PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

I've been watching this one rise since late August/early September. This building is now framed out. I'm excited to see what will eventually happen with 842 N Broad, which constitutes the majority of the lot in the picture!



I posted about this one a few weeks back, when I first noticed it for sale. I'm SUPER excited about the possibilities for this lot! An 11 story building would be perfect in that spot.

Though Francisville is entering the final stages of revitalization, there's still sooooo much going on around here! Projects are in various stages of construction along Ridge Avenue, there's a modular building currently rising on N 19th Street, large lots along Broad are seeing interest, and there's a huge project planned at 17th and Girard. Additionally, a few new businesses have began to open shop along Ridge Avenue! The action in adjacent neighborhoods is also great--I'm pumped that I'll be able to take a 10 minute walk to an Aldi larger than the one on 31st and Girard.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Francisville is fully built out, similar to Fairmount. Personally, I think that the portion of Templetown/Cecil B. Moore bounded by Broad, Ridge, Girard, and Master is going to fill up with people who are looking to purchase homes, yet are priced out of the neighborhoods to the south. It could also increase the intensity of development in Brewerytown, as well as the parcels in Sharswood that the PHA didn't take a few years ago.

Love to hear all of this! Can't wait to see the upward trajectory of North Broad! I long for the day North Broad is entirely built out between Center City and Temple Main, and South Broad is fully built out between City Hall and Washington Ave at the minimum.

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Old design

Pretty sure that was always just a conceptual placeholder, and not an actual construction design. Love the new design, though--suggests to me (and perhaps others) a tip of the hat to some of the alternative energy sources (wind, solar, etc.) that may be studied and researched inside the building. Also, it will make a great companion to the dynamic design of the Singh Center for Nanotechnology that is catty-corner across Walnut Street.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Pretty sure that was always just a conceptual placeholder, and not an actual construction design. Love the new design, though--suggests to me (and perhaps others) a tip of the hat to some of the alternative energy sources (wind, solar, etc.) that may be studied and researched inside the building. Also, it will make a great companion to the dynamic design of the Singh Center for Nanotechnology that is catty-corner across Walnut Street.

Agreed! Also, love the walkway/ramp connecting Walnut Street to Shoemaker Green. That's a nice touch.

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Agreed! Also, love the walkway/ramp connecting Walnut Street to Shoemaker Green. That's a nice touch.

Yeah, this was always a neglected corner of Penn's campus--a real no-man's land. Nice to see it finally getting this kind of attention.

[summersm343]

TJ Maxx parent company signs lease for build-to-suit distribution center in Philadelphia

The parent company to TJ Maxx signed a 300,000-square-foot build-to-suit in Northeast Philadelphia. The company already has a large distribution center less than two miles away on Red Lion Road.

Full article behind paywall here:
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...-ne-phila.html

[summersm343]

New York food company buys 13 acres in Philadelphia for $40M distribution facility

The company is expanding into Philadelphia. The site is in a Federal Opportunity Zone and is expected to employ 120 people.

Full article behind paywall here:
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...nto-phila.html

[Skintreesnail]

that's pretty interesting news. I wonder what's going on with Hilco's plan for the refinery. Philly is pretty well-positioned both geographically and from an infrastructure stance to become a pretty decent logistics center.

[summersm343]

New Lab at 32nd & Walnut Could Solve the Climate Crisis

Current site:




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Read more here:
http://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-phill...climate-crisis

[mcgrath618]

Darrell Clarke proposes ban on roof decks and certain building materials in gentrifying Strawberry Mansion

City Council President Darrell Clarke wants to help preserve a section of Strawberry Mansion before developers get to it.

“I’m absolutely committed to working with the residents to maintain its character as a tight-knit neighborhood of rowhouses in the heart of North Philadelphia,” said Clarke.

Clark grew up in the neighborhood east of Fairmount Park and north of fast-gentrifying Brewerytown and has represented the neighborhood since 1999. Now he is working with community leaders to pass a bill that would guard against change in the historic heart of the neighborhood through the creation of a Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District.

The district would be the first one in North Philadelphia, spreading a preservation strategy that has helped neighborhoods including Queen Village and Powelton Village maintain their historic charm in the face of development pressures.

“We have unique housing in Strawberry Mansion,” said Tonnetta Graham, a longtime resident and president of the Strawberry Mansion Community Development Corporation. “When you are in on these blocks coming through Strawberry Mansion you can see the continuity of the community… That’s what people want to be able to recognize and preserve.”

The district’s creation would allow Strawberry Mansion to enforce neighborhood-specific building regulations to retain the historic character of the neighborhood where some of the housing stock goes back more than 100 years. It would restrict building height and also ban the use of building materials such as vinyl, stucco, horizontal aluminum, and concrete masonry units on building facades.

