PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[chimpskibot]

Originally Posted by DeltaNerd

I hope we can build better buildings like in Europe so that families would want to live in those buildings as well. Not everyone wants to live single. We want a mix of living. That area can use more ground level stores and a grocery store.

Yeah Philly really lacks grocery density (that is easily accessible) and unfortunately I think that is holding back a lot of development especially in North and West Philly.

[ScreamShatter]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Construction Anticipated At 1201-15 Callowhill Street In Callowhill

Project rendering:



Read/view more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2022/06/cons...ladelphia.html

This is unfortunate. That location could easily support more density. It should have a 12-25 story building.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Glossier is coming to the current Madewell space on 1700 block of Walnut after Madewell relocates across the street:

https://www.glossier.com/

Originally Posted by chimpskibot

This is huge. The store in SOHO always had a line around it pre-pandemic. Im glad to see them aggressively expand their footprint.

Awesome news! I walked near the Soho outpost last weekend and it was packed. This is the most momentum Walnut has had in a while.

Summers, any news on the 1700 block reconstruction?

[mcgrath618]

I was at an Armchair Urbanist meetup this weekend, when we noticed that the Disney Hole is becoming just that: a massive sinkhole. Very apparent from 8th and Market.

[summersm343]

Construction Complete At 1100 Diamond Street Near Temple University

Construction appears to be substantially complete at a 15-townhouse development at 1100 Diamond Street next to the Temple University campus in North Philadelphia. Each home offers three bedrooms and two bathrooms in the project and each is expected to sell for around $250,000 as workforce housing.

Read/view more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2022/06/cons...ladelpjia.html

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

Awesome news! I walked near the Soho outpost last weekend and it was packed. This is the most momentum Walnut has had in a while.

Summers, any news on the 1700 block reconstruction?

Haven't heard anything recently unfortunately...

[tsarstruck]

Longfellow Real Estate Partners, the nation's largest private developer of life sciences buildings, will lead the construction of three new buildings covering 455,000 square feet at 3401 Gray's Ferry Ave. The 23-acre Pennovation Works is adjacent to Penn's campus on a former DuPont industrial site, where the Pennovation Center opened as an entrepreneurial and research hub in 2016.

The new life sciences facility will be segmented into 387,000 square feet of research and development space and 68,000 square feet of biomanufacturing space, with rooftop terraces offering views of Philadelphia’s skyline and Penn’s campus. The main complex will have two adjoining six-story buildings with flexible lab and office space for tenants.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/penn-lif...bkCY_AoWcnxl24

[gjrip]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I was at an Armchair Urbanist meetup this weekend, when we noticed that the Disney Hole is becoming just that: a massive sinkhole. Very apparent from 8th and Market.

Dang this sounds like a nice time. Where do you hear about these kinda things?

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I was at an Armchair Urbanist meetup this weekend, when we noticed that the Disney Hole is becoming just that: a massive sinkhole. Very apparent from 8th and Market.

It's true. They even blew it when they made it a parking lot.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Redddog

It's true. They even blew it when they made it a parking lot.

The City should condemn the property and force Goldenberg to sell or redevelop it ASAP. It sucks. The western half of the parking lot is literally sinking about 5 ft into the ground.

Originally Posted by gjrip

Dang this sounds like a nice time. Where do you hear about these kinda things?

I'm not sure if he posted it on his YouTube channel, but he posted in his Discord about it. He's local now.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

The City should condemn the property and force Goldenberg to sell or redevelop it ASAP. It sucks. The western half of the parking lot is literally sinking about 5 ft into the ground.

Yes i noticed the same thing. They can’t park cars on a large portion of it now as it’s completely caving in - it’s cordoned off… thanks Goldenberg!

[DeltaNerd]

Originally Posted by gjrip

Dang this sounds like a nice time. Where do you hear about these kinda things?

I wish I knew about these things as well. It seems like we have a few YouTube channels that talks about Philly transit. It's good we have more people representing Philly transit.

[philly_account12]

Originally Posted by cardeza

this is much better than what was there before.

You could say this about 99% of development in this city but this might be the rare instance where this isn't true since this replaced an existing RiteAid.

