PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread II

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker will split up the Department of Licenses and Inspections

Parker is beginning to earn my respect. Hope she keeps this up.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Parker is beginning to earn my respect. Hope she keeps this up.

She's killing it.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Parker is beginning to earn my respect. Hope she keeps this up.

Smart move and long overdue. This is one more reminder of how much ground was lost when Kenney was elected and abandoned every single thing Nutter's team had done or started.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

I just took a walking tour of Kensington. I wanted to see how Kensington was faring so far during the Parker Administration, as well as if things have changed in the wake of last week's raid. The last time I was deep in Kensington was late last summer, when I went to try Caphe Roasters (which I HIGHLY recommend!). I took the El to Tioga, walked along Kensington Avenue until I reached Cumberland, took Cumberland to Frankford Avenue, and ended my walk at the Girard El stop.

The first thing I noticed came into view while riding the El: McPherson Square was almost entirely cleared of people. There were three police cars on the square and a lot of police officers near the library. I can't ever remember seeing it that clear and clean! When I got off the El and made my way towards Kensington Avenue, I noticed that the blocks between Tioga Street and Allegheny Avenue were mostly clear of addicts. There were some along the side streets, but at a level nowhere near where it was a few months ago.

After passing under the Allegheny El stop, the west side of the 3100 block of Kensington Avenue was as hellacious as ever; however, the east side of the block wasn't as chaotic. I did notice a street sweeping crew passing by and cleaning the streets and sidewalks of litter. The rest of the blocks between Allegheny and Somerset were nowhere near as bad as they typically are. Along the way, I even noticed a CLIP crew clearing a vacant lot at Kensington and Cambria of trash and debris. The block immediately under the Somerset El stop was a bit of a mess, but once I pass Boudinot Street, the street was surprisingly spotless. This continued under the Conrail tracks and up to Lehigh.

Between Lehigh Avenue and Huntingdon Street, I did not see one addict on the Avenue. There were a few along the side streets, but at levels that pale in comparison to what they were a few months ago. This continued all the way to Cumberland Street, where I made a left and began heading towards Frankford.

Kensington still has quite a way to go before reaching a sense of stability, but the early signs are very encouraging. I was initially a skeptic of Cherelle Parker (I wanted Rebecca Rhynhart to win), but she is doing a good job so far. If she can successfully take control of Kensington back from those who have terrorized it for so long, then the sky is its limit in terms of development interest.

P.S. If you're comfortable going into Kensington, make sure you try Caphe Roasters, Cantina la Martina, and The Kenzo Dip!

I liked RR and she would've been a good mayor- but you would not have seen the type of focus and aggressive stance on Kensington that is just now starting under Parker. And its not just parker- the new councilwoman for that area supports a more aggressive approach to restoring QOL vs MQS who represented that district. A person like RR would make a great mayor, but I think the current climate calls for a little harder edge to restore balance to the city.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

Kensington still has quite a way to go before reaching a sense of stability, but the early signs are very encouraging. I was initially a skeptic of Cherelle Parker (I wanted Rebecca Rhynhart to win), but she is doing a good job so far. If she can successfully take control of Kensington back from those who have terrorized it for so long, then the sky is its limit in terms of development interest.

P.S. If you're comfortable going into Kensington, make sure you try Caphe Roasters, Cantina la Martina, and The Kenzo Dip!

I get into Kensington pretty often. Once you're off of Kensington Avenue, the streets are a lot cleaner than people realize. Certain things drive me crazy...and tbh it's less about the city and more about the people who live there.

The block that Cantina la Martina (Somerset) on is for the most part well tended. I assume it's because Cantina keeps it's end of the block clean. There are also a few nicely renovated homes on the block that are clearly owner occupied because the portions of the sidewalks and street in front of a handful of these homes are meticulous. Ever been to a large Hispanic city in South America early in the morning and the whole place wreaks of Fabuloso...because the nonnas and nonnos come out first thing and scrub their sidewalks and hose them down? I'm talking clean like that.

But there's this weird 'it's not my problem' mentality that I just don't get. Or maybe I'm misattributing the root cause. Point being, about 2 months ago I noticed an addict had rummaged through a few sealed trash bags midblock and littered sh*t everywhere (as they often do, which is why I only refer to them as crumbbumbs now) and I kid you not, I drove by a week or two ago and the same pile of trash was there from 2 months ago. In the same spot.

And literally across the street and a few houses up and down in each direction it was meticulous again. I don't care who you are or whose responsibility it is, but if you lived there day in and day out and you walked by this very visible trash pile constantly, wouldn't you just clean it up? I'm constantly cleaning up miscellaneous trash on the streets my properties are on. I simply don't get it.

