PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread X

[Mayormccheese]

Originally Posted by iamrobk

Completely random tidbit but I saw a bit of a Center City District presentation yesterday and they had metrics of how full parking garages were on weekends in 2021 vs. 2019. The first few months of 2021 they were only at 40-50% of 2019, but the numbers really started jumping in June or July (I forget exactly) and they're currently at ~90% of the levels of 2021. (Note that this doesn't mean that parking garages are 90% full, my understanding is it means if there were 100 cars in a parking garage on an average weekend in September 2019, there would have typically been 90 cars in the same garage on an average weekend in September 2021.) Interesting metric which definitely matches up with what I've seen re: Center City coming back to life. It's certainly not the same as pre-pandemic, but the nightlife/etc. has really come back strong. And now with more cultural activities coming back, things are looking good, relatively speaking.

I would imagine the parking garages are benefitting from the restaurants having structures in the parking spaces on the street. It’ll be interesting to see how the garages do when the structures start coming down at the end of the year.

[700 Level]

Okay , I have hit post #100, so I thought I’d take a step back and toss out a “big picture” comment.

I have been following the rebirth of Philadelphia for some time, and there is one fundamental issue that has really changed the dynamics of the situation. For years, where people live has been driven by where they work. But the change that is happening now is that the balance of power has shifted: more and more often, companies need to locate where their employees want to live, not the other way around.

It is a meaningful change, but it has happened at such a gradual pace right in front of my face that I have been slow to recognize its importance. (Maybe it’s been obvious to everyone else.) People always needed to live close to their work - you can take that statement back to the beginning of the industrial age and even earlier. The headwind that has crushed Philadelphia for decades is the hollowing-out of its employer base (first the manufacturers, then its office core) due to its poor business climate. We have experienced the steady drip-drip-drip of manufacturers disappearing, corporations downsizing their presence, companies leaving the city entirely, and the city offering an uninspiring start-up environment . The drain of people from the city has followed. The rallying cry, appropriately so, has been to improve the business climate to stop the bleeding. But now the tide is turning. It started with one-off examples, but it is spreading. The recent announcements of Central PA companies (Rite Aid and Harsco) moving HQs to the city would have been completely out of the question in earlier years.

This doesn’t mean we can lose sight of the need to make the city a better place to do business. But I think it does mean the quality of life issues are just as critical in order for the city to remain attractive to current and future residents (and therefore future companies). But with our many quality neighborhoods, it is a reason to be very optimistic about Philly.

(Covid work-from-home changes, all else equal, will also give people more freedom to live where they choose.)

Also, quick shout-out to summersm and mcgrath for powering this forum. Also, there are some great, thoughtful contributors out there: 3rd&Brown, PHLtoNYC, Jawn, PHL10, TonyTone . . . too many to name. And a picture is worth a thousand words – so I really appreciate the contributions from all of those who post photos (ind’l contributors here plus YIMBY, OCF, Rising Real Estate).

[PHLtoNYC]

Thoughts on this...

I find it to be a typical move from Council attempting to curtail development... Why not hold the current owner accountable for finding new housing for the residents or placing part of the sale value into the housing trust? Why attempt to stop this altogether?

Philly Council advances bill to stop demolition of University City Townhomes

https://whyy.org/articles/philly-cou...ity-townhomes/

[skyhigh07]

[QUOTE=PHLtoNYC;9435161]

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

Thoughts on this...

I find it to be a typical move from Council attempting to curtail development... Why not hold the current owner accountable for finding new housing for the residents or placing part of the sale value into the housing trust? Why attempt to stop this altogether?

Philly Council advances bill to stop demolition of University City Townhomes

https://whyy.org/articles/philly-cou...ity-townhomes/

This seems highly unethical. So the property was put up for sale, the low income agreement expired and now the owner can’t demolish the townhouses or change the site’s use? I could at least understand if City Council stepped in before demo permits were issued and/or before the agreement expired. Sounds like a lawsuit...

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by 700 Level

This doesn’t mean we can lose sight of the need to make the city a better place to do business. But I think it does mean the quality of life issues are just as critical in order for the city to remain attractive to current and future residents (and therefore future companies). But with our many quality neighborhoods, it is a reason to be very optimistic about Philly.

(Covid work-from-home changes, all else equal, will also give people more freedom to live where they choose.)

