PHILADELPHIA | Highrise Development Thread X

[eixample]

That's a pretty incredible stat on city pension contributions. Makes me hopeful.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

You really think Kenney used the billion dollars to make the pension fund whole?

I gotta bridge to sell to you.

Also. Our costs just went up a billion dollars like that? Who says?

There are budget docs online- you should read them. In addition, police and fire contracts are set via ARBITRATION and the City has no direct control. They propose measures (often measures that would save money) and a panel determines what makes it into the contract. Police and Fire dept personnel and retirement costs are massive.

The budgetary facts I am mentioning are easily verifiable by looking at the public record. Some of the increase is due to Kenney's spending policies, but much of it was inevitable based on contracts and pension shortfalls.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by eixample

I recall reading somewhere (maybe here) that Philadelphia is a relatively steady performing job market - taking longer to take off after a downturn, never hitting the real boom that others experience, but keeping the growth going longer than other markets and then never busting as hard as some others. Maybe that is all BS or I am misremembering but that kind of fits in with the situation - took a little longer to get going but also taking a little more to slow us down. Anyway, those BLS numbers are for one year so nothing to really read that much into. I definitely wouldn't be patting Kenney on the back for that or be making a judgment about tax burdens....

I believe the # of jobs in the city is highest in 25-30 years. I think over 700k at this point. Faster growth would be nice, but there is growth and its been going on for close to a decade. There are only a few ways to enable a massive tax burden shift. PEople here seem to be oblivious to recent history on these matters. Nutter wanted to sell PGW and use money to shore up pension fund which would in turn make tax reductions feasible- the deal could not pass council and after retiring debt the deal was going to yield far less than originally hoped. Others have suggested selling the airport- but that proposal has gone nowhere. The state law change was the other big idea to rework the tax code so that wage and/or business taxes could be slashed. State killed it even though we have a democratic governor. The move to actual value (supposedly) for real estate has moved more of the burden to real estate- but there has been major backlash from residents and their reps on Council. Theoretically an increase in the real estate tax rate could be used to offset more aggressive reduction of other taxes- my guess is you will never see such a thing pass Council.

[eixample]

I think the legislature passed the constitutional amendment with respect to allowing Philly to apply differing tax rates on residential vs commercial real estate once but not a second time in a successive year as required. Not sure if Anthony Williams and all the other local legislative contingent really supported the claim. And Darrell Clarke resisted applying the increased commercial tax revenue to reduce the wage tax which was required as part of the deal. So I'm not sure it's as easy as blaming 'the state' for that. Really more a lack of city enthusiasm and support.

Also, whatever gains the city has made in the last 25-30 years only partly make up for a catastrophic bleed of blue and white collar jobs in the decades before. We are nowhere close to being where we should be on white collar jobs right now.

[Boku]

Originally Posted by eixample

Also, whatever gains the city has made in the last 25-30 years only partly make up for a catastrophic bleed of blue and white collar jobs in the decades before. We are nowhere close to being where we should be on white collar jobs right now.

We should always push for excellence from our government and business leaders, but this neverending sky-is-falling attitude is bizarre to me.

[iamrobk]

FWIW, if anyone wants to read way too much about the city pension fund... https://www.phila.gov/pensions/PDF/2...0Valuation.pdf

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by eixample

I think the legislature passed the constitutional amendment with respect to allowing Philly to apply differing tax rates on residential vs commercial real estate once but not a second time in a successive year as required. Not sure if Anthony Williams and all the other local legislative contingent really supported the claim. And Darrell Clarke resisted applying the increased commercial tax revenue to reduce the wage tax which was required as part of the deal. So I'm not sure it's as easy as blaming 'the state' for that. Really more a lack of city enthusiasm and support.

Also, whatever gains the city has made in the last 25-30 years only partly make up for a catastrophic bleed of blue and white collar jobs in the decades before. We are nowhere close to being where we should be on white collar jobs right now.