[yuryphilly]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

And literally across the street and a few houses up and down in each direction it was meticulous again. I don't care who you are or whose responsibility it is, but if you lived there day in and day out and you walked by this very visible trash pile constantly, wouldn't you just clean it up? I'm constantly cleaning up miscellaneous trash on the streets my properties are on. I simply don't get it.

I am cleaning my block frequently, walking around with a trash grabber. It takes me about 20 minutes a week, but it keeps my block relatively clean. Recently, I noticed that someone threw out a used diaper that probably didn't make it into the garbage truck. But I still don't get how you can ignore a smelly diaper next to your front door and not put it in a trash bag.

It seems to be such a straightforward thing to hire people to walk around an collect trash, but it's something so far fetched and complicated, so we can never have it.

[TonyTone]

DJI_0164 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0157 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0150 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0146 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0141 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0139 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0136 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0135 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0134 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0131 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0129 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0126 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0123 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0119 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0116 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0109 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0110 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0115 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0125 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0151 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

DJI_0149 by Tony Valuez, on Flickr

[UrbanRevival]

Amazing photos! Keep them coming, please.

The density in the Northern Liberties/Fishtown area these days is truly transformative. Really sets the bar high for any neighborhood outside of the CC/UC core.

[3rd&Brown]

The scale of development in Northern Liberties, Fishtown, and Kensington is breathtaking.

[yuryphilly]

What's everyone's opinion on multifamily buildings constructed using wooden frames? How long will it last? Is this relatively new, and we are running an experiment?

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by yuryphilly

What's everyone's opinion on multifamily buildings constructed using wooden frames? How long will it last? Is this relatively new, and we are running an experiment?

Awful. The International Building Codes have done more to hurt American residential construction than anything else.

We could and should be building with brick.

[3rd&Brown]

2 more W's for Parker.

Let's hope they actually execute. It's the most absurd thing that most of city government is still remote.

https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate...-20240212.html

https://www.inquirer.com/politics/ph...-20240212.html

"Aument-Loughrey believes the city has been far too permissive of open drug use and has ignored the pleas of neighborhood residents who are sick of seeing it. She embraces the idea of police bringing people in addiction to a “triage center,” where they can choose drug treatment or jail."

"The hire is another indication of how Parker’s posture toward Kensington represents a turn from former Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration, which favored public health-driven “harm-reduction” practices and avoided criminalizing people for low-level offenses like drug possession. A change in that approach could lead to clashes with advocates who prefer strategies outside of law enforcement that are focused on preventing overdoses."

[BroadandMarket]

They didn't have any renderings in the article but this is good to hear. This is why competition is great. The 76ers are moving and Comcast Spectactor realized they needed to make their product better.

Comcast Spectacor presents massive mixed-use development plan for South Philadelphia Sports Complex

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...ment-plan.html

Comcast Spectacor has presented plans in recent weeks for a massive mixed-use development at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, the latest effort to maximize the land where sprawling parking lots sit.
The proposal comes as the Comcast Spectacor-owned Wells Fargo Center risks losing the Philadelphia 76ers as a major tenant and searches for additional ways to keep the team at the sports complex.

The master plan calls for 500,000 square feet of office space, 460,000 square feet of retail, a 5,500-seat concert venue, 2,000 multifamily residential units and 500 rooms across multiple hotels, according to materials from the presentation with a neighborhood group reviewed by the Business Journal. The development also calls for 10,000 garage parking spaces.

Renderings viewed by the Business Journal show the new development taking up a portion of the 22,000 parking spots sitting adjacent to the Wells Fargo Center, Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field.
Comcast Spectacor, owner of the Wells Fargo Center and the Philadelphia Flyers, has a contract with the city to lease the 47 acres around the Wells Fargo Center and serve as the master developer of the land off Broad Street, Interstate 95 and the Walt Whitman Bridge.

The master plan — elements of which have been previously floated — would be the latest step to expand and add new development at the sports complex. In 2012, Comcast Spectacor partnered with the Cordish Cos. of Baltimore to open Xfinity Live!, the dining and entertainment hub on the site where the Spectrum previous stood. Nearby, Cordish opened the 12-story, 208-room Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia in 2021.

Comcast Spectacor shared its vision for the mixed-use development at a Jan. 23 meeting with the Sports Complex Special Services District, a neighborhood organization funded by Comcast Spectacor, the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies, the operators of the complex’s three sports venues.
Comcast Spectacor, a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), declined to comment. Shawn Jalosinski, executive director of the Sports Complex Special Services District, also declined to comment.
Then-Spectacor Sports and Entertainment CEO Valerie Camillo told the Sports Business Journal last March that a master plan for the complex would be released in a few months and some or all of the new development would open by 2026 when Philadelphia hosts six FIFA World Cup games at Lincoln Financial Field and the MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park.

