PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by Jayfar

The PWD project deals with storm waters flowing into the sewer system. River flooding is another matter entirely on a much larger scale and not so easily mitigated.

Right not going to stop flooding if the river overflows in the worst case scenario like Ida and streets are under 3-4 feet of water from the surge, but I think the idea from heavy rainstorms for many days have flooded basements of many residences and businesses as a result of overflow and capacity limits prior to the project, so I think there's relief there from this PWD river basin storage project and the intent is to take water off the streets into this system when it is projected to taxed the system and divert it to the basin. This excess (beyond what it can normally handle) will get pumped back to the river after the storm. Hope this makes sense.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Are you new here?

If anything the renderings look 7 times better than what it will look like in the future.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

No Im not new. Thanks for asking.

[cardeza]

article about the past and future of Walnut street, including lots of discussion about it not having high end fashion brand stores these days.

https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/...-20220929.html

[jaysb]

Originally Posted by cardeza

article about the past and future of Walnut street, including lots of discussion about it not having high end fashion brand stores these days.

https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/...-20220929.html

Best quote from the article
"Glossier, the celebrity-endorsed makeup line that’s a fave of Olivia Rodrigo, will be a neighborhood game changer when it opens, she says."

Game-changer? LOL

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by cardeza

article about the past and future of Walnut street, including lots of discussion about it not having high end fashion brand stores these days.

https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/...-20220929.html

Originally Posted by jaysb

Best quote from the article
"Glossier, the celebrity-endorsed makeup line that’s a fave of Olivia Rodrigo, will be a neighborhood game changer when it opens, she says."

Game-changer? LOL

That article seemed like a lot of talking in circles, but it's The Inquirer I guess... I also never heard the term "Miracle Mile" in Chicago. It's Magnificent Mile.

But glad to see Aritzia opening, that will add Zara level foot traffic. That burned out hole on the 1700 block is sad though, and I think crime and gun violence are still taking away from the rebirth of Walnut and other Center City corridors, there were 3 shootings at or near the fashion district in the month of September... I love Philadelphia, but that is not good...

Interesting note about high-end retail, a Gucci boutique opened in downtown Detroit, and I noticed a lot more "coming soon" retail signs (mid and high-end) in Manhattan, so hopefully the uptick in action continues everywhere.

[Frontst17]

My fiancé doesn’t listen to a word of my development related ramblings, I mentioned glossier once and she lit up like a Christmas tree. There is genuine hype for that store

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

That article seemed like a whole lot of nothing, but it's The Inquirer I guess... I also never heard the term "Miracle Mile" in Chicago. It's Magnificent Mile.

But glad to see Aritzia opening, that will add Zara level foot traffic. That burned out hole on the 1700 block is so sad though.

Interesting note about high-end retail, a Gucci boutique opened in downtown Detroit, and I noticed a lot more "coming soon" retail signs (mid and high-end) in Manhattan, so hopefully the uptick in action continues everywhere.

Yeah, I don’t really get the high end retail scene in downtown Detroit. They’ve now upstaged us. I think it’s a conspiracy.

[iheartphilly]

no no, don't bring up Detroit...the haters will be saying we will turn into shambles like Detroit. LOL.

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

But glad to see Aritzia opening, that will add Zara level foot traffic. That burned out hole on the 1700 block is sad though, and I think crime and gun violence are still taking away from the rebirth of Walnut and other Center City corridors, there were 3 shootings at or near the fashion district in the month of September... I love Philadelphia, but that is not good... .

I don’t know… I think the article overall was pretty positive and upbeat about retail coming back - 47 retailers are planning on opening in Rittenhouse in the coming months with 26 of those on Walnut, meaning there are quite a few in the pipeline we haven’t even heard about yet. The article pretty much said it’s in the midst of a rebirth but to just give it a few more months.

Personally, I’ve noticed the area has been pretty bustling with activity as of late. I think crime has been baked in everywhere for awhile now but based on foot traffic and retail stats, it doesn’t seem to have made that much of an impact as of yet.

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

no no, don't bring up Detroit...the haters will be saying we will turn into shambles like Detroit. LOL.

Well, I guess if we turn into Detroit, we get a Gucci then! I’ll take it! LOL!

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

no no, don't bring up Detroit...the haters will be saying we will turn into shambles like Detroit. LOL.

