[giovanni sasso]

yes, but it only takes one success to set off a domino effect. the tivoli is also to be a gated community, is it not? the bigger problem with WFS being gated is that it cuts off access to the riverfront that could and should otherwise be public.

and to the defense of it being gated in a sketchy part of town ... well that's an even bigger confusion if you ask me -- what on earth is the purpose of spending $500K on some luxury condo when your perception is that there could be criminals just on the other side of the precious gate? i know people who have been mugged and beaten in northern liberties proper by young (and likely displaced) polish/irish/whatever thugs. (not to mention the brick beatings that happened last year.) i'm not saying crime doesn't exist, but putting a gate around your fancy new community doesn't make it go away.

if nothing else, it discourages the people who buy these high end condos from walking to nearby establishments. that's the difference between WFS and 700 delaware. the developers from hoboken get it -- they understand the importance of community in new development enough to have re-introduced brown street and connect with with NoLibs. so does bart blatstein, with germantown ave in the ongoing liberties walk development. WFS is the first development in philly for this israeli team, and it pays no mind whatsoever to the existing philadelphia urban fabric. (not that it necessarily has that option where it is ...)

again, i'm not saying delaware river access in philly is perfect. far from it -- there is much, much work to be done to turn the riverfront into the green space it deserves to be, but it could happen. only now, it'll have to go around WFS.

this is from yesterday on the way home from the frankford festival ...