Camillo, who stepped down from Comcast Spectacor in June, said the new development would likely include retail, restaurants, bars and an enterv
While the plans are being shared with neighbors, Comcast Spectacor is at risk of losing the Philadelphia 76ers as a major tenant at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers’ lease at the Wells Fargo Center expires in 2031 and the NBA team has said it plans to move out at that time. The Sixers have proposed a privately funded $1.55 billion arena in Center City at the site of the Fashion District Mall on Market Street between 10th and 11th streets.

The proposed arena requires approval from the city, which has commissioned independent studies to evaluate the arena’s potential impacts. The proposal has received harsh pushback from neighbors, especially the adjacent Chinatown neighborhood, for concerns about traffic, parking, gentrification and displacement.

This past fall, Comcast Spectacor was putting the finishing touches on its $400 million renovation of the 28-year-old Wells Fargo Center.
Comcast Spectacor CEO Daniel Hilferty told the Business Journal last summer "the door is open" for joint ownership of the Wells Fargo Center with the Sixers. That offer serves as Comcast Spectacor's response to the Sixers' desire to own their own arena, but the Sixers are adamant they want full control and not a 50-50 split.

The Sixers and Comcast Spectacor have exchanged public jabs at each other over the arena topic as the tug of war plays out between the two entities.
XFinity Live!

In 2019, Comcast Spectacor and Cordish had plans to develop an $80 million, 200,000-square-foot office building with 20,000 square feet of retail adjacent to Xfinity Live! but plans never materialized.

The same year, Comcast Spectacor proposed a $50 million, 3,500-seat esports venue that was later shifted to become a slightly larger multi-use venue hosting concerts and comedy shows. There's a "sweet spot" for that kind of 5,000 to 6,000-seat entertainment venue at the sports complex, Hilferty told the Business Journal last summer. Hilferty also mentioned the possibility of a hotel and apartments nearby.

Hilferty, the former CEO of Independence Health Group, said last summer that these developments wouldn’t happen soon, but added, “we see it not only as a dream, but as a real possibility, a distinct possibility. We're committed to getting it done.”

[nemesisinphilly]

Originally Posted by BroadandMarket

They didn't have any renderings in the article but this is good to hear. This is why competition is great. The 76ers are moving and Comcast Spectactor realized they needed to make their product better.

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...ment-plan.html

Comcast Spectacor has presented plans in recent weeks for a massive mixed-use development at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, the latest effort to maximize the land where sprawling parking lots sit.
The proposal comes as the Comcast Spectacor-owned Wells Fargo Center risks losing the Philadelphia 76ers as a major tenant and searches for additional ways to keep the team at the sports complex.

The master plan calls for 500,000 square feet of office space, 460,000 square feet of retail, a 5,500-seat concert venue, 2,000 multifamily residential units and 500 rooms across multiple hotels, according to materials from the presentation with a neighborhood group reviewed by the Business Journal. The development also calls for 10,000 garage parking spaces.

Renderings viewed by the Business Journal show the new development taking up a portion of the 22,000 parking spots sitting adjacent to the Wells Fargo Center, Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field.
Comcast Spectacor, owner of the Wells Fargo Center and the Philadelphia Flyers, has a contract with the city to lease the 47 acres around the Wells Fargo Center and serve as the master developer of the land off Broad Street, Interstate 95 and the Walt Whitman Bridge.

The master plan — elements of which have been previously floated — would be the latest step to expand and add new development at the sports complex. In 2012, Comcast Spectacor partnered with the Cordish Cos. of Baltimore to open Xfinity Live!, the dining and entertainment hub on the site where the Spectrum previous stood. Nearby, Cordish opened the 12-story, 208-room Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia in 2021.

Comcast Spectacor shared its vision for the mixed-use development at a Jan. 23 meeting with the Sports Complex Special Services District, a neighborhood organization funded by Comcast Spectacor, the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies, the operators of the complex’s three sports venues.
Comcast Spectacor, a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), declined to comment. Shawn Jalosinski, executive director of the Sports Complex Special Services District, also declined to comment.
Then-Spectacor Sports and Entertainment CEO Valerie Camillo told the Sports Business Journal last March that a master plan for the complex would be released in a few months and some or all of the new development would open by 2026 when Philadelphia hosts six FIFA World Cup games at Lincoln Financial Field and the MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park.

Camillo, who stepped down from Comcast Spectacor in June, said the new development would likely include retail, restaurants, bars and an enterv
While the plans are being shared with neighbors, Comcast Spectacor is at risk of losing the Philadelphia 76ers as a major tenant at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers’ lease at the Wells Fargo Center expires in 2031 and the NBA team has said it plans to move out at that time. The Sixers have proposed a privately funded $1.55 billion arena in Center City at the site of the Fashion District Mall on Market Street between 10th and 11th streets.

