PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by Londonee

Have you been to Walnut Street recently? It's not exactly 5th avenue in terms of upscale shopping - which is fine. But there's some vacancies that have been there for years... and the newest "additions" are banks. I've wondered if the FDP has a lot of interested retailers in a holding pattern - unsure of whether to open on Walnut or Market East until the dust settles and FDP opens.




Agree - I've been saying this for nearly a decade now.

Not only is Walnut very expensive, the older buildings offer much more constrained spaces. I can definitely see why national players would opt for a location in essentially a brand new mall over a narrow, pricey slot on Walnut. The pedestrian counts on Walnut are high, but if you think about proximity to tourists/conventioneers east Market is better located. Im not on Walnut as much as I used to be, but many of those stores are virtually empty on weekdays (except the Apple store).

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by cardeza

Not only is Walnut very expensive, the older buildings offer much more constrained spaces. I can definitely see why national players would opt for a location in essentially a brand new mall over a narrow, pricey slot on Walnut. The pedestrian counts on Walnut are high, but if you think about proximity to tourists/conventioneers east Market is better located. Im not on Walnut as much as I used to be, but many of those stores are virtually empty on weekdays (except the Apple store).

My office is on Walnut. It depends on the store but most are bumping when you'd expect: lunch breaks, later afternoons, etc. A place like H&M is actually crowded most of the day. Same for Warby. Nordstrom Rack and Uniqlo while not technically on Walnut - are both crowded round the clock. The more exclusive retailers are certainly quieter.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by cardeza

Not only is Walnut very expensive, the older buildings offer much more constrained spaces. I can definitely see why national players would opt for a location in essentially a brand new mall over a narrow, pricey slot on Walnut. The pedestrian counts on Walnut are high, but if you think about proximity to tourists/conventioneers east Market is better located. Im not on Walnut as much as I used to be, but many of those stores are virtually empty on weekdays (except the Apple store).

It's tough. As Londonee notes, some of the stores are very busy, but it's tough for the pricier, more exclusive Walnut Street stores. My sense is they eek by, but we don't really have the resident wealth or enough wealthy tourists for them to thrive. Then again, even many of the 5th Avenue and Rodeo Drive stores are supposedly not that profitable and sometimes are even in the red. Luxury brands maintain flagships there for brand recognition and consumer consciousness, which leads to later purchase (sometimes online) as often it does to immediate purchase in the particular store.

[mcgrath618]

Anyone know what became of that self-storage proposal on Spring Garden? I'm happy to say I haven't seen any movement on the site recently.

[Skintreesnail]

Originally Posted by cardeza

Not only is Walnut very expensive, the older buildings offer much more constrained spaces. I can definitely see why national players would opt for a location in essentially a brand new mall over a narrow, pricey slot on Walnut. The pedestrian counts on Walnut are high, but if you think about proximity to tourists/conventioneers east Market is better located. Im not on Walnut as much as I used to be, but many of those stores are virtually empty on weekdays (except the Apple store).

Walnut and Chestnut are both pretty busy on Saturdays consistently. Sundays are quieter. I think FD is a good location for targeting tourists, conventions and commuters. Rittenhouse has a more intimate feel to it though, which makes it a good spot for everyone, including residents. Not really into the influx of banks and cell phone stores though.

[tsarstruck]

Speaking of commercial on Walnut Street... The Laurel got their construction loan and tweaked the project. Most importantly...

Parking increased to 208 stalls from 174 and the amount of retail space the project will have swelled to 44,000 square feet from 24,000 square feet.

The changes in the amount of retail space and parking were driven by an undisclosed tenant the developer has negotiated a lease with for the space, said Brian Emmons, director of development at Southern Land. The tenant has taken a majority of the retail space and will be revealed at a later date. “It’s going to be a game-changer for the square,” he said.

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...se-square.html

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by tsarstruck

Speaking of commercial on Walnut Street... The Laurel got their construction loan and tweaked the project. Most importantly...



https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...se-square.html

Yeah, we posted about this on the Laurel-specific thread. I'm dying to know what this is. It is sure to disappoint after having been hyped up as "game changing", but it will hopefully still be pretty good.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by Skintreesnail

Walnut and Chestnut are both pretty busy on Saturdays consistently. Sundays are quieter. I think FD is a good location for targeting tourists, conventions and commuters. Rittenhouse has a more intimate feel to it though, which makes it a good spot for everyone, including residents. Not really into the influx of banks and cell phone stores though.

cell phone companies have shown time and again they will fork over the rent to be in high traffic locations. The downside of the ever increasing rents is that the # of players who can comfortably afford said rents gets smaller and smaller

