Quote:
Originally Posted by City Wide
You might be correct, but why do you think Chinatown is dependent on people who drive there, have you ever seen any reports/studies? And even if you're right I can't believe that 10 or 20 spots at this site are going to make a difference.
In terms in of the design change I don't believe their stated reasons. Professionals in the design, development and parking fields don't need over 2 years to figure out how to locate 145 parking spots on a parking lot. Unless this is built before the next down cycle comes along, I doubt this will ever be built, and I've got doubts about it starting next year. Never mind phases 2 and 3. (but admittedly the Chinatown tower took forever to get built!)
I think anyone who follows development knows to never, ever trust any time line that a developer mentions (amount others, here's looking at Blumenfeld re Mural West that he said would start in July of '19!!). And for its worth, I didn't read anything about 'donations' being part of the funding mix or funding problems they are having. Getting over 60% of your target market to sign up years before any dirt has been touched is remarkable, and not something to be troubled by. I would say this is definitely a 'don't hold your breath' type concept/project. But I have always like the ideas behind this project, and wish it could have been built by now (as long as it doesn't include a 'poor door'). But as time goes by the whole thing and the excuses that are being trotted out make me believe its getting slippery.
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Have you ever walked the blocks of Chinatown frequently or driven there looking for street parking regularly? There isn't a lot of street parking giving its density. Beyond that, Chinatown is basically a regional destination serving all Philadelphians, including the Asian community in the surrounding burbs and folks from the tri-State area, plus outside folks visiting beyond these geographic boundaries that travel in by vehicle. And we are not talking about keeping 10-20 spots. It's almost impossible to park on the street unless you drive around for 30+ minutes (excluding the exception of being lucky enough when someone happens to pull out and leave after finishing dinner/shopping/errand, etc.) and that's just for the people coming in for shopping/dinner. All the privately owned parking lots plus the big operators like Park America are busy and filled on any given day, and especially on weekends, and especially for banquets, weddings, and other big celebrations. That's a cultural thing there on a regular basis. So, when there's surge in parking needs from these banquets, weddings, celebrations, etc., the need is filled and it doesn't make it next to impossible to fill the need from street parking. The need has been demonstrated so that they are not adding parking to parking that is already there. It was about eliminating it because of the project. But fortunately, the plan is no longer to eliminate the existing parking due to folks understanding this need.
Also, go to their website, the project needs donations to fund the new project. I drew that out of commonsense and from the website and not necessarily from the article per se, but when I read it, I did read between the lines in the article that all the money isn't there and that's why dates moved.
I think the first phase will happen but the others like the hotel will depend on financing.
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