The proposed arena requires approval from the city, which has commissioned independent studies to evaluate the arena’s potential impacts. The proposal has received harsh pushback from neighbors, especially the adjacent Chinatown neighborhood, for concerns about traffic, parking, gentrification and displacement.

This past fall, Comcast Spectacor was putting the finishing touches on its $400 million renovation of the 28-year-old Wells Fargo Center.
Comcast Spectacor CEO Daniel Hilferty told the Business Journal last summer "the door is open" for joint ownership of the Wells Fargo Center with the Sixers. That offer serves as Comcast Spectacor's response to the Sixers' desire to own their own arena, but the Sixers are adamant they want full control and not a 50-50 split.

The Sixers and Comcast Spectacor have exchanged public jabs at each other over the arena topic as the tug of war plays out between the two entities.
XFinity Live!

In 2019, Comcast Spectacor and Cordish had plans to develop an $80 million, 200,000-square-foot office building with 20,000 square feet of retail adjacent to Xfinity Live! but plans never materialized.

The same year, Comcast Spectacor proposed a $50 million, 3,500-seat esports venue that was later shifted to become a slightly larger multi-use venue hosting concerts and comedy shows. There's a "sweet spot" for that kind of 5,000 to 6,000-seat entertainment venue at the sports complex, Hilferty told the Business Journal last summer. Hilferty also mentioned the possibility of a hotel and apartments nearby.

Hilferty, the former CEO of Independence Health Group, said last summer that these developments wouldn’t happen soon, but added, “we see it not only as a dream, but as a real possibility, a distinct possibility. We're committed to getting it done.”

Never going to happen. We've been hearing proposals from them for years and nothing to show for it. Why don't they build out phase 2 of Xfinity Live to start.

[Mayormccheese]

Originally Posted by nemesisinphilly

Never going to happen. We've been hearing proposals from them for years and nothing to show for it. Why don't they build out phase 2 of Xfinity Live to start.

I will definitely file this in the “I’ll believe it when I see it” folder. Also, why so much office, when office work is declining and the navy yard is right there.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by Mayormccheese

I will definitely file this in the “I’ll believe it when I see it” folder. Also, why so much office, when office work is declining and the navy yard is right there.

Because the proposal was sitting in a drawer and they pulled it out...with little additional thought, to serve as folly to the 'no downtown arena' groups who can now point to it and say look, it's not going to be in the middle of a parking lot.

Yes. It is.

[UrbanRevival]

Originally Posted by Mayormccheese

I will definitely file this in the “I’ll believe it when I see it” folder. Also, why so much office, when office work is declining and the navy yard is right there.

My thoughts, too. The Navy Yard developers also want to build out a lot more residential/retail, as well, so it would only cannibalize that effort.

The City is better off trying to purchase a good chunk of the parking lot hell that surrounds the stadiums and converting it into an expansion of FDR. There's a million public uses that would be great in that part of the city.

[Nanyika]

Originally Posted by UrbanRevival

The City is better off trying to purchase a good chunk of the parking lot hell that surrounds the stadiums and converting it into an expansion of FDR. There's a million public uses that would be great in that part of the city.

As I pointed out earlier in the discussion (post #3589), the city does not need to purchase the land. The city already owns it and leases it to Comcast/Spectacor.

I think it’s obvious that if the parking lots were consolidated into a few multi-story garages, there would be plenty of land available to build all sorts of things. For example, I wouldn’t mind seeing some recreational facilities for kids, such as grass fields for soccer and baseball, go into the space around the stadiums. It would be much better than the city’s ridiculously expensive and environmentally disastrous plan to destroy the woods, meadows, and picnic groves in the western portion of FDR Park in order to construct a giant complex of 16 sports fields and more parking lots.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

2 more W's for Parker.

Let's hope they actually execute. It's the most absurd thing that most of city government is still remote.

https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate...-20240212.html

https://www.inquirer.com/politics/ph...-20240212.html

"Aument-Loughrey believes the city has been far too permissive of open drug use and has ignored the pleas of neighborhood residents who are sick of seeing it. She embraces the idea of police bringing people in addiction to a “triage center,” where they can choose drug treatment or jail."

"The hire is another indication of how Parker’s posture toward Kensington represents a turn from former Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration, which favored public health-driven “harm-reduction” practices and avoided criminalizing people for low-level offenses like drug possession. A change in that approach could lead to clashes with advocates who prefer strategies outside of law enforcement that are focused on preventing overdoses."

Lots of office workers are hybrid- just like city workers with office jobs. Not sure I understand the absurd accusation. Absurd why?

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by cardeza

Lots of office workers are hybrid- just like city workers with office jobs. Not sure I understand the absurd accusation. Absurd why?

You don't understand why public servants should have to actually serve the public, be a good example of civic pride, and show up to work? Maybe I would agree with you if every department didn't produce dog poop results constantly.