toward their final recommendations, due in December.

https://www.phlpreservation.org/

Here's a report of best practices from other cities that was presented for public feedback at the September 20th meeting:
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/c0d48...e2d0d5bc92.pdf

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Good, I would rather have the chance at a new development than a decrepit old church.
We have plenty of churches that are just as pretty and from the same era. Saint Joes (both the college and the high school) comes to mind.

Is it that you don't appreciate churches or that you're just very pro new development? If its the later then then plenty of 'decrepit' and otherwise pointless buildings in the area that could be torn down and if anything was said at all it would be 'thanks'. But Christ Memorial was special and its bones weren't in bad shape, well made stone buildings can last many centuries with just some basic care (and a good roof). I'm still having a hard time getting my head around what you're thinking/saying. It's almost as bad, but not quite, as saying tear down City Hall and be glad if at best someone someday builds a mindless 15 story all bronze glass tower in it's place. Have you seen the pure junk that's getting build in west Philly these days? Largely worthless, nothing more then a out and out money grab by people who care less about the built environment.

[Nova08]

From trucks to trails, Philly’s new $181 million bond will pay for improvements citywide
http://planphilly.com/articles/2018/...ments-citywide

A new dock for dragon boats, HVAC systems for the city’s homeless shelters, and a cap for I-195 along Penn’s Landing are among the capital projects Mayor Jim Kenney will fund with the $181 million municipal bond Philadelphia voters approved on Tuesday.

The bond dollars constitute a relatively small slice of the $4.7 billion capital budget for next year. But the bond proceeds will help the city leverage private, state and federal money sources, which often require local matching funds — combined, those outside sources make up 35 percent of the city’s FY 2019 capital budget.

The credit line increase comes at a time when the city is working to realize a number of ambitious public works projects. Many of them will share in the $174 million that the city will ultimately put in the bank, after paying fees tied to the bond’s issuance.
Here's what Philadelphia voters bought on Tuesday

The Philadelphia Museum of Art officially broke ground on its Frank Gehry-designed, $196 million overhaul last year. The museum is city-owned, and so the city is chipping in a little: $5 million of the bond proceeds will go toward some of the infrastructure upgrades needed to make way for the ambitious reimagining of one of the city’s most iconic buildings.

On the other side of the Schuylkill River, another beloved cultural institution, the Philadelphia Zoo, will get $1.5 million for renovations to some of the city-owned buildings there.

The Commerce Department will oversee $1.5 million earmarked for improvements to commercial corridors throughout the city. The money will go toward upgrading sidewalks, lighting, landscaping and parking, in an effort to support existing local storefront businesses and inspire new ones to open.

The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation will get $3 million from the bond to boost its revolving fund for acquiring and investing in industrially zoned sites throughout the city, which it then sells off to private companies.

One of the city’s largest long-term capital projects is the plan to cap I-95 along Penn’s Landing with an 8-acre park. Kenney committed $90 million in city funds to the project in 2017, PennDOT pledged $100 million, and the William Penn and Knight Foundations have chipped in the rest of the $225 million cost.

This coming year, $500,000 of the bond will go toward preliminary design and permitting stages of the cap project. Another $7.5 million will be spent on other improvements to Penn’s Landing and the Central Delaware Waterfront. And $500,000 is pegged for the North Delaware River Waterfront.

The city’s other river will also get a splash of the bond monies: $2 million is pledged for the Schuylkill River Trail’s ongoing expansion projects.

The city’s other ambitious capital project, Rebuild, got off to a slow start, as opponents fought a long legal battle over the constitutionality of the sweetened beverage tax funding most of it. With that fight now behind the city, work can begin in earnest. But the start is also a bit modest: $1 million of the bond is pegged for the Free Library’s Rebuild budget, and another $7 million will go toward Department of Parks and Recreation-led projects.

Parks and Recreation will see other projects funded by the bond, too, with $1 million going toward an ongoing project to maintain and rebuild the retaining wall along the Schuylkill River. The Horticultural Center will get $200,000 for building upgrades. Design work on improving the East Park Canoe House will get a $400,000 infusion, and another $250,000 will go toward a new dock for dragon boats. The Mann Center is also slated to get $1 million for various improvements.

The Philadelphia Fire Department will get $2 million for ongoing and new upgrades at its stations across the city, including the city’s oldest, the 1891-built Engine 37 in Chestnut Hill.