[Kfmcshan]

Permits Issued for 50 Unit Mixed-Use Building in Fishtown

Permits were issued last week for the demolition of the warehouse at 1324 Frankford Ave. and the construction of a 45 foot tall building with 50 dwelling units, ground-floor commercial space, and 17 bicycle spaces on the 17,992 square foot CMX-2 zoned lot - link to full article

[cardeza]

Hopefully this helps this project advance:

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel..._news_headline

[PhilliesPhan]

https://www.bisnow.com/philadelphia/...ent-boom-99479

Not only is the above article super encouraging about the future of Philadelphia as a gene therapy hub, but it also provides info on a project that I've been highly interested in: 3.0 University Place! Sorry if this has been said before, but I've never heard this tidbit of information before.

"...University Place Associates has announced plans to build University Place 3.0 for cell and gene therapy, with the Wistar Institute as a partner and anchor tenant."

[Kfmcshan]

3-Story Addition + 90 Units Planned for Stately Building on Vine St.

In 2018, we saw permits pulled on 1209 Vine St. for an overbuild. The development would have included 60 residential units, office space, and 20 bike spaces. Eighteen parking spaces were to be provided in the empty lot next door at 1201 Vine St.

It looks like the owners’ plans have become a little more ambitious. New construction permits were just pulled to erect a 3-story addition over the existing 5-story building. The nightclub will remain on floors 1 and 2, a financial services office will be built out on floor 3, and 90 residential units will occupy floors 4 through 8. A roof deck will top off the project. 30 bicycle spots will be included in the building and 18 car parking spots will be available in the empty lot at 1201 Vine.

Full article link

[cardeza]

not sure if this has been covered before

https://philly.curbed.com/2019/6/27/...unk-washington

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by cardeza

not sure if this has been covered before

https://philly.curbed.com/2019/6/27/...unk-washington

Glad to see something that actually adds density along Washington. Build it!

[Philly Fan]

Guesthouse for VIP guests of University to be constructed at 38th and Walnut

[Boku]

Major project proposed for Port Richmond waterfront

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...-richmond.html

A partnership involving Concordia Group is planning an ambitious development on 30 acres between the Delaware River and Beach Street and next to Graffiti Pier in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Plans filed with the city call for: four, 7-story multifamily buildings; 43, 4-story multifamily buildings arranged in townhouse clusters; a garage with 1,134 spaces; a structure for a community center; as well as commercial space, trails, and open space accessible by the public. The plan is by right, said Ron Patterson, an attorney with Klehr Harrison representing the developer. It will go before Philadelphia’s Civic Design Review Committee on July 2.

This project at 2001 Beach St. joins several others proposed along the Delaware River or are in the early planning stages. In addition, multiple high-profile sites such as Pier 25, which is where Cavanaugh’s River Deck operates, and 933 N. Penn St. have hit the market amid increased development interest along the river.

Concordia is a Bethesda, Md., real estate firm with a Philadelphia presence and has been involved in other local projects. Its plans are among the largest proposed for along the river.

“It’s one we thought out,” said Devin Tuohey of Concordia. “We’re envisioning building this in phases and thoughtfully developing it. We’re not in this to flip it.”

The same partnership involved in the Beach Street proposal is developing the Locks, a 60-unit condominium project on Venice Island in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia. In addition to Concordia, D3 Developers and the Resmark Co. are part of the development team.

The Beach Street property is owned by Beach Street Corp., which is a partnership involving the family of Mike Stack, the former lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, and James J. Anderson, owner of a Bucks County construction firm. In 2013, Steve Wynn had eyed the 30 acres, which was part of a bigger 60-acre parcel, for a casino. A deal never materialized for that project.

ISA has designed the Beach Street project and Land Collective is the landscape architect. Calling the design of the grounds “critical,” Tuohey said that the landscaping needs to be thoughtfully designed because of its location along the river and next to Graffiti Pier.

[jsbrook]

^ As far as new construction townhomes go, the ones rendered in the article on the Port Richmond project look pretty nice.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Boku

Major project proposed for Port Richmond waterfront

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...-richmond.html

Thank god there’s some density in this project. As much as I like development along the waterfront, all of these townhomes are really getting to be too sprawling.

[Aaamazarite]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Guesthouse for VIP guests of University to be constructed at 38th and Walnut

Glad they're finally getting rid of that parking lot at 38th and Walnut. Always thought that was booty.

[iheartphilly]

Look closely on the image. The design is really weird on this one. The modern in the rear doesn't mix well at all with the "Victorian??" or classic architecture in the front. I say pick one or the other, but not try to squeeze a combo into one building.