Also, quick shout-out to summersm and mcgrath for powering this forum. Also, there are some great, thoughtful contributors out there: 3rd&Brown, PHLtoNYC, Jawn, PHL10, TonyTone . . . too many to name. And a picture is worth a thousand words – so I really appreciate the contributions from all of those who post photos (ind’l contributors here plus YIMBY, OCF, Rising Real Estate).

Muchas gracias. I assumed most people find me annoying.

Anyways. Random note.

I live in Fishtown and own an investment property in Germantown. Last week I decided to drive through the city to get there (down Lehigh and up Germantown) and I got off Lehigh at some point just to take a gander somewhere around 2nd or 3rd Street which I believe is technically Fairhill? Or West Kensington?

Anyway. I think this area is phase I or II of street cleaning. Let me tell you all. IT WAS SPOTLESS. I nearly regurgitated my lunch. It wasn't one or two blocks. It was like 10 or 12 blocks I drove down.

It goes to show you people can only do so much on their own, and all those years of the city saying 'if people only didn't litter' are false. Most people DON'T litter but it becomes totally demoralizing to keep things tidy when the city does nothing to help.

It makes me really hopeful for QOL issues moving forward. And when you think about big employment nodes, so many are coming back to life. Not just the Navy Yard, but also the Bellweather District, the Frankford Arsenal, that big property up in Nicetown/East Falls that is being repositioned as a pharmaceutical manufacturing campus. Even fallow industrial buildings in Kensington and Port Richmond are being repurposed into Bok Type Developments. Those jobs will be dispersed all over the city, not just Center City. Add to that expansion of the airport (for Cargo) into Tinicum. There's opportunity everywhere.

There are a few things additional I'd like to see (other than business taxes being reformed). 1. Let's get a campus of the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Philadelphia. 2. Let's move Cheyney back to Philadelphia. 3. Continue to build programs at CCP for advanced Blue Collar jobs. Let's get on it and quick.

[summersm343]

Public Ledger Building Will Pick Up New Apartments With Historic Views

The former newspaper office is still known today as the Public Ledger Building, was constructed in 1923, and was designed by Horace Trumbauer in the Georgian Revival-style. The building is designated historic on the local register, and has been used as an office building in recent decades. Part of the building is still used for offices, with a section recently converting to residential uses, in the form of the Ledger Luxury Residences.

More apartments appear to be on the horizon for this building, in the form of an addition. Next month, the Historical Commission will consider an application to build a two-story addition above all of the southern side and part of the eastern side of the building, which will contain 56 new apartments. Due to the height of the existing building and the use of a 10-foot setback, the addition will barely be visible from the street, even from Independence Mall to the north. Keeping in mind that the new floors will be visible to some, architect Plato Studio is going with sandstone veneers, to make the new addition less noticeable. As the commission staff notes, the addition would be “inconspicuous and would not damage or obscure character-defining historic features.”

Read/view more here:
https://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-phil...historic-views

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by 700 Level

Also, quick shout-out to summersm and mcgrath for powering this forum. Also, there are some great, thoughtful contributors out there: 3rd&Brown, PHLtoNYC, Jawn, PHL10, TonyTone . . . too many to name. And a picture is worth a thousand words – so I really appreciate the contributions from all of those who post photos (ind’l contributors here plus YIMBY, OCF, Rising Real Estate).

Well thought out post. And thanks for the s/o!

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

Thoughts on this...

I find it to be a typical move from Council attempting to curtail development... Why not hold the current owner accountable for finding new housing for the residents or placing part of the sale value into the housing trust? Why attempt to stop this altogether?

Philly Council advances bill to stop demolition of University City Townhomes

https://whyy.org/articles/philly-cou...ity-townhomes/

I have tried so hard to like Jamie Gauthier, but this cans it for me.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

Thoughts on this...

I find it to be a typical move from Council attempting to curtail development... Why not hold the current owner accountable for finding new housing for the residents or placing part of the sale value into the housing trust? Why attempt to stop this altogether?

Philly Council advances bill to stop demolition of University City Townhomes

https://whyy.org/articles/philly-cou...ity-townhomes/

Hahaha. Philly City Council is awful. If this passes, expect a big drawn out lawsuit at the Philadelphia taxpayers expense. This city is god awful sometimes. These homes have no place at 39th and Market anymore. If the new owner/developer is proposing any housing here, make it a requirement that they have low income housing. If not? Move these low income housing units to oh, I don't know? One of the thousand empty lots throughout West Philly??