The city also plans to spend $19.1 million of the bond on some new vehicles. The Fire Department will get the bulk, $10 million, and the Streets Department will get $7.6 million, leaving $1.5 million for cars and trucks used by other city departments.

The city’s homeless shelters will spend $1.2 million from the bond proceeds to replace heating and cooling systems.

A large chunk of the bond will be spent on updating the city’s old technology and computer systems: $15.2 million for hardware, and $6.7 million for software, including upgrades to the city’s accounting systems and the Streets Department’s right-of-way management system. That system tracks and coordinates the dozens of street closures for construction, parties, parades and other events that happen every day.

The Police Department will get money to support its move to 400 N. Broad St. The former Inquirer building will also house the 6th and 9th police districts, the medical examiner’s office and the city’s 911 call center. Along with upgrades to the 2nd, 15th and 22nd police districts, the PPD is getting $21.1 million in budget year 2019.

In addition to that, $5 million will go toward “substantial improvement to meet modern operational and safety requirements,” at the PPD’s firearms training facility. A $6.2 million extension of the Baxter Trail running behind it has been mostly closed because of the danger of ricocheting bullets, despite improvements at the time of the trail’s construction to keep shots within the gun range.

The Streets Department will heavily leverage the $1.5 million share of the bond pegged for Vision Zero traffic safety improvements. Streets officials expect it to yield $3 million in additional federal funds and another $3 million from the state.

The city will also allocate $500,000 for its ongoing replacement of city’s streetlights with brighter, but less energy-intensive LEDS.

Streets will also see $4.7 million used to rehabilitate and stabilize bridges. Another $23.5 million is earmarked for street repaving and the installation of curb ramps mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Philadelphia will also chip in $5 million for SEPTA-led construction projects across the city, which are estimated to total $227 million in the coming fiscal year.

Another $200,000 will go toward expanding Indego.

Looking beyond the new bond, the largest chunk of the city’s capital budget comes from “self-sustaining” sources. For instance, the Philadelphia Water Department reinvests utility bill payments into replacing old pipes, and Philadelphia International Airport uses the fees airlines pay to upgrade terminals and expand runways. So, while the airport is one of the largest line items on the budget — $600 million in capital spending is earmarked for the coming fiscal year — none of the recently approved municipal bond will go toward it.

[City Wide]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
thanks

[PhilliesPhan]

Due to finding a new job and waiting for it to start, I’ve had some free time to walk around Philly and check in on the state of new development occurring. Here are a few of the things I’ve noticed:

Ridge Avenue: I took a bunch of pics that I’ll post at some point, but Ridge Avenue is still undergoing significant changes. Most of you have seen the tremendous pace of development west of Broad, but new buildings are starting to rise to the east as well! The biggest change is occurring on the 1300 block, with 1300 Fairmount and a smaller building now simultaneously under construction. The 1200 and 1100 blocks also have new buildings popping up. West of Broad, new buildings have popped up since I graduated from Temple six months ago. The 1500 and 1600 blocks represent the most significant changes, and the 1800 block is also chugging along nicely. Within a few years, Ridge Avenue will be a destination, especially when tenants start filling the retail spaces along the corridor! SEPTA should really consider renovating both levels of the Fairmount BSL stop in anticipation of the sharp increase of new residents.

Templetown: I’ve also taken a bunch of pics in this neighborhood, specifically focusing on the area between Broad, Ridge, Girard, and Master. This is an area that isn’t decidedly student or long-term resident. This neighborhood is absolutely on fire! I suspect that a lot of the new housing going up isn’t just for students, either: a lot of people are likely searching for cheaper alternatives to Francisville and Fairmount. This is evidenced by the fact that some of the new housing is single-family. Blocks of formerly decaying homes and vacant lots are quickly being put back to productive use. Heading into the student area, new student housing is going up in places that I thought my fellow Temple students would have been too nervous to rent a place at: Uber and Cecil B. (between 19th and 20th), the 1700 block of N. Lambert Street (between 20th and 21st Streets), 15th and Susquehanna, and other places that some students consider to be “too far out.”

Brewerytown: The energy in Brewerytown is just indescribable: wherever you look, there is new construction! All I could hear was the distant sound of hammers and nail guns going off in all directions. Development has, by and large, moved north of Jefferson. I saw a lot of new homes that have already or will go up on and around Oxford Street. Walking along Cecil B., I saw various rehabs occurring, which is usually the first sign of impending new construction. Once development crosses Cecil B. (which may be a while out), North Philly will truly enter a new era. The only hole in the doughnut for Cecil B. is currently the stretch between Ridge and 33rd Street. Once that fills in, Cecil B. Moore Ave will be the new northern extremity for “Greater Center City.” At 29th and Cecil B., I saw a building coming down. This may end up being the start of the first new construction on that section of Cecil B. Moore Ave!

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by Jawnadelphia

What are those bays clad in? Aluminum? Nickelplate? They look pretty damn awesome. The funny thing is the stop sign gives a profile of a return bracket underneath the bay that would have been a really nice detail making them even more handsome.

[Nova08]

Our Amazon Consolation Prize. It's a local company, but one that is doubling down on the area.

GoPuff to create 500+ jobs in $4M plan to build new Phila. HQ & 10 Pa. warehouses

The search for a new headquarters has ended for goPuff, the fast-growing Philadelphia-based on-demand delivery service. The company has a $4 million investment plan comprising a new headquarters, 10 warehouses across Pennsylvania and over 500 new jobs.

Rafael Ilishayev and Yakir Gola created goPuff in 2013 as undergraduates at Drexel University, and it's grown to service to over 40 markets across 21 states, including Texas, Georgia, Indiana and Ohio.

The company, which promises to delivery goods in under 30 minutes, had been searching for a new headquarters for a few months since outgrowing its space in the Callowhill neighborhood of Philadelphia and amid safety and traffic concerns.

GoPuff was "committed" to finding a new headquarters within Philadelphia, company officials told the Philadelphia Business Journal in an earlier interview, and they've kept their word.

The on-demand delivery company – which also comprises goBooze and goBeer — will embark on a $4 million multistage expansion plan centered around the construction of a 30,000-square-foot headquarters at 3rd and Spring Garden streets — located a few blocks from its current facility at 12th Street between Callowhill and Spring Garden streets.

GoPuff will also construct 10 new warehouse operations in Pennsylvania in Allegheny, Chester, Dauphin, Lackawanna and Philadelphia counties.

The company will also expand its six existing warehouse operations in Manayunk, Bethlehem, State College, Pittsburgh, and in Philadelphia, where it has two locations.

There are 125 employees at goPuff's headquarters. and the multistage expansion plan will create over 500 jobs for Philadelphia and Pennsylvania — the new headquarters will create over 150 new full-time jobs, and the new and expanded warehouses will create about 400 jobs over the next three years.

GoPuff received a funding proposal from the Department of Community and Economic Development for a $400,000 Pennsylvania First grant with phased distribution contingent on job creation, according to officials.

The project was coordinated by the Governor’s Action Team, a group of economic development professionals reporting directly to the Wolf and work with businesses looking to locate or expand in Pennsylvania.

“GoPuff is a great example of how Pennsylvania’s strengths in aspects like education and businesses development have led to a climate where startups thrive,” Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf said in a statement.

Philadelphia in the last five years has become fertile ground for delivery services such as goPuff. Most recently, Amazon's Whole Foods grocery delivery service, Prime Now, entered the market, promising customers delivery in two hours or less.

GoPuff's growth highlighted potential challenges metropolitan areas will contend with as on-demand delivery companies — not just goPuff — grow and as more enter the market.

Growth among these types of services will "force" cities to enforce more regulations to ensure safety, said David Fiorenza, economics instructor at Villanova University's School of Business, in an earlier interview with the Business Journal.

If on-demand delivery services do not evolve into a more bicycle-type of service, Fiorenza said, cities will see more issues with traffic, double parking, illegal parking in fire lanes and handicapped spaces, straining police departments to look for those infractions.

More regulations and higher fees come about when cities see growth in a particular area of business.

Serving 48 markets in 21 states, GoPuff recently expanded to Cherry Hill, N.J., its first suburban market. It has additional plans to expand to 60 locations by the end of the year.

“We consider Philadelphia our first investor," co-founder Ilishayev said. "We would not have been able to scale our business as quickly and deliver the moments that matter most to our customers had it not been for the support of the city and the state."

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Nova08

Our Amazon Consolation Prize. It's a local company, but one that is doubling down on the area.

GoPuff to create 500+ jobs in $4M plan to build new Phila. HQ & 10 Pa. warehouses

Awesome news!