Kenney was for the change and the local delegation mostly or completely supported it. Clarke has no power over what the State does or does not do. His preference as to how the money would be used is a separate issue unrelated to whether or not Harrisburg permitted this change- and he was FOR the change itself. Regardless of the specifics of how it failed- it failed to advance to the next step.

Philadelphia's peak economic days were during the era of manufacturing. The massive loss of jobs from the 70s through the 90s was mostly based on a collapsed manufacturing sector. Philadelphia's economy was not nearly as white collar as NYC or DC so it is misleading to act like the loss of jobs over a 30-40 year period is largely based on vanishing high paying white collar jobs. Center city is in better shape than it was during Philly's heyday- the part of the city that look like warzones are largely areas where manufacturing used to be king and vacant factories dominate the landscape. And don't forget about the closing of the Navy Yard. Growth is growth- to discount it by saying "there should be way more growth" doesn't make a lot of sense- to me at least. In proportion to population, my guess is our jobs situation is better than its been in 30-40 years.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by Boku

We should always push for excellence from our government and business leaders, but this neverending sky-is-falling attitude is bizarre to me.

Agreed. Can we accept ANY good news or ANY progress? The problem with these people who have so much disdain for local officials is that they have convinced themselves that NOTHING positive can happen economically with the politicians they dont like in office in Philly

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by cardeza

There are budget docs online- you should read them. In addition, police and fire contracts are set via ARBITRATION and the City has no direct control. They propose measures (often measures that would save money) and a panel determines what makes it into the contract. Police and Fire dept personnel and retirement costs are massive.

very true re arbitration and how contracts get written; but the one area the City does control is the staffing levels, how many cops are employed. At one time there was a push to have most office and desk functions in the PPD done by non-officers, but I can't remember where that ended up. Its been a long standing debate how much staffing effects crime, but politically adding more cops is always a easy (and expensive) "fix".
Also the City/PPD has a lot of control on how the department is used, such as the use of overtime and where cops are assigned and what they do, subject to the contract. Like any large organization its hard to have a smooth running and efficient management; like what do you do with cops you can't fire but also can't appear in court because no one would believe them, just as one small example.

[Boku]

Originally Posted by Boku

Some good news: Greater Philadelphia recognized as an emerging New World City

https://www.ceocouncilforgrowth.com/...ew-world-city/



And from the report:

Philadelphia now places among the top cities globally across the benchmarks of start-ups and science and technology produced both within and outside of the U.S., ahead of many other ‘New World Cities’ specialising in innovation. It is gaining global influence in healthcare and now routinely ranks in the world’s top 30 cities in measures of economic clout due to its skilled talent pool, high-quality universities and business gateway infrastructure.

Chinese biotech moving U.S. HQ from California to Montco

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...fornia-to.html

Anpac Bio-Medical Science Co., a life sciences company focused on cancer screening and detection, is relocating its U.S. headquarters to a research park in Montgomery County from San Jose, Calif.

The Chinese biotech company that has offices in Shanghai signed a 10-year lease on 6,724 square feet at Spring House Innovation Park in Lower Gwynedd. Tony Rossi of CBRE Inc. represented Anpac Bio on the lease.

The company decided to relocate to Spring House to be part of the growing life sciences community in the Philadelphia area. In addition to its U.S. headquarters, the company will also have new lab space. It is expected to move in March with 10 to 20 employees initially at the site.

Anpac Bio CEO Dr. Chris Yu said the company's technology — which can detect the risk of more than 20 different cancer types — has been validated by 40,000 blood samples from its research studies and 100,000 blood samples from its cancer risk assessment tests conducted at its clinical laboratories in China.

"We are now fully committed to R&D and market penetration in the United States," Yu said. "By placing our second clinical laboratory in Philadelphia, we can work with our hospital principal investigators and partners in the East Coast much more closely and effectively."