[summersm343]

One uCity Square tops off, development team looks to next lab project

While the team topped off One uCity Square, a $280 million, 400,000-square-foot life sciences building, it has already turned its sights on designing another project to capture the robust demand for lab space in Philadelphia.

“We have an overflowing pipeline of tenants,” said John Grady, senior vice president at Wexford Science & Technology, which is building uCity Square in partnership with the University City Science Center and Ventas Inc. “We are in discussions with tenants that would fill and exceed the capacity of the building.”

Some of the tenants that Wexford is having discussions with are a combination of those already in the market, newly formed companies and those from outside of Philadelphia seeking to establish a presence in the city, which account for the majority.

A future project developed by the Wexford team would likely be smaller than One uCity at around 200,000 square feet with structured parking on a nearby parcel at 38th Street.

Article behind paywall here:
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...Pos=4#cxrecs_s

[PurpleWhiteOut]

I'm surprised more of Schuylkill Yards isn't being built on speculation. uCity Square was, and they leased up while it was being built. I would imagine the time line to move a company would be easier if shovels are in the ground rather than signing onto a building that hasn't been started yet. Hopefully Wexford keeps going

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by PurpleWhiteOut

I'm surprised more of Schuylkill Yards isn't being built on speculation. uCity Square was, and they leased up while it was being built. I would imagine the time line to move a company would be easier if shovels are in the ground rather than signing onto a building that hasn't been started yet. Hopefully Wexford keeps going

University Place was also built on spec, iirc. They've leased most of the floors of 3.0 already.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Hahaha. Philly City Council is awful. If this passes, expect a big drawn out lawsuit at the Philadelphia taxpayers expense. This city is god awful sometimes. These homes have no place at 39th and Market anymore. If the new owner/developer is proposing any housing here, make it a requirement that they have low income housing. If not? Move these low income housing units to oh, I don't know? One of the thousand empty lots throughout West Philly??

For any of you other West Philly residents, Jamie's number is (215) 686-0459. I've already called and left a message.

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Hahaha. Philly City Council is awful. If this passes, expect a big drawn out lawsuit at the Philadelphia taxpayers expense. This city is god awful sometimes. These homes have no place at 39th and Market anymore. If the new owner/developer is proposing any housing here, make it a requirement that they have low income housing. If not? Move these low income housing units to oh, I don't know? One of the thousand empty lots throughout West Philly??

Gauthier could have offered a more middle of the road approach, but from what I’ve been reading it sounds like she’s managed to tick off a lot of developers and organizations involved

[Urbanthusiat]

The city would have known that the owner's contract with HUD would be expiring soon. Why are they trying to stop it now, only after the fact? If they wanted affordable housing to remain on site, they should have gotten involved years ago. They could have worked with the seller to formulate a plan to have the site redeveloped with replacement affordable units mixed in with market-rate units on site. If affordable housing was such a priority, they should be tracking when affordable housing covenants expire and pro-actively try to do something about it rather than trying to screw over people who decided to move on without them when the city was dragging its feet. When you combine that with what happened at 5000 Warrington it's clear that city leadership isn't serious about creating new affordable housing.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

...it's clear that city leadership isn't serious about creating new affordable housing.

Only when it means derailing meaningful development with total BS.

The amount of time these idiots spend with this stuff is mind-blowing.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I have tried so hard to like Jamie Gauthier, but this cans it for me.

they are not trying to stop the sale on a permanent basis. They are trying to stall the sale and rezone the property so that any new use will include some affordable housing.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by skyhigh07

Gauthier could have offered a more middle of the road approach, but from what I’ve been reading it sounds like she’s managed to tick off a lot of developers and organizations involved

This is what I had hopes for when she was elected, but lost hope.

She is governing a district that is home to one of the top economic hubs in the state, yet her approach is to halt what could be hundreds of millions in development because a landowner wants to sell a parcel of 70 affordable houses (in a law-abiding and ethical manner nonetheless)...

A sensible politician would hold the owner accountable for relocating the residents and perhaps investing a fee into the affordable housing trust.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by cardeza

they are not trying to stop the sale on a permanent basis. They are trying to stall the sale and rezone the property so that any new use will include some affordable housing.

But why? (Serious question). It's 70 homes. Why can't relocation efforts work, or construct 70 units elsewhere in the city? Just seems like a backwards and unnecessary approach.