PHILADELPHIA-CAMDEN-WILMINGTON-ATLANTIC CITY-READING | Metro Development Thread

[Urbanthusiat]

Originally Posted by DIESELPOLO

I'm actually quite fine with the architecture, but its urban design is nothing different than all the other suburban apartment complexes that induce driving and don't contribute to walkability.

If you saw the site you'd understand why. If you look at the site plan, most of the top (of the image) is facing a cliff and train tracks, the right side is facing more train tracks and the Schuylkill River is beyond them, the bottom you can see faces French Creek, and the road entrance on the left is the only part of the site that is opened to the road. The entry road was built such that is considers the future possibility of building a bridge over French Creek to connect with Bridgr Street at Rt. 29. The true urban value in the development is that it provides apartment immediately adjacent to the walkable downtown area, provides public park space (bottom of site plan) that is connected by a pedestrian bridge (bottom center) to access the borough center.

[Frontst17]

Yeah although it appears very sectioned off from the town it's actually within a block or two from the heart of bridge street. It could be done better and prettier but it adds a ton of housing to the town. Next up is a restored regional rail service.... Someday...someday...

[PhilliesPhan]

I was able to ride through all 5 suburban PA counties of Philly yesterday. Here are a few photos:

Media, Delaware County--Granite Run Mall demolition progress:





King of Prussia, Montgomery County--Development in King of Prussia:







Phoenixville, Montgomery County--Development at Schuylkill and Rapps Dam Roads:

[summersm343]

Boston-area biopharm firm to add 100 jobs in Philadelphia suburbs

Radius Health Inc., a Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company developing new treatments for osteoporosis, oncology and endocrine diseases, has opened a 14,000-square-foot office in Wayne, Pa., where it plans to employ a staff of more than 100 workers.

The site in the Crosspoint Office Park on Swedesford Road, will be the home of the commercial, pharmacovigilance and medical affairs teams for Radius, which is preparing for its potential first commercial product launch.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelp...-100-jobs.html

[summersm343]

Report: 'Eds and meds' will add jobs in South Jersey

CAMDEN - Demolition continued Tuesday at the future site of the Joint Health Sciences Center on Broadway and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

A new research and educational building will rise there, where a row of shops and a take-out restaurant once lined a busy block near Cooper University Hospital.

Expected to open in 2018, the building is the first phase of work by the Rowan University/Rutgers–Camden Board of Governors to link the two institutions and create a walkable campus downtown, using $50 million in state funding.

The 65,000-square-foot structure will serve as a shared research and educational space to train the next generation of health care workers, explained Kris Kolluri, the board's chief executive officer. The board also hopes the building will attract research-based businesses.

http://www.courierpostonline.com/sto...rsey/85871594/

[summersm343]

Rutgers Expands Footprint in Camden

New School of Nursing and Science extends educational opportunities in southern New Jersey.

Hunter Roberts has commenced work on a new four-story School of Nursing and Science building at Rutgers University’s Camden Campus. The project is being constructed on a vacant parking lot in the center of Camden and is adjacent to the New Jersey Transit Rail Line and the Walter Rand Transportation Center, which will provide students with easy access to public transportation. Included in the scope of work is the relocation of the New Jersey Transit electrical signaling lines in order to excavate for the project.

The structural steel-framed building is being constructed in the shape of a triangle, which matches the shape of the existing parking lot. The 101,000-SF building will serve as the primary teaching facility for students and faculty in the areas of biology, chemistry, computational and integrative biology, nursing, and physics at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels.

The new facility will have state-of-the-art teaching spaces consistent with the most current trends in higher education, including clinical skills laboratories that simulate a variety of healthcare environments, computer labs, lecture areas, classrooms, offices, a large auditorium, student gathering spaces, and study areas, while creating a corridor connecting the Rutgers–Camden campus with the Cooper Medical School and other nearby entities. Concrete panels with curtain wall and metal panels will make up the façade of the building.

The new School of Nursing and Science Building is part of the expansion of the Camden Campus from its current location to the south side of City Hall. Students are scheduled to begin utilizing the building and all it offers in the spring 2017 semester. This project and the expansion of Rutgers’ existing Camden Campus will beckon the rebirth of this area of Camden.

http://www.hrcg.com/rutgers-expands-footprint-camden/#!

[kingtut]

Could University of Delaware be close to starting it's own M,D. program ? The State of Delaware will end a decades old contract to hold up to twenty slots in Jefferson's Medical College for Del students . U of D. which is 0ne of only three universities in the region with a R1 research status along with Christiana Hospital and Nemours Children's Hospital for clinical training , has a potential for world class M.D. program . Back in April I attended a conference at U of D. and did here talk on this very subject but thought it would be years down the road .
When you think of it Philadelphia is at the center of a 90 mile corridor stretching from Princeton U. to U. of D . It should have it's own name like maybe the I 95 science and technology .

