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Originally Posted by Milksteak
At first I (like many others) was very bothered that they would be tearing down a portion of Jeweler's Row, it is absolutely a historic part of the city that makes Philly what it is. Then I learned that these properties were never added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places...and it kind of just made me sad. We lag behind other cities with protecting our historic properties, I can't even get too angry at Toll Brothers on this one. They saw an opportunity and and pursued it.
I don't want to see the properties go, but I think the city screwed up here and the developer can't entirely be blamed. As far as the building goes, it's a big 'meh' from me. The ground level looks more like a converted warehouse to me than anything else, not terrible but it doesn't necessarily integrate seamlessly into the neighborhood. If they agreed to leave the facades I would be behind this 100%.
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Definitely the city and historic commission deserve a fair share of the blame. But there is plenty left for Toll. Seeing an opportunity to degrade Philadelphia for the benefit of their bottom line is not something I'm just fine with. Just because they can do something legally doesn't make it right. I don't begrudge them trying to make a buck, but give me a break, plenty of money can be made here without tearing apart one of the most historic streets in Philadelphia.
Preserving the facades of the buildings is the bare minimum they must do. But honestly it's so much worse than that. This tower is the ugliest stack of shit I've ever seen.
I can't believe some here called the tower at 13th and Market boring but now seem ok with this. This tower is like two towers, both more boring than the 13th and Market Tower that have been tastelessly glued together. The blank walls, the lack of detail or character. It's truly the worst Philadelphia tower design I've seen in a long long time.