PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[Knight Hospitaller]

Beautiful.

[McBane]

I am sure the cause can be debated but I always regretted that Philadelphia never got any really tall traditional style pre-war office towers. Sure there's some like the PNB Building and others along South Broad Street, but those aren't tall enough to be a visible part of our skyline.

Every now and again, I think about this and imagine how awesome certain buildings would look at 400-600 feet tall. The Hale Building is definitely one of them. The American Baptist Publication Society building (1420 Chestnut) is another beauty.

Examples in other cities that I admire include the Met Life Building and 40 Wall Street in NYC; Terminal Tower in Cleveland; Gulf Tower in Pittsburgh; and Customs House in Boston. We got the PSFS which is cool but the design isn't traditional.

Anyway....I'm glad that the Hale Building is finally getting its long overdue refurbishment.

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by summersm343

I was just about to post this. Looks amazing! Here are some other renderings:







http://www.phillymag.com/property/20...y/#gallery-2-4

I came.

[Arch+Eng]

I just ate a grape and JIZZED IN MY PANTS

[Knight Hospitaller]

I just vomited reading posts from people who can't keep a lid on their bodily excretions. It's times like this when I wish that there was simply a "like button."

[Tlphila]

http://mobile.philly.com/beta?wss=/p...s&id=367256681

[wanderer34]

The new renderings of the Hale Building look so sweet!!! It's a big upgrade from what used to be located and will make Chestnut St look more upscale!!!

[Knight Hospitaller]

The long death and rebirth of The National:
http://hiddencityphila.org/2016/02/t...-the-national/

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by shadowbat2

Saw this proposal on an architects website:
http://www.createworldwide.com/projects_boards_3.php
Don't know how real this is....

This looks like a great project. Any idea on the location?

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

The long death and rebirth of The National:
http://hiddencityphila.org/2016/02/t...-the-national/

Was just about to post about this.



This is my favorite part:

With Dale Corp. as the developer, The National at Old City East will rise six stories and include 192 apartments with 57 parking spaces and 64 bike spots. The building’s design, by Philadelphia’s Barton Partners, features silvery metal panels with orange and white insets to complement the fully rebuilt façade, including the zigzag canopy and stainless steel signage. And, it’s worth noting, a reimagined Flagpole Park.

For years, about 20 to be exact, “Flagpole Park” has required quote marks, as it’s been little more than a glorified parking lot and an almost-staging-ground for the National proposals that never happened. Not exactly the greatest transition from historic Elfreth’s Alley. The northern edge of the National property, which faces Flagpole Park, carries the orange façade over to Elfreth’s Alley, something that errant vegetation has obscured over the years. (Note the differences in Google Street View’s snapshots over the last decade.) When completed in 2017, the new National will feature a landscaped plaza for Flagpole Park coming off of Elfreth’s Alley, the orange façade serving as a striking backdrop. In the meantime, while the site is under construction, a midblock crosswalk will help pedestrians across the long block of Second Street between Race and Arch Streets.

http://hiddencityphila.org/2016/02/t...-the-national/

[shadowbat2]

Originally Posted by summersm343

This looks like a great project. Any idea on the location?

I looked up Madison Street as it seemed that was what the signage was referring to, but that is mostly a residential street one block north of Allegheny Ave. Madison Avenue/Place is the name of a small street in Eastwick, but nothing that would come close to matching the rendering. So nope, have no idea

[ScreamShatter]

There was a really great proposal at the East Kensington Zoning Meeting last month. It's going slightly north of Front and Amber. Kinda looks like the proposal above (not the same one), but it includes a restaurant, condos, and single family homes. Definitely a great proposal for that close to Front St.

[Cro Burnham]

Originally Posted by summersm343

This looks like a great project. Any idea on the location?

Looks like something in the suburbs of Chicago or Detroit . . . . or maybe the Navy Yard?

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Cro Burnham

Looks like something in the suburbs of Chicago or Detroit . . . . or maybe the Navy Yard?

I was thinking something in the Navy Yard or somewhere near City Avenue.

[Frontst17]

I was gonna say parkside ave, that would be cool

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by allovertown

I came.

If they can really make it look like this, it will be amazing and welcoming. I love the red brick and pre-war architectural style. The current exterior of this being looks creepy as hell as if drug deals and prostitution goes down inside and around the building in dark corners every night.

[allovertown]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

If they can really make it look like this, it will be amazing and welcoming. I love the red brick and pre-war architectural style. The current exterior of this being looks creepy as hell as if drug deals and prostitution goes down inside and around the building in dark corners every night.

Yea, this is truly one of my favorites in the entire city and this rehab is better than I could have even imagined.

If you would have asked me, what is the absolute best case scenario for this building? I would have said restoring it to its original glory before, time, alterations and frigging Valu-Plus disgraced it. Here is what it orginally looked like for reference:



Beautiful. But the truth is, this building hasn't looked like this for over a century and spent a lot more time not looking like this, than it ever did actually looking like it did in its original incarnation. Not to mention the fact that, try as they might, any attempt to recreate the original Chestnut St facade likely would have looked artificial when compared to the rest of the original building.

The fact is, that facade is long gone and rather than try to recreate it or create some other artificially ancient looking facade, they created something new and amazing. I love the glass front, I love the way it all comes together and I love the restored original portion. Really hope this gets done.

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

I just vomited reading posts from people who can't keep a lid on their bodily excretions. It's times like this when I wish that there was simply a "like button."

Hey! The love between a man and a building is beautiful and pure! Your described "bodily excretion" is far more gross.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Hey! The love between a man and a building is beautiful and pure! Your described "bodily excretion" is far more gross.

I'm not the one talking about coming or doing a number 2 in their pants.

[boxbot]

[jsbrook]

Looks like some great things are in store for the Hale building! I believe the adjacent Blick building with the bowling alley also changed hands fairly recently. It could do with a complementary facade upgrade. That would be great.