I feel like that kind of hater generally doesn't exist on a YIMBY forum like this (thankfully)

Hell, the Economy League is having their Greater Philadelphia Leadership Exchange in Detroit starting this weekend: https://economyleague.org/driving-re...x-detroit-2022

[iheartphilly]

^^
Yeah I know our regulars here are pretty good...have disagreements and all now and again but certainly not haters of our own city. But, you know, trolls/haters pop up on forum and social media sites since it is the internet.

[McBane]

I think I've officially given up on rooting for high end retail on Walnut Street. I'm just tired of the ups and downs of chasing down and caring about luxury stores that end up closing down, leaving Walnut with vacant storefronts. Maybe there's not room for lux shopping on Walnut Street and KoP and I'm sorry if that wounds our pride or whatever. But isn't a healthy, vibrant shopping street - without constant churn and vacancies - more important? That's my Thursday rant.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

I'd vote for Drew Murray, I don't know anything about the other guy.

Republicans have nominated Jim Hasher and Drew Murray for the at-large City Council special elections

https://www.inquirer.com/politics/el...-20220928.html

Philadelphia’s Republican party has nominated Drew Murray, a longtime civic leader in Center City, and Jim Hasher, a real estate agent and bar owner, to fill two vacant City Council at-large seats that will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Were I not just outside the city limits, "bar owner" would be sufficient to get my vote.

[skyhigh07]

^^^Guys, way to turn a relatively upbeat article into a downer lol. Take the good news.

I’ve probably been the most frustrated about Walnut retail on here but even I can see some good signs as of late.

I think the real game changer will be the opening of The Laurel as the gateway for Walnut west of the Square. That stretch of Walnut is probably better suited for high end retail.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by skyhigh07

^^^Guys, way to turn a relatively upbeat article into a downer lol. Take the good news.

I’ve probably been the most frustrated about Walnut retail on here but even I can see some good signs as of late.

I think the real game changer will be the opening of The Laurel as the gateway for Walnut west of the Square. That stretch of Walnut is probably better suited for high end retail.

I don't think it's a downer (or the expression of just one political/world view) to see that there are a lot of "balls in the air" economically and socially right now. If there's a "new normal" were at least temporarily in one. The elephant in the room is rising interest rates. Energy prices will be on the rise again too. Lots of downstream effects on construction and retail from those two things, before we even talk about whether the current approach to crime is satisfactory.

[EastSideHBG]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

I don't think it's a downer (or the expression of just one political/world view) to see that there are a lot of "balls in the air" economically and socially right now. If there's a "new normal" were at least temporarily in one. The elephant in the room is rising interest rates. Energy prices will be on the rise again too. Lots of downstream effects on construction and retail from those two things, before we even talk about whether the current approach to crime is satisfactory.

Exactly. This is uncharted territory and impossible to say how any of this will pan out for the foreseeable future.

[Urbanthusiat]

I took a stroll down Walnut today and it looks great. Very nice energy for the middle of a Thursday. Just keep adding residential downtown and I think it'll be just fine.

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

I don't think it's a downer (or the expression of just one political/world view) to see that there are a lot of "balls in the air" economically and socially right now. If there's a "new normal" were at least temporarily in one. The elephant in the room is rising interest rates. Energy prices will be on the rise again too. Lots of downstream effects on construction and retail from those two things, before we even talk about whether the current approach to crime is satisfactory.

Those are valid concerns, especially in regards to construction activity, but general economic factors in the Delaware Valley are fine and right in-line with the rest of the country.

Just looking at the cities around us, Pittsburgh and Washington DC are doing noticeably worse.

https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.pa_philadelphia_msa.htm

https://www.bls.gov/regions/midwest/il_chicago_msa.htm

https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.md_baltimore_msa.htm

https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.ny_newyork_msa.htm

https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.dc_washington_md.htm

https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.ma_boston_mn.htm

https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.pa_pittsburgh_msa.htm

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

I don't think it's a downer (or the expression of just one political/world view) to see that there are a lot of "balls in the air" economically and socially right now. If there's a "new normal" were at least temporarily in one. The elephant in the room is rising interest rates. Energy prices will be on the rise again too. Lots of downstream effects on construction and retail from those two things, before we even talk about whether the current approach to crime is satisfactory.

Oh, I genuinely think there there’s a chance that the entire country collapses within the next few decades but for now I’m just looking at the short term wins that hopefully add up to some sense of stability - but that’s a whole different discussion

Again, you have to take the good news when it comes. Logically, if all of things things you mentioned added up to an article that essentially said “retail on Walnut is packing up and leaving, get out while you can”, I could see your point but that’s clearly not the case.

There always have and always will be storm clouds on the horizon but somehow things are never quite as bad as they seem.