[mmikeyphilly]

[QUOTE=PhilliesPhan;7481732]I was able to ride through all 5 suburban PA counties of Philly yesterday. Here are a few photos:

Media, Delaware County--Granite Run Mall demolition progress:






I was surprised to see the demolition of Granite Run Mall. It's not that dated, from the mid '70s? Come to think of it, around the same time period the Gallery was introduced. So maybe it is. It didn't register until I saw your photos. I kind of remember hearing it, but I just put it on the back burner of my brain. What are they putting there? I've been sleeping under a rock.

I used to go out that way several years ago. My Doctor was affiliated with Riddle Memorial Hospital (across the road), and I had back surgery at that Hospital. Granite run was always a "marker" to give someone directions. And I used to love shopping at "Trader Joe's" in Media. Much more relaxed, and better parking than the one in town.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Altar'd State
Anthropologie
BoConcept
Bottega Veneta
Carolina Herrera
Clarins
Diane Von Furstenberg
Jimmy Choo
MCM
Nic+Zoe
Primark
Robert Graham
St. John
Stuart Weitzman
Super Dry
Vince

Oliver Peoples, Rag & Bone and Calligaris will be joining the above as new stores to KOP Mall.

http://www.philly.com/philly/busines...retailers.html

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by mmikeyphilly

I was surprised to see the demolition of Granite Run Mall. It's not that dated, from the mid '70s? Come to think of it, around the same time period the Gallery was introduced. So maybe it is. It didn't register until I saw your photos. I kind of remember hearing it, but I just put it on the back burner of my brain. What are they putting there? I've been sleeping under a rock.

I used to go out that way several years ago. My Doctor was affiliated with Riddle Memorial Hospital (across the road), and I had back surgery at that Hospital. Granite run was always a "marker" to give someone directions. And I used to love shopping at "Trader Joe's" in Media. Much more relaxed, and better parking than the one in town.

From my understanding, a mixed-use 55+ community will be constructed in its place. I have also heard that the Sears and Boscov's--as well as the Kohl's and Acme--will remain on the site. I'm not sure about the AMC theater and the strip mall across from it. I forgot the true extent of the retail coming, but I specifically remember hearing about a Starbucks and a Walmart off Baltimore Pike.

I have many memories of going to the Granite Run Mall. I think the last time I remember it being lively was when I was a little boy in the early-to-mid 2000s. Before the switch in management in 2009/2010, I remember the exterior being overran with teens. When I attended Cardinal O'Hara High School between 2009-2013, I used to stop there to transfer to the 117 after drumline practice. When I was 17, I stopped there even more often when I got a job at Kohl's. I would always eat at the Chik-Fil-A and get a Blizzard from the DQ before work.

The problem with the GRM is that the Philadelphia suburbs are over-retailed. The GRM is simply a product of a market correction. Why go to the GRM when one could go to KOP, Cherry Hill, Christiana in DE (and not pay sales tax), or even the Springfield Mall? Delconians have a lot of options when it comes to malls in the region due to all the highways (I-95, I-476, US 1, and US 322). All these malls also had retail that the GRM simply did not have. Online retailing also probably took a bite into the GRM's margins, especially since the mall seemed to start dying in the 2000s. Finally, I expect other smaller suburban malls to falter as KOP expands and the retail scene in Philadelphia continues to improve. My mom, a typical suburbanite, is even starting to shop in Center City more often.

[DrachenFire]

GRM's problem was that it last got an update back when I was a kid in the early 90s. It was basically left to rot after that. Springfield Mall was renovated closer to the turn of the millennium and once Simon had ownership of both, they seemed content to let retailers bleed to the fresher option. (Although, comments in the local paper would lead you to believe that the real reason was the construction of the SEPTA bus station and the influx of "undesirables" that allowed.)

Now the property will get to be one of those new fangled inside-out malls, known as a Town Center, because Middletown is jealous of the real one a mile or so up the Pike. Middletown is so jealous that they're doubling down and allowing a second Town Center to be built on the old Franklin Mint site a mile or so down the Pike, which will be a mile or so from the one in Concordville, which is a mile or so from the one at Brinton Lake.

Anyway, who could pass up the chance to live in one of the two proposed luxury apartment buildings with swimming pools overlooking the scenic parking lots and "parking lot" also known as Baltimore Pike?

Here's what the Promenade at Granite Run will look like:

http://6abc.com/shopping/photos-gran...65/#gallery-11

I believe the apartment building in the background is the current AMC/Strip Mall. I think a new movie theater is going where JC Penny's used to be.

