PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[mcgrath618]

While this certainly belongs in the Transit thread, I figure it’s worth mentioning here.
The Specs Sheet for the M-5 cars was released yesterday. A few items of note include no open gangways and potential longitudinal seating (instead of the weird 2-1 seating on the MFL at the moment).

https://www5.septa.org/wp-content/up...VuWWV0AqVlN7tM

[Busy Bee]

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

While this certainly belongs in the Transit thread, I figure it’s worth mentioning here.
The Specs Sheet for the M-5 cars was released yesterday. A few items of note include no open gangways and potential longitudinal seating (instead of the weird 2-1 seating on the MFL at the moment).

https://www5.septa.org/wp-content/up...VuWWV0AqVlN7tM

I love the inclusion of a design life requirement. The M4s are basically as old as I am and they're already falling apart. It seems like there's disabled equipment under Market Street every single day. Hopefully, the M5s will go on to last as long as the B4s have lasted on the Broad Street Line.

Also, the weight reduction requirement will hopefully end the havoc that the M4s have been wreaking on the El's infrastructure from being too heavy.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

I love the inclusion of a design life requirement. The M4s are basically as old as I am and they're already falling apart. It seems like there's disabled equipment under Market Street every single day. Hopefully, the M5s will go on to last as long as the B4s have lasted on the Broad Street Line.

Also, the weight reduction requirement will hopefully end the havoc that the M4s have been wreaking on the El's infrastructure from being too heavy.

The Specs are essentially just describing a PA-5. For those uninformed, they are the cars currently in use on PATH built by Kawasaki, a company known for its cars' longevity.

[PhilliesPhan]

Permits were issued for three-story buildings with "cellar pilot house[s], roof deck[s] and bay window[s]." at 2722, 2724, 2728, and 2730 N 12th Street. These aren't the most significant developments; nevertheless, we haven't seen too much market-rate construction occurring north of Lehigh and especially between Germantown Avenue and Broad Street.

Development to the north of Lehigh should really kick into gear once the Botany 500 Building gets renovated and the North Station District (hopefully) commences. With so much demand for new lab space in the life sciences field, the area around Broad and Lehigh could serve as a cheaper alternative to University City, or possibly as a space for early-stage life sciences companies related to Temple University instead of Penn/Drexel/USciences. Plus, although North Philadelphia Station desperately needs a renovation (I've heard rumblings that this may be pursued), at least there is some Amtrak service to New York (only the Keystone stops there).

[Broadcastthatboom]

This might be kind of random but...anyone know the status of the Giant Heirloom market on 2nd and South Street? They still have advertisements up in the windows saying 'Coming Soon' but that's been there for a while. Is it officially dead or is something still in the works (extra curious because it would be so convenient for me for shopping hah)

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by Broadcastthatboom

This might be kind of random but...anyone know the status of the Giant Heirloom market on 2nd and South Street? They still have advertisements up in the windows saying 'Coming Soon' but that's been there for a while. Is it officially dead or is something still in the works (extra curious because it would be so convenient for me for shopping hah)

Pretty sure that died at the hands of a stupid landlord/tenant dispute.

Too bad. That would have been a great locale for an Heirloom.

[PHLtoNYC]

B.Labs, Brandywine's incubator space at Cira Centre, fully leased

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...Pos=0#cxrecs_s

"Vitara Biomedical Inc., a company working on a therapeutic platform to support premature infants, and San Francisco-based Quanta Therapeutics Inc., a biotech focused on therapies for cancer, are among the recent tenants to sign leases at B.Labs, a 50,000-square-foot life sciences incubator at Cira Centre. The leases bring the space to fully occupied."

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by summersm343

My wife and I were just at King of Prussia Mall last week as well and noticed the same thing. We asked a few retailers why every store was closing before the mall closes at 8PM and they all said they same thing.... they're having staffing shortages and are having a hard time finding enough employees to cover the hours. Assuming that's hurting an already struggling retail market due to Amazon/online shopping and the pandemic.

I think retailers are living in the past a bit with their hours - which isn't helping anything. There's just not the same amount of foot traffic activity in Center City at noon on a Tuesday b/c office workers haven't returned, and may never in the same scale as before. Yet they still keep these standard 10a-6p hours which makes zero sense if you're trying to capture the best critical mass of pedestrians (which is now probably around 4p-8p).

