[Boku]

Philly developers propose thousands of new apartments in a rush to beat the tax abatement change

https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate...-20200810.html

All told, the August proposals would produce 3,600 new apartments — just slightly less than all the housing units that were approved in 2019. September’s agenda is likely to bring another bumper crop of apartments, including a thousand units in Northern Liberties alone. Among those angling for a hearing is developer Bart Blatstein, who has a new plan for his sprawling site at Broad and Washington, this time a 14-story apartment building.

It’s clear that the impending demise of the 10-year abatement is what’s driving these applications, but how many of these projects are likely to be built? Interest rates are now near zero, making it cheap to borrow. But are banks and investors really willing to gamble on speculative rental housing in Philadelphia?

Based on interviews with developers, urban planners and industry experts, the answer is a qualified yes. Not every pretty rendering submitted to the design review board will turn into an actual building. And the bigger projects, such as the 461-unit enclave on the former Festival Pier, will probably be built in phases. As long as developers produce construction drawings and obtain a building permit before the end of 2020, they are locked in under the 10-year abatement, even if they don’t actually start digging right away.

Given all the talk about people fleeing cities for the suburbs to escape the pandemic, developers here remain surprisingly bullish about Philadelphia’s future.