Shaun Cong, Anpac's U.S. president added that Pennsylvania "has a mature life sciences ecosystem and a supportive startup environment that will allow our U.S. business to lay the foundation for future success."

Spring House Innovation Park has been attracting tenants since MRA Group began to reposition the former Rohm & Haas campus as a research park in 2017. The 133-acre property consists of 14 buildings totaling 600,000 square feet. When MRA bought the complex, it was vacant.

The tenants Spring House has landed come from across the region and lean heavily toward life sciences, though not all are in that sector. For example, Beijing Oriental Yuhong Waterproof Technology Co. Ltd., a maker of waterproofing and coating products, leased 19,000 square feet for a global research and development center. Thomas Jefferson University occupies 25,000 square feet for its Jefferson Institute for Bioprocessing.

The smallest tenant so far is 730 square feet and the largest stands at 25,000 square feet. Rents have ranged from $16 to $42 a square foot with the spread accounting for the mix of lab and office space.

[eixample]

Originally Posted by Boku

We should always push for excellence from our government and business leaders, but this neverending sky-is-falling attitude is bizarre to me.

I'm far from a sky-is-falling type, I'm responding to captain status quo -- someone who will never push for anything from our city government more than they are already doing. I'm not getting involved in the taxes argument, just trying to give a dose of reality. I'm pretty sure cardeza is way off on his comments about white collar jobs and we are way down from our peak by the way.

[acenturi]

Oops, sorry I thought this was the SKYSCRAPER Forum, but it seems like it regressed AGAIN back to the TAX Soapbox Forum

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by acenturi

Oops, sorry I thought this was the SKYSCRAPER Forum, but it seems like it regressed AGAIN back to the TAX Soapbox Forum

It seems every month or so someone at internet headquarters gets these tubes mixed up.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by eixample

I'm far from a sky-is-falling type, I'm responding to captain status quo -- someone who will never push for anything from our city government more than they are already doing. I'm not getting involved in the taxes argument, just trying to give a dose of reality. I'm pretty sure cardeza is way off on his comments about white collar jobs and we are way down from our peak by the way.

Philly was called workshop of the world at one point. Peak employment, population and wealth came during the period when US manufacturing was still king. This was never a huge player in financial services, advertising, fashion, etc....i.e. the types of things New York has always been known for. The decline started when the factories started leaving the city (sometimes the country) in the 60s. I thought this was widely known. Have you seen the skyline pics from the 60s and 70s? Not exactly manhattan.

[cardeza]

Not in a high rise, but seems pertinent

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

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by cardeza

This was never a huge player in financial services, advertising, fashion, etc....i.e. the types of things New York has always been known for.

Philadelphia was in fact a HUGE leading player in the formative years of the advertising industry. Start with a google search for N. W. Ayer and also Cyrus Curtis.

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by Jayfar

Philadelphia was in fact a HUGE leading player in the formative years of the advertising industry. Start with a google search for N. W. Ayer and also Cyrus Curtis.

Also in publishing: Curtis (as you mentioned), Lippincott, etc.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by Jayfar

Philadelphia was in fact a HUGE leading player in the formative years of the advertising industry. Start with a google search for N. W. Ayer and also Cyrus Curtis.

I meant it was never major employer in that field. Obviously there were some notable firms here. Manufacturing was much more important to Philadelphia than DC or NY. Half of our CBD was covered with train tracks and industrial buildings until the late 50s.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Also in publishing: Curtis (as you mentioned), Lippincott, etc.

Right, and the reason I mentioned Curtis in particular is that he essentially created the concept of magazines as a general advertising medium, besides using advertising to build circulation of his publications.

https://books.google.com/books?id=2c...page&q&f=false

[JurassicPhilly]

It really is amazing what they used to make in Philadelphia. There was the ship yard, and all the automobile factories. Let's not forget Philadelphia was known as the "Motor City" until most of the auto industry relocated to Seattle in the 1990s. It's all good, they got to build the cars, and we produced great bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam.