PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[summersm343]

The Vienna, A 26-Unit Rental Building, Stands Complete In Brewerytown

A recent site visit by Philly YIMBY has confirmed the completion of The Vienna, a five-story, 26-unit rental apartment building at 1539 North 26th Street in Brewerytown, North Philadelphia. The structure rises on the east side of the block between Jefferson Street and West Oxford Street. Designed by KCA Design Associates and developed by Design Pro Development, with GRIT Construction as the contractor, the structure spans 29,042 square feet and features ground-level retail as well as residential amenities such as parking, a fitness center, and a roof deck. Permits list a construction cost of $4 million.

Read/view more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2022/03/1539...th-street.html

[summersm343]

Philly restaurants push to relax streetery regulations they say will kill outdoor dining

Read more here:
https://www.inquirer.com/news/street...-20220316.html

[summersm343]

'A hard pill to swallow': The $1.5T omnibus aid bill axed a Restaurant Revitalization Fund refill. Now more Philadelphia restaurants could shutter.

Article behind paywall here:
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...covid-aid.html

[summersm343]

190-Unit Project Rising in Olde Kensington

Current progress:



Project Rendering:



Site plan:



Read/view more here:
http://www.rising.realestate/190-uni...in-kensington/

[CleetMcDougle]

^^ speaking of Olde Kensington, small update but worth noting. The for "for sale" signs on both lots on Girard and Mascher are now gone. I know we had some proposals there about a year ago, but the signs just recently came down. No change in ownership on the local property search though

[cardeza]

This is pretty interesting- we could be seeing major changes in City hall after next election.

https://www.inquirer.com/politics/cl...-20220318.html

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by cardeza

This is pretty interesting- we could be seeing major changes in City hall after next election.

https://www.inquirer.com/politics/cl...-20220318.html

Paywall. Mind summarizing?

[chimpskibot]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Paywall. Mind summarizing?

You can read here: https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%...-20220318.html

Anyway, I don't think there will be a pushback against "progressives" per se, but rather a shift towards technocrats. I welcome this. Right now many of the progressives and moderates on City Council are corrupt and racing to the bottom to reward their base at the cost of the city's growth. I think as people begin to be fed up with these council members and lack of progress in the face of massive investment, many of these council members will be disposed. The problem is who will replace them? Without council-manic prerogative reform there will just be a new class of feudal lords over their city districts.

I will say I am rooting for a Nutter return or a Rynhardt run. I know the owner of shop-rite, John Brown wants to run, but I fear he doesn't have a grasp of running a large city with problems coming from many sides.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Paywall. Mind summarizing?

This is the gist of it:

Progressive candidates have racked up victories in recent Philadelphia elections, rankling the Democratic establishment and many in the city’s business community.

Here comes the pushback.

At least five groups are contemplating major financial moves in the 2023 elections for mayor and City Council. While not yet working together, they appear to be thinking alike, and it’s possible some of the efforts could merge.

Clout predicts super PACs spending big to swing the city’s politics back toward the center after several years of gains on the left.

Gym and Councilmembers Cherelle Parker, Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, Allan Domb, and Derek Green may all resign to run for mayor, while other members may retire or face primary challenges. Another member, Kenyatta Johnson, is due to stand trial Monday on federal bribery charges, putting his future at risk.

That means that close to half of Council’s 17 seats could turn over next year.

[McBane]

I'll see it when I believe it. If any one progressive candidate was vulnerable, it was Larry Krasner and he wiped the floor with his opponent who was pretty well funded. The voters here seem more concerned with criminal justice reform than with aggressively tackling the rising murder rate, take that how you will.

Two years will separate 2023 elections and Krasner's 2021 election and there's been some pushback nationally, so we'll see what happens. I'm personally, not optimistic but if the progressives are divided and the pro-business community can get their shit together, maybe there will be some changes.

[PHLtoNYC]

Originally Posted by McBane

I'll see it when I believe it. If any one progressive candidate was vulnerable, it was Larry Krasner and he wiped the floor with his opponent who was pretty well funded. The voters here seem more concerned with criminal justice reform than with aggressively tackling the rising murder rate, take that how you will.

Two years will separate 2023 elections and Krasner's 2021 election and there's been some pushback nationally, so we'll see what happens. I'm personally, not optimistic but if the progressives are divided and the pro-business community can get their shit together, maybe there will be some changes.

It will be telling, and I agree.

I will say, if City Hall develops a more centrist approach in the coming years, then the sky is the limit for how far the city can go.

However, in the off chance that Helen Gym runs for Mayor and wins, then o boy...

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by chimpskibot

You can read here: https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%...-20220318.html

Anyway, I don't think there will be a pushback against "progressives" per se, but rather a shift towards technocrats. I welcome this. Right now many of the progressives and moderates on City Council are corrupt and racing to the bottom to reward their base at the cost of the city's growth. I think as people begin to be fed up with these council members and lack of progress in the face of massive investment, many of these council members will be disposed. The problem is who will replace them? Without council-manic prerogative reform there will just be a new class of feudal lords over their city districts.

