PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread II

[blart]

7/20
Site of former St. Laurentius church on Berks in Fishtown

[PHLtoNYC]

^ A worthy replacement...

[Spore415]

St. Boxy's of the Asymmetrical Windows

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

^ A worthy replacement...

Obviously not a worthy replacement, but neighbors are to blame and I guess the good news is, everyone in Fishtown acknowledges neighbors are to blame...so hopefully it doesn't happen again.

That being said...of the new $1MM construction product that's being offered in the neighborhood, I think this project is the best.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Obviously not a worthy replacement, but neighbors are to blame and I guess the good news is, everyone in Fishtown acknowledges neighbors are to blame...so hopefully it doesn't happen again.

That being said...of the new $1MM construction product that's being offered in the neighborhood, I think this project is the best.

Those townhomes on any vacant parcel would be a fine addition, but this whole situation was a sad mess.

[PHLtoNYC]

Post Brothers submits plans for 241-unit building, its latest in Northern Liberties

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia...others-apartment-northern-liberties.html

The Philadelphia developer plans to build a 241-unit building at 1021 N. Hancock St. that will expand its Piazza apartment complex. A single-story building on the site, currently used as office space for Post Brothers, would be demolished.

The developer’s proposal calls for a six-story building, named Mercato, with 122 studio apartments and 119 one-bedroom apartments.

Post Brothers previously proposed a 13-story building there with 280 units, which was presented to the Civic Design Review Committee in 2020.

[chimpskibot]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

Post Brothers submits plans for 241-unit building, its latest in Northern Liberties

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia...others-apartment-northern-liberties.html

The Philadelphia developer plans to build a 241-unit building at 1021 N. Hancock St. that will expand its Piazza apartment complex. A single-story building on the site, currently used as office space for Post Brothers, would be demolished.

The developer’s proposal calls for a six-story building, named Mercato, with 122 studio apartments and 119 one-bedroom apartments.

Post Brothers previously proposed a 13-story building there with 280 units, which was presented to the Civic Design Review Committee in 2020.

The Fishtown/NoLibs are on fire, but I wish some of the momentum would start to reach Port Richmond/Kensington and Poplar/Callowhill. Anyway, this is a handsome building and it should be built!

[summersm343]

Do I wish they were building the highrise? Absolutely, that was a great design.

This is a great design too though and solid infill.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by chimpskibot

The Fishtown/NoLibs are on fire, but I wish some of the momentum would start to reach Port Richmond/Kensington and Poplar/Callowhill. Anyway, this is a handsome building and it should be built!

I'm confused by this comment.

There's a massive amount of development in Kensington and Port Richmond.

[3rd&Brown]

Not Philly and not high rise related, but rather development in the suburbs.

1. NVR, not even 2ish months ago, started sales of a SFH community in Concord Township, Delaware County at something like $1.5MM. From memory, I believe it had 31 lots. I remember getting an email saying something like only 2 lots were left after 30 days of sales. The development is no longer on the company's website, which implies it is already sold out.

2. At the other end of the spectrum, Ryan Homes had a new construction townhome community that it was selling in Upland Boro, Delaware County (Chester School District, hardly prime)...starting at just shy of $300K. I have no idea how many homes it was selling, but it too opened sales no more than 3 or so months ago, and it too is sold out and no longer on their website.

The upside of high prices is that it pushes development inward to less desireable areas, in turn, helping to revitalize those towns. In a decade, I think we won't recognize some of the less affluent areas of Delaware County (or Chester or Montgomery Counties, for that matter). And I'm okay with that. Anything that pushes development into places like Chester, Norristown, Pottstown, etc is a net positive for the entire region.

[UrbanRevival]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

The upside of high prices is that it pushes development inward to less desireable areas, in turn, helping to revitalize those towns. In a decade, I think we won't recognize some of the less affluent areas of Delaware County (or Chester or Montgomery Counties, for that matter). And I'm okay with that. Anything that pushes development into places like Chester, Norristown, Pottstown, etc is a net positive for the entire region.