Roof decks would also be prohibited — a harsh rebuke to developers who increasingly rely on the Instagrammable amenity to attract buyers willing to pay premium rates for the open-air skyline access.

https://whyy.org/articles/darrell-cl...berry-mansion/

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[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Darrell Clarke proposes ban on roof decks and certain building materials in gentrifying Strawberry Mansion

https://whyy.org/articles/darrell-cl...berry-mansion/

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As much as I strongly disagree with most of Darrell Clarke's actions, this one is actually much more palatable than other things he's proposed. Sure, the roof deck ban is stupid, and the height limits are equally so, but some corridors in Strawberry Mansion should have historic protections granted to them. As 33rd, Lehigh, and especially Diamond begin to see an influx of investment, there should be some design controls placed along those corridors to ensure that their respective legacies of high-quality architecture are preserved. Concrete, vinyl, and ESPECIALLY stucco are insults to the three aforementioned corridors.

At this point, both 29th Street and Ridge Avenue should be upzoned, and developers should be allowed to go crazy. There isn't much left to save between Diamond and 33rd/York along Ridge, and there are a ton of vacant lots along 29th Street. The same should go for smaller blocks with a lot of vacant lots.

I'm in Strawberry Mansion a lot, as it's one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city. I'm so glad to see that people are finally paying attention to it, and I'm confident that it will only continue to rise in stature in the coming years. Darrell Clarke can't even stop that!

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Darrell Clarke proposes ban on roof decks and certain building materials in gentrifying Strawberry Mansion

https://whyy.org/articles/darrell-cl...berry-mansion/

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This Darrell Clarke guy is a special case. I'm OK with requiring 3rd floor setbacks, OR EVEN maxing the height limit to 28 feet on the existing 2-story blocks in Strawberry Mansion, but this shouldn't be a blanket zoning overlay. There's plenty of 3-story housing blocks or even future commercial corridors that need and should have higher height limits. A ban on roof decks is asinine and silly.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

As much as I strongly disagree with most of Darrell Clarke's actions, this one is actually much more palatable than other things he's proposed. Sure, the roof deck ban is stupid, and the height limits are equally so, but some corridors in Strawberry Mansion should have historic protections granted to them. As 33rd, Lehigh, and especially Diamond begin to see an influx of investment, there should be some design controls placed along those corridors to ensure that their respective legacies of high-quality architecture are preserved. Concrete, vinyl, and ESPECIALLY stucco are insults to the three aforementioned corridors.

At this point, both 29th Street and Ridge Avenue should be upzoned, and developers should be allowed to go crazy. There isn't much left to save between Diamond and 33rd/York along Ridge, and there are a ton of vacant lots along 29th Street. The same should go for smaller blocks with a lot of vacant lots.

I'm in Strawberry Mansion a lot, as it's one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city. I'm so glad to see that people are finally paying attention to it, and I'm confident that it will only continue to rise in stature in the coming years. Darrell Clarke can't even stop that!

Oh I am completely fine with the limiting of materials. I think it's incredibly appropriate for the area.

The roof deck ban and the height limit is what I am laughing at. Darrel Clarke and Kenyatta Johnson are really hell bent on symptoms of gentrification (bay windows, roof decks), rather than causes (low density along transit corridors, lack of holistically beneficial commercial development, etc).

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Oh I am completely fine with the limiting of materials. I think it's incredibly appropriate for the area.

The roof deck ban and the height limit is what I am laughing at. Darrel Clarke and Kenyatta Johnson are really hell bent on symptoms of gentrification (bay windows, roof decks), rather than causes (low density along transit corridors, lack of holistically beneficial commercial development, etc).

Or like, improving incomes of poor people so that they don't get displaced when the neighborhood gets a bit more expensive?

[summersm343]

'It's a project you would see in Brooklyn': $52M redevelopment planned for vacant Sears in Philadelphia

A partnership between Abrams Realty and Development and Bock Development has paid $28.75 million for a former Sears in Northeast Philadelphia with plans to invest another $24 million to redevelop the vacant department store.

Article behind paywall here:
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...-of-sears.html

[Boku]

Originally Posted by summersm343

'It's a project you would see in Brooklyn': $52M redevelopment planned for vacant Sears in Philadelphia



Article behind paywall here:
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...-of-sears.html

It's 98% pre-leased and they're keeping the 60,000 sq. ft. anchor tenant secret for now. Construction should start in the next few weeks and "most of the redevelopment completed by next November."

[summersm343]

Demolition Work Underway For 918 North Delaware Ave

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Read more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2020/11/demo...ladelphia.html

[summersm343]

110-Unit Development Proposed At 1525 North American Street In Olde Kensington

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Read/view more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2020/11/1525...ladelphia.html

[summersm343]

Demolition Work Slowly Starts At 1130 North Delaware Avenue

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The furniture wholesale building appears shuttered and ready for demolition. The parking lot to the southwest also looks closed, with yellow tape around the site, trucks parked on the lot, and parts of the pavement torn up into piles of dirt and rubble.

Read more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2020/11/foun...ladelphia.html

[Philly Fan]

Philly undoes deal with developer Peebles to revamp historic Family Court building into luxury hotel

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Philly undoes deal with developer Peebles to revamp historic Family Court building into luxury hotel

this has been going nowhere for years, unfortunately this isnt surprising.