Originally Posted by cardeza

this is much better than what was there before and a lot of ground floor retail in these areas ends up empty. There isn't tons of foot traffic in many of these areas outside of CC or more developed adjacent neighborhoods.

This is literally a block from the Broad Street and Girard intersection. There is plenty of foot traffic here and there will be even more once the numerous developments nearby are finished.

Originally Posted by cardeza

Also, people act like zoning guarantees that a developer will build the largest possible building at a particular site- it doesn't. They are going to build what makes the most financial sense and there is a reason there is an explosion of 7 story mostly wood buildings around the country. Its max height where you can use wood in most cases and that saves $$ which is why everyone is doing it.

You're talking about a building where one of the means of egress for the bedrooms is an interior wall window into the living rooms. You can't seriously believe they're not building to their max height here

Originally Posted by cardeza

these kinds of projects are happening all over Phily and the US. It has nothing to do with Clarke and what zoning he supports. This is very similar to the new buildings going up on Ridge ave near Calumet right now as well as countless others in North Philly and Kensington. They are called 5+1 structures with steel on first level and then 5 or 6 wood framed floors above. If you notice outside of CC proper you are not seeing a ton of 10+ story residential buildings going up.

They're literally talking about one of the plots mentioned by address in Clarke's zoning bill.....

Originally Posted by chimpskibot

I dont think it has anything to do with the height, but rather the density, lack of ground floor retail, mandatory parking minimums and that every unit is a 1bd. This is just a terrible development overall and it looks like a placeholder for a future project when the girard corridor is able to be activated via denser zoning.

Downzoning a parcel impacts literally everything you listed lol

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by Londonee

Yes i noticed the same thing. They can’t park cars on a large portion of it now as it’s completely caving in - it’s cordoned off… thanks Goldenberg!

People should report this. More pressure on the city means more pressure on Goldenberg. Their best bet is to sell and walk away with a hefty profit.

[iamrobk]

Not sure if it's been reported publicly yet but a Nike store is going to be opening on Walnut Street. And for the funny gossip side of it, they're apparently taking a space that Free People thought they were going to get, so now Free People is going to be further delayed in reopening on Walnut (or wherever they end up, who knows at this point).

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by iamrobk

Not sure if it's been reported publicly yet but a Nike store is going to be opening on Walnut Street. And for the funny gossip side of it, they're apparently taking a space that Free People thought they were going to get, so now Free People is going to be further delayed in reopening on Walnut (or wherever they end up, who knows at this point).

That’s great news! I was recently wondering why there isn’t a Nike here - seems like it’d do well. If it’s going into the old Jack Wills spot, that seems like it’d be an odd place for it. I could definitely see it going in next door at the old Ulta space. Maybe it got mixed up in the rumor mill? Or maybe they’re going to combine the two spaces somehow?

[skyhigh07]

^^^ Thinking about a bit more. Unless I’m missing something, the proposed Nike Walnut location HAS to include the Ulta space. Try googling “Jack Wills Philadelphia Walnut interior”. The old Jack Wills spot would be ridiculously small and off brand for a non-factory Nike. It wouldn’t make any sense.

[PHLtoNYC]

^ Awesome news! Is the Nike Factory remaining the Fashion District too?

[PHLtoNYC]

Some restaurant news.

Cristina Martinez, chef-owner at South Philly Barbacoa, wins at 2022 James Beard Awards

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

"Philadelphia’s restaurant scene emerged triumphant at the James Beard Foundation’s prolific 2022 Restaurant and Chef Awards on Monday night as Cristina Martinez of South Philly Barbacoa took home a win in the Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic category."

"Ellen Yin of High Street Hospitality Group (Fork, a.kitchen + bar, High Street Philly) was a finalist in the Outstanding Restaurateur category, though the award ultimately went to Phoenix’s Chris Bianco of Tratto, Pane Bianco and Pizzeria Bianco."

"Monday’s wins continue to brighten the national spotlight cast on Philadelphia’s burgeoning restaurant scene."

[skyhigh07]

It’s a great development news day! The Lombard and Broad project; Nike to Walnut; some great CDR/historic commission low rises submissions in Old City; looks like The Bellue is going to recreate its original 1900’s awnings and will be uber swank.