PHILADELPHIA | 709 Chestnut Street | 327 FT | 27 FLOORS - Page 7

Urbanthusiat · #**121** Posted **Aug 23, 2018, 12:21 PM**

Just pulling the renders for the forum.

mcgrath618 · #**122** Posted **Aug 23, 2018, 1:13 PM**

I honestly think that it's just a crappy rendering. When it goes up it should look better.

McBane · #**123** Posted **Aug 23, 2018, 1:48 PM**

This is one of those designs that could end up really well or really badly. Depends a lot on the materials and color scheme. Erdy McHenry usually puts out good work but I'm cautious about the panels. Even with cheap materials, I'm all for this tower going up.

Raymond LuxuryYacht · #**124** Posted **Aug 23, 2018, 2:11 PM**

It’s certainly different....not bad if that’s the final design.

reparcsyks · #**125** Posted **Aug 23, 2018, 2:28 PM**

I actually really like it.

allovertown · #**126** Posted **Aug 23, 2018, 2:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I honestly think that it's just a crappy rendering. When it goes up it should look better.

It's definitely a bad rendering. I hate renderings like this where even though you have an idea of what the building will look like, it's so highly stylized that it's impossible to tell what is even going on.

The bad news is, if they're not willing to spend on a good rendering, they're probably not going to spend the significantly greater expense to make it a good building.

I agree with McBane though, there is a huge amount of variance on how this turns out based on how much they spend on cladding. There's definitely a building I really like in those renderings, we'll have to see if they can pull it off. Either way, my design threshold for replacing a parking lot is a lot different then say, tearing down part of jeweler's row. I hope it gets built.

McBane · #**127** Posted **Aug 23, 2018, 2:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by allovertown

either way, my design threshold for replacing a parking lot is a lot different then say, tearing down part of jeweler's row. I hope it gets built.

+1

Knight Hospitaller · #**128** Posted **Aug 23, 2018, 3:26 PM**

I like this one too, except for the yellow accents. Is that lighting or more "I wish I were on the Camden riverfront" aesthetics?

City Wide · #**129** Posted **Aug 23, 2018, 5:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by allovertown

It's definitely a bad rendering. I hate renderings like this where even though you have an idea of what the building will look like, it's so highly stylized that it's impossible to tell what is even going on.

The bad news is, if they're not willing to spend on a good rendering, they're probably not going to spend the significantly greater expense to make it a good building.

I agree with McBane though, there is a huge amount of variance on how this turns out based on how much they spend on cladding. There's definitely a building I really like in those renderings, we'll have to see if they can pull it off. Either way, my design threshold for replacing a parking lot is a lot different then say, tearing down part of jeweler's row. I hope it gets built.

McBane makes a good point, just about anything built on a parking lot is by definition better then the parking lot. But, that doesn't stop one from wanting even a parking lot replacement to be better.

Rarely is the actual built building as good as the renderings. Personally I think one of the jobs of a presentation drawing is to fool people into believing how great the proposed building will look. But the whole set of drawings that have been released for this project seem almost crude. The devil is always in the details, hope they get it right, or at least much better then the drawings. I'm glad this looks like it might get built this time around.

JohnIII · #**130** Posted **Aug 23, 2018, 7:49 PM**

Anything on the site is better than what we have; plus this is a rendering but not the actually building so I'll hold my judgment and see give it time, see how it turns out before I give a view on it; consider all the evidence.

I wish it was about 100 feet taller or closer to the height of the old Aramark Tower with more retail on the first floor but what the heck.

iheartphilly · #**131** Posted **Aug 23, 2018, 9:25 PM**

I say build it. We need more buildings and more people living/working in the city. Such is the fabric of urban life.

summersm343 · #**132** Posted **Aug 23, 2018, 9:41 PM**

I think this is great design. Build it! Reminds me of a sleeker version of 3601 Market.

The side of the city needs more towers regardless of the height.

jmj · #**133** Posted **Aug 23, 2018, 10:37 PM**

I like it and its better than the usual EMH product. Glad to see its not a bunch of prison like vertical slit windows.