I will say I am rooting for a Nutter return or a Rynhardt run. I know the owner of shop-rite, John Brown wants to run, but I fear he doesn't have a grasp of running a large city with problems coming from many sides.

Technocrats? I don’t think that’s a common term these days unless you’ve been watching Raised By Wolves, lol.

[PHLtoNYC]

Class act heading to trial next week...

With bribery trial looming, Kenyatta Johnson seeks a boost from the power of prayer

https://www.inquirer.com/news/kenyat...-20220318.html

[justremember]

Originally Posted by chimpskibot

Right now many of the progressives and moderates on City Council are corrupt and racing to the bottom to reward their base at the cost of the city's growth. I think as people begin to be fed up with these council members and lack of progress in the face of massive investment, many of these council members will be disposed. The problem is who will replace them? Without council-manic prerogative reform there will just be a new class of feudal lords over their city districts.

I don't think there's much of a correlation between being a progressive and being corrupt in City Council. In fact, when I read that establishment/moderate forces are aiming to regain more power in city government, that to me reads as more corruption and less progress. The forces that article is talking about are the same ones behind the power players that just got convicted (Henon/Doc).


I'm saying this as a former Council employee. "Progressives" aren't the problem when it comes to corruption. The real problem is the lack of leaders who can be forward-thinking and growth-oriented while at the same time communicate those values to their constituents (who are citizens who vote and who matter) without freaking them out. It's possible to promote growth and development while also advocating for and protecting minorities and lower income people who (reasonably) fear that growth and development will push out and leave them behind. But it's easier and more politically profitable to pit those two things against each other, and I have zero faith that more "moderate" or "establishment" voices will even attempt to bridge that gap.

Originally Posted by McBane

The voters here seem more concerned with criminal justice reform than with aggressively tackling the rising murder rate, take that how you will.

I know I'm going on about this more than I should, but those two things are not mutually exclusive, and making light about criminal justice reform is really just sad. Rolling back those reforms won't help development, especially if it's being done by the same-old, status-quo people who never do anything forward thinking and use city government to line their own pockets.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by chimpskibot

You can read here: https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%...-20220318.html

Anyway, I don't think there will be a pushback against "progressives" per se, but rather a shift towards technocrats. I welcome this. Right now many of the progressives and moderates on City Council are corrupt and racing to the bottom to reward their base at the cost of the city's growth. I think as people begin to be fed up with these council members and lack of progress in the face of massive investment, many of these council members will be disposed. The problem is who will replace them? Without council-manic prerogative reform there will just be a new class of feudal lords over their city districts.

I will say I am rooting for a Nutter return or a Rynhardt run. I know the owner of shop-rite, John Brown wants to run, but I fear he doesn't have a grasp of running a large city with problems coming from many sides.

The article is specifically mentioning a pushback on progressives related to crime, business environment, etc. You can't have this much violence go unaddressed and NOT expect some sort of significant reaction from voters and interest groups.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by McBane

I'll see it when I believe it. If any one progressive candidate was vulnerable, it was Larry Krasner and he wiped the floor with his opponent who was pretty well funded. The voters here seem more concerned with criminal justice reform than with aggressively tackling the rising murder rate, take that how you will.

Two years will separate 2023 elections and Krasner's 2021 election and there's been some pushback nationally, so we'll see what happens. I'm personally, not optimistic but if the progressives are divided and the pro-business community can get their shit together, maybe there will be some changes.

You cant just run anybody to beat someone who needs to be replaced. The candidate and the message and level of interest matters- Krasner won in a low turnout primary- its really not that impressive. And I do not think there was a huge amount of funding behind is opponent- I barely saw any ads for him. I think there was some fear of being against Krasner- especially once word got out that the FOP was against him.

[PHL10]

1800 Callowhill development (not sure what it's called) from Friday. A bit of an odd scene having a single worker on site, tarring the walls.

[PHLtoNYC]

^ This is the project... https://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-phil...callowhill-lot

It's quite ugly and cheap looking per the render, but at least there are balconies.

[PHLtoNYC]

After two years, the Chestnut Street bridge is now open

https://www.inquirer.com/transportat...-20220321.html

"After more than two years of construction, the Chestnut Street Bridge over the Schuylkill reopened to traffic on Saturday night."

"The 62-year-old bridge has been closed to vehicles since August 2019 so PennDOT workers could repair and repaint its steel superstructure and replace the deck. There are also some upgrades, including wider sidewalks and a dedicated bicycle lane that extends along Chestnut Street between 34th Street and 22nd Street."

[Mark in Mount Airy]

Originally Posted by cardeza

You cant just run anybody to beat someone who needs to be replaced. The candidate and the message and level of interest matters- Krasner won in a low turnout primary- its really not that impressive. And I do not think there was a huge amount of funding behind is opponent- I barely saw any ads for him. I think there was some fear of being against Krasner- especially once word got out that the FOP was against him.

Comparing the Krasner election and a mayoral election is not an apples-to-apples comparison beyond turnout. There are people who are strongly supportive of Krasner -- he was the only reason I showed up to vote, to make sure no more "tough cookies" like Lynn Abraham (who loved incarcerating people) were ever elected again -- who are also seeking a business-friendly approach to city governance.