PHILADELPHIA | 2012 Chestnut Street | 161 FT | 14 FLOORS

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

But first redesign it!

I parry your demand! Never! I like it.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by skyhigh07

Much better color palate than The Hamilton.

You can taste the difference? ;-) *palette

[mcgrath618]

I like this design. Don’t love it, don’t hate it.

[summersm343]

I'm OK with this design. It's not the best but that's fine.... it doesn't have to be. Plus, it meets the street well. It's rather small and will eventually just blend in.

[PHLtoNYC]

^ But if we don't expect the best here, then where should we? I'm happy this is moving forward, but it's still cheap looking.

Why can't it look something more stately like these?... (surely this project would still work with a higher caliber exterior setup).

Or even better, keep the façade of old building, and add a contemporary portion in the adjacent vacant lot.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7236...7i16384!8i8192

https://greenwichwest.com/building/

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1...IUQpx96BAgxEAM

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

^ But if we don't expect the best here, then where should we? I'm happy this is moving forward, but it's cheap looking.

Why can't it look something more along the lines of these?... (surely this project would still work with a higher caliber exterior setup).

Or even better, keep the façade of 2012, and add a contemporary portion in the adjacent vacant lot.

https://greenwichwest.com/building/

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1...IUQpx96BAgxEAM

https://www.google.com/maps/place/11...8!4d-74.007473

Without being able to see the numbers on this and what the profit boils down to for the developer.... it's a rental building in Philadelphia, and this is not NYC. Rents/sales prices in NYC allow for more room to play with design.

In a city like Philadelphia where labor is high, material costs are high, etc. etc.... and rents are still on the lower end comparatively, it doesn't always work numbers-wise to allow for a higher end facade. That's why we usually see better design on office buildings, condos and lab/medical buildings, and a stripped down design for rental properties.

[Vince_]

I mean you're not wrong but the links you sent were luxury buildings in Tribeca, a block away from the West Village and then Park Slope. The one building Greenwich West has a 2 bed 2 bath apartment that's $13,000 a month...so you're kind of comparing apples and oranges. I want Philly to have better new construction as well, but the rent prices clearly don't justify it. Just be hopeful that Canno and Ambit do more and more projects.

https://www.compass.com/listing/110-...6389814105545/

[PHLtoNYC]

^ Okay, fair to both comments. BUT, it's not like Philadelphia is void of new attractive rental buildings (mid to high quality).
I guess my point was that this location deserves at least a thoughtfully designed building, not a lazy render of what appears to be a cheap thoughtless looking building (hopefully the dark sections are indeed cast concrete). JKRP is also a hit or miss, they do better with single family homes rather than mid-rises.

Either way, I will take this over the current state of that plot.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

^ Okay, fair to both comments. BUT, it's not as if Philadelphia is void of new attractive rental buildings (mid to high quality).
I guess my point was that this location deserves at least a thoughtfully designed building, not a lazy render of what appears to be a cheap thoughtless looking building. JKRP is also a hit or miss, they do better with single family homes rather than mid-rises.

Either way, I will take this over the current state of that plot.

The brown section of the building seems to be either brick or brick veneer. If done correctly it should look good from ground level.

I was actually in NYC on Sunday and saw some gorgeous new Neo Deco structures on the Upper East Side. If I won the lottery, I would totally dump it all into buying some land in Center City, and hiring those architects to design me a tower.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

^ Okay, fair to both comments. BUT, it's not like Philadelphia is void of new attractive rental buildings (mid to high quality).
I guess my point was that this location deserves at least a thoughtfully designed building, not a lazy render of what appears to be a cheap thoughtless looking building (hopefully the dark sections are indeed cast concrete). JKRP is also a hit or miss, they do better with single family homes rather than mid-rises.

Either way, I will take this over the current state of that plot.

This architecture firm seems to routinely churn out dog-sh@t mid rise rubbish. I mean, you get what you pay for… Hopefully firms stop hiring them sooner than later.

[kool-ski]

DEMOLITION PERMIT
DP-2023-000603

Type of Work: Major Demolition

FOR THE COMPLETE DEMOLITION OF THE EXISTING FOUR (4) STORY SEMI-DETACHED STRUCTURE AND METAL CANOPY STRUCTURES. DEMOLITION TO BE DONE BY HAND AND WITH HAND TOOLS AND WITH MECHANICAL DEMOLITION EQUIPMENT AT THE LOCATIONS SHOWN ON THE APPROVED PLANS

https://eclipse.phila.gov/phillylmsp...ctId=597340560

[summersm343]

Hopefully that finally means some movement on this one!

[kool-ski]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Hopefully that finally means some movement on this one!

2012 Chestnut getting ready for demo

[Gatorade_Jim]

Originally Posted by kool-ski

2012 Chestnut getting ready for demo

https://www.facebook.com/groups/grea...2439393778301/

Woah — that was not on my bingo card for this year. Love to see it!

[Mayormccheese]

Originally Posted by kool-ski

2012 Chestnut getting ready for demo

https://www.facebook.com/groups/grea...2439393778301/

I am not able to see that post. But I did walk by yesterday and notice a dumpster on site with activity inside.

[summersm343]

Fingers crossed! This site is such an eyesore.

[summersm343]

Demolition Imminent At 2012 Chestnut Street









Read/view more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2024/01/demo...nter-city.html

[PHLtoNYC]

^ Fugly building, but fills a blighted void on Chestnut. I would have liked to see the original building worked into the proposal though.

Who owns the rotting mid-century building next door?

[Gatorade_Jim]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

^ Fugly building, but fills a blighted void on Chestnut. I would have liked to see the original building worked into the proposal though.

Who owns the rotting mid-century building next door?

If the base is indeed brick, this isn't too bad. No massive blank walls, interesting window design. While its no Laurel, there's worse buildings on that block for sure. The increased density there is a big bonus.

Edit: there is a blank wall, but I guess I'm saying at least they tried to make it look interesting.

[UrbanRevival]

Originally Posted by Gatorade_Jim

If the base is indeed brick, this isn't too bad. No massive blank walls, interesting window design. While its no Laurel, there's worse buildings on that block for sure. The increased density there is a big bonus.

Edit: there is a blank wall, but I guess I'm saying at least they tried to make it look interesting.

Agree. Not an earth-shattering design, but still decent. I actually really appreciate the setbacks on the upper floors; it's an underrated way to add some visual character.

The density is the huge win here and will really beef-up the feel of this part of Chestnut.