Very true. Aside from the fact that developable space is getting extremely sparse--even in exurban parts of the metro area--you also have very high ground-up building costs and median existing home prices now over the 500K mark in most of the 'burbs.

I think we'll see continue to see a lot more renovations/rehabs in legacy/inner-ring suburbs. As long as the bones of older properties are in decent shape, Philly remains one of the most lucrative markets in the US for that kind of activity.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by UrbanRevival

Very true. Aside from the fact that developable space is getting extremely sparse--even in exurban parts of the metro area--you also have very high ground-up building costs and median existing home prices now over the 500K mark in most of the 'burbs.

I think we'll see continue to see a lot more renovations/rehabs in legacy/inner-ring suburbs. As long as the bones of older properties are in decent shape, Philly remains one of the most lucrative markets in the US for that kind of activity.

I've noticed that in areas like Aston, Brookhaven, Boothwyn, Ridley, etc. The numbers don't generally work for teardowns in those areas, so flips and rehabs are becoming a lucrative trend.

Then in more affluent inner ring burbs, I see teardowns and spec houses popping up on any open parcels.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

I've noticed that in areas like Aston, Brookhaven, Boothwyn, Ridley, etc. The numbers don't generally work for teardowns in those areas, so flips and rehabs are becoming a lucrative trend.

Then in more affluent inner ring burbs, I see teardowns and spec houses popping up on any open parcels.

My parents live in Upper Chichester in an established neighborhood that isn't a "development" per se but was built in phases. So homes range from about 80 years old to 50 years old (my parent's house) with pockets of infill. All built in an era when it was standard to have a masonry home with hardwood floors, etc.

When I was growing up, my friend's parents were professionals or skilled tradesmen. Like accountants, nurses, and teachers (professionals requiring degrees but not necessarily advanced degrees) or skilled tradesmen who would work at Scott Paper or the refineries in Marcus Hook. The last 3 homes that turned over on my parent's block were bought by a Biomedical Engineer who works in pharma, a software engineer who works remotely for Microsoft, and an associate (lawyer) working in the Wilmington office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich (a tech/IP lawfirm based in the Silicon Valley). This to me, if it's happening in Upper Chichester...is an indication that the entire region is upskilling gradually over time.

I can see how that would be stressful for long timers...but I see it overall as a positive trend for the region.

[el don]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

My parents live in Upper Chichester in an established neighborhood that isn't a "development" per se but was built in phases. So homes range from about 80 years old to 50 years old (my parent's house) with pockets of infill. All built in an era when it was standard to have a masonry home with hardwood floors, etc.

When I was growing up, my friend's parents were professionals or skilled tradesmen. Like accountants, nurses, and teachers (professionals requiring degrees but not necessarily advanced degrees) or skilled tradesmen who would work at Scott Paper or the refineries in Marcus Hook. The last 3 homes that turned over on my parent's block were bought by a Biomedical Engineer who works in pharma, a software engineer who works remotely for Microsoft, and an associate (lawyer) working in the Wilmington office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich (a tech/IP lawfirm based in the Silicon Valley). This to me, if it's happening in Upper Chichester...is an indication that the entire region is upskilling gradually over time.

I can see how that would be stressful for long timers...but I see it overall as a positive trend for the region.

I'm curious to see if foreclosure rates continue climbing in the area or if they will reach their plateau soon. Delaware county specifically seems to have shot up quite a bit over the past year.

I'm also curious to see what happens once job automation really kicks into high gear with AI. Goldman Sachs is already estimating 10-15K job losses each month already. Imagine by 2030 when token costs will be a projected 90% cheaper for companies to burn through.

Corporate landlord buyers are now capped at 350 houses as well. Can't run the same playbook as 2008. I guess local landlords and house flippers will make bank though. All these people buying now may be in for the shock of their lives if this happens and their home valuations get chopped in half in the future.