Here's the proposed site layout:
http://www.betinvestments.com/retail...an%20FINAL.pdf

[mmikeyphilly]

^^^^Thanks for all of the pics, info, and especially the memories!

I didn't realize just how many businesses it affected. None of the Retailers left never really "zinged" me. I don't know how this will "actually" look, but I would have liked to see all retirement units. But that's me. I would have LOVED to see a WENDY'S developed there!

[Jawnadelphia]

Buccini/Pollin appears to be buying Hotel du Pont

"The Buccini/Pollin Group has bought or intends to buy the Hotel du Pont and the adjacent office building that houses Chemours, state records show."

"We have not made a decision on the hotel business at this time," Turner said.

"Buccini/Pollin, under the 1007 Market LLC, applied for state funds through the Downtown Development Districts program, which is distributed through the Delaware State Housing Authority; $1 million is the maximum an applicant can receive through that program.

Julia Mason, a spokeswoman for Buccini/Pollin, declined to comment.

Buccini/Pollin intends to completely gut the office building in a $92 million renovation, according to documents in its application. That application also shows that the Wilmington developer plans to lease 252,000 square feet on floors 4 through 13 to Chemours for 15 years."

In the investment description filed as part of its application with the state, Buccini/Pollin said it has engaged Minneapolis-based MSR Architects to build "an efficient and modern space" to serve as Chemours' world headquarters.

Other plans for the property, according to the documents, include leasing nearly 60,000 square feet of office space in the DuPont Building to new tenants and adding as much as 50,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space along Market and 10th streets.
--------------

---B/P Group basically owns all of downtown Wilmington, and the Riverfront.

[PhilliesPhan]

Demolition work has begun on an unstable building that has forced a portion of Chester Transportation Center to be blocked off:



Bonus shot:



I'm a big fan of ex-PRR (Pennsylvania Railroad) catenary towers and all of the different electrification themes that can be found along the former routes!

[Plokoon11]

^ I am as well! Love them thought maybe I was the only one who appreciated it.

[Philly-Drew]

That looks like an awesome building. Too bad it has to come down. I really dig ghost signs.

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by Plokoon11

^ I am as well! Love them thought maybe I was the only one who appreciated it.

I thought my brother and I were the only ones haha! Glad that there are more out there like us!

Originally Posted by Philly-Drew

That looks like an awesome building. Too bad it has to come down. I really dig ghost signs.

I feel the exact same way! I have never noticed it until I saw crews trying to stabilize the eastern northern wall (side to the left of the picture), and I have been going to Chester Transportation Center since I was a very young boy in the late 90s/early 2000s. I usually take the Media/Elwyn Line at Elwyn, but I ended up at Chester because of the reconstruction of the Crum Creek Viaduct.

[skiesthelimit]

Originally Posted by TallCoolOne

Buccini/Pollin appears to be buying Hotel du Pont

"The Buccini/Pollin Group has bought or intends to buy the Hotel du Pont and the adjacent office building that houses Chemours, state records show."

"We have not made a decision on the hotel business at this time," Turner said.

"Buccini/Pollin, under the 1007 Market LLC, applied for state funds through the Downtown Development Districts program, which is distributed through the Delaware State Housing Authority; $1 million is the maximum an applicant can receive through that program.

Julia Mason, a spokeswoman for Buccini/Pollin, declined to comment.

Buccini/Pollin intends to completely gut the office building in a $92 million renovation, according to documents in its application. That application also shows that the Wilmington developer plans to lease 252,000 square feet on floors 4 through 13 to Chemours for 15 years."

In the investment description filed as part of its application with the state, Buccini/Pollin said it has engaged Minneapolis-based MSR Architects to build "an efficient and modern space" to serve as Chemours' world headquarters.

Other plans for the property, according to the documents, include leasing nearly 60,000 square feet of office space in the DuPont Building to new tenants and adding as much as 50,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space along Market and 10th streets.
--------------

---B/P Group basically owns all of downtown Wilmington, and the Riverfront.

Fine with me, so long as they keep it up with the developments and bringing more retail downtown!

I wish DD would come back, and maybe a Wawa on Market or in the midtown apartments complex? Probably too so for that though.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

Demolition work has begun on an unstable building that has forced a portion of Chester Transportation Center to be blocked off:



Bonus shot:



I'm a big fan of ex-PRR (Pennsylvania Railroad) catenary towers and all of the different electrification themes that can be found along the former routes!

Are they going to be expanding the center? Its a shame many of those PRR routes are no longer electrified or in service... If SEPTA or NJT had more funding most of those routes would return and Electrified..

[dab]

Cardinal Crossing is dead:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20..._in_Delco.html



Hoping for a park a-la Rosetree but I won't hold my breath.