Boku · #**134** Posted **Sep 5, 2018, 2:32 PM**

Favored to rise at 709 Chestnut St.: A 27-story condo tower

http://planphilly.com/articles/2018/...ry-condo-tower

Quote:

A condo tower proposed for 709 Chestnut St. received glowing reviews from the Civic Design Review Committee and the city’s Planning Commission staff at a presentation of the project Tuesday.

The 27-story tower and its 278 market-rate single-family units would replace a 75-space surface parking lot. 709 Chestnut is under development by Parkway Corp., which is seeking to turn more of its surface-parking assets in Center City into more complex projects.

A previous version of this plan, proposed in 2015, called for rental units, and the tower offered a sheer face to the public. The new version uses different materials and balconies to break up the mass of the 317-foot-tall building.

frbrown · #**135** Posted **Sep 5, 2018, 2:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boku

Favored to rise at 709 Chestnut St.: A 27-story condo tower

http://planphilly.com/articles/2018/...ry-condo-tower

Strange that this image has the St. James at 328' when we all know that is so drastically wrong - it is 498' - which certainly would have helped make the point better that this new building does not tower over neighborhood.

City Wide · #**136** Posted **Sep 5, 2018, 5:03 PM**

I know building this will cost 10's of millions of dollars and the amounts involved are way above my pay grade. I know the drawings that have been released to date aren't very detailed, they seem like first round presentation drawings just to show the development team what the possibilities are. The final build could be better and it could be worse.

Having said all that, IMO this looks like it's being done on the 'cheap'. Just for comparison, look at St. James. I'm not talking about the design of St. James but the use of materials. It has held up well and I think just about anybody would be ok with having it in their city/neighborhood. This place on Chestnut St. well, time will tell.

Usually as a building cycle moves on the proposals for new projects not only get more 'adventuresome' and cutting edge but the quality of build goes up. Sortof like every new project is trying to be alittle bit better then the last one. But in this cycle the opposite seems true, that both the designs and the quality seem to be going downhill, not uphill.

Not always, but that's the trend I see.

summersm343 · #**137** Posted **Sep 5, 2018, 5:09 PM**

Who thought this would be a good idea to go condo here instead of rentals?? And 275 condo units???

Oof, they’re not going to have an easy time selling this one at all.

Redddog · #**138** Posted **Sep 5, 2018, 5:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by summersm343

Who thought this would be a good idea to go condo here instead of rentals?? And 275 condo units???

Oof, they’re not going to have an easy time selling this one at all.

It'll certainly provide some insight on the overall condo market in the city.

Londonee · #**139** Posted **Sep 5, 2018, 5:34 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by summersm343

Who thought this would be a good idea to go condo here instead of rentals?? And 275 condo units???

Oof, they’re not going to have an easy time selling this one at all.

Not if they price them in the 400s to 600s. There just aren't a ton of condos that fit this bill in Center City aside from The Ellington and The Packard - and it's a huge sub-luxury market that's underserved. A lot of suburbanites, especially, are looking for a pied-a-terre in a condo building but are priced out if most of the inventory (which is often 1million and up) as they don't want to sell their current home, yet. I probably personally know 10 people at this stage.

I also know folks who own in the Ellington, most of the units are purchased by investors and then rented out (seemingly only to Penn Medical students) for a premium. The rent these units command versus what they actually cost to buy are at a crazy differential.

jsbrook · #**140** Posted **Sep 5, 2018, 10:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by summersm343

Who thought this would be a good idea to go condo here instead of rentals?? And 275 condo units???

Oof, they’re not going to have an easy time selling this one at all.

Seems crazy. That said, I would like to see some condo units on this stretch. I think something like the Laurel, with some condos but mostly rental could work. This stretch is in for a world of change. Public Ledger Building is going luxury residential, and then we've got the Toll Bros one if it can get off the ground. Astoban is converting a small building on this same block to boutique condos as well. Just 4-5 units. That said, I'm not sure Jake's article is accurate in this regard. We'll know soon if this is really all condos.