Center City's residential population is booming, restaurants are doing well, nightlife traffic is returning in droves...yet retail hours in town are more focused on office workers schedules instead of residents. My wife and I talk about it all the time, as Center City residents we'd do way more shopping on Walnut if the stores were simply just open a bit later.

[Boku]

GROWTH FORMULA
Philadelphia region's growing life sciences industry ignites a $4 billion building boom

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...ding-boom.html

Philadelphia is undergoing a life sciences building boom with $4 billion in projects in various stages of planning and development, setting the stage to grow the region’s economy with thousands of new jobs and life-saving discoveries.

Those real estate projects involve 11 million square feet of lab and manufacturing space, according to CBRE Inc. data. Projects range in size and scope and are scattered across the region in existing life sciences hubs such as University City and the Philadelphia Navy Yard to growing clusters in New Castle County, Delaware, and Philadelphia’s suburban counties.

In University City, these projects include Spark Therapeutics' proposed $575 million, 500,000-square-foot gene therapy manufacturing facility and Wexford Science & Technology and Ventas Inc.'s One uCity Square, a 400,000-square-foot building. In New Castle, WuXi STA is moving forward with an initial $510 million investment in a 600,000-square-foot complex and MRA Group plans a $500 million conversion of 780,000 square feet at Chestnut Run. In Philadelphia’s suburbs, projects are underway in Horsham, Lower Gwynedd, King of Prussia and Exton.

“I’ve been with Pennsylvania Bio since 2014 and I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Lou Kassa, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center. “We are booming.”

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by Boku

GROWTH FORMULA
Philadelphia region's growing life sciences industry ignites a $4 billion building boom

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...ding-boom.html

Awesome.

[jaysb]

Originally Posted by Boku

GROWTH FORMULA
Philadelphia region's growing life sciences industry ignites a $4 billion building boom

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...ding-boom.html

I was just talking to my dad about this over the weekend (he leads research in another state) but was lamenting not having the amount of sq ft going up number handy....11 million is incredible!

[PHLJD13]

I see members in this subforum often commenting on the (lack of) street-landscaping on the City's main thoroughfares. This example strikes me as pretty blatant misplaced priorities by the Streets Department. Thoughts?

https://www.inquirer.com/transportat...-20220512.html

**Also relevant for inclusion of progress photos on the Fishtown flatiron building.

[arkitect13]

^^Do wish that the city would do more of it, it would help cool the city, help with the green city clean waters, and help fight emissions as well! The city needs trees on Broad and girard especially

[Philly Kid]

I drove by the triangular lot at 8th and Washington this AM and there's heavy equipment on site and it appears to now be an active construction zone. Glad to see this lot finally being developed.

[DeltaNerd]

Originally Posted by Philly Kid

I drove by the triangular lot at 8th and Washington this AM and there's heavy equipment on site and it appears to now be an active construction zone. Glad to see this lot finally being developed.

I usually walk by there but what building would possibly fit?

[DeltaNerd]

Originally Posted by PHLJD13

I see members in this subforum often commenting on the (lack of) street-landscaping on the City's main thoroughfares. This example strikes me as pretty blatant misplaced priorities by the Streets Department. Thoughts?

https://www.inquirer.com/transportat...-20220512.html

**Also relevant for inclusion of progress photos on the Fishtown flatiron building.

LMAO removing the rocks for safety reasons? So a driver can straightline the circle if they wanted. This is low hanging fruit. I love to see the street department address safety on Lehigh, Allegany, Erie, Girard with bus/trolley lanes, more trees, shorting crosswalks and storm water management

[gjrip]

Not sure if this is appropriate but I feel like some of you would appreciate this. St. Augustine's Church in Old City (4th and New St) had some maintenance conducted yesterday. Some of the steeple paneling was replaced. It appeared to be a vent panel on the south side. They had to bring in quite an impressive crane since they had to lift from the opposite side of the church. Good to see a piece of history receiving updates! Founded 1798, destroyed 1844 in the Philadelphia Nativist Riots, rebuilt 1847. It's the church from The Sixth Sense.

[TK2001]

Tower crane is up at 23rd and Cherry

[iheartphilly]

^
They need a tower crane for that project? I thought it was a proposed low squat bldg. Looks like it was around 5 floors.