PHILADELPHIA | Comcast Technology Center | 1,121 FT | 60 FLOORS

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Gonzo the Great

That is so true and Im not sure there will be a true 1000 footer in Philly anytime in the next twenty years .

Um... Schuylkill Yards tower? That's an actual proposed development over 1,000 ft tall right now.
For someone who posts in the Philly section of SSP you really have a negative attitude towards Philly.

[Zapatan]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Um... Schuylkill Yards tower? That's an actual proposed development over 1,000 ft tall right now.
For someone who posts in the Philly section of SSP you really have a negative attitude towards Philly.

I think there is a potential 1095' building and a 1200' building for that development.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

I think there is a potential 1095' building and a 1200' building for that development.

Tallest building in Schuylkill Yards is indeed expected to reach around 1,095 feet tall. The tallest building in the 30th Street District Master plan is about 1,200 feet tall. However, the 30th Street plan is likely a ways off. 15-20 years or so. None of this will be built until Schuylkill Yards is built out.

[Zapatan]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Tallest building in Schuylkill Yards is indeed expected to reach around 1,095 feet tall. The tallest building in the 30th Street District Master plan is about 1,200 feet tall. However, the 30th Street plan is likely a ways off. 15-20 years or so. None of this will be built until Schuylkill Yards is built out.

Right, it is the 30th street plan.

Although 1095 in Philly will be nice to hold us over

[Tatts]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Um... Schuylkill Yards tower? That's an actual proposed development over 1,000 ft tall right now.
For someone who posts in the Philly section of SSP you really have a negative attitude towards Philly.

Um...I could propose a 3,000 ft tall tower right for Point Breeze--the next Burj Khalifa--and it would be no less a pipe dream than any building in that Schuylkill Yards project.
For someone who posts in the Philly section of SSP, you really don't understand the difference between an artist's conception and a concrete plan.
None of those buildings is anything more than a developer's tortured fantasy. There's nobody ready to pay for them, nobody ready to move in to them, no detailed plans, no contracts. Nobody is going to build a supertall skyscraper (or a 20-story box) unless they have somebody ready to move in and pay for it.
There is no market for those buildings; and until Amazon moves here (or some other huge company), there won't be. That land will stay low-rise for decades.
I wish that were not the case, and I think Schuylkill Yards is a far, far better fit to Amazon's RFP than Long Island or Virginia. But without them, the plans for SY aren't worth the computer monitors they're displayed on.

[Gonzo the Great]

Originally Posted by Tatts

Um...I could propose a 3,000 ft tall tower right for Point Breeze--the next Burj Khalifa--and it would be no less a pipe dream than any building in that Schuylkill Yards project.
For someone who posts in the Philly section of SSP, you really don't understand the difference between an artist's conception and a concrete plan.
None of those buildings is anything more than a developer's tortured fantasy. There's nobody ready to pay for them, nobody ready to move in to them, no detailed plans, no contracts. Nobody is going to build a supertall skyscraper (or a 20-story box) unless they have somebody ready to move in and pay for it.
There is no market for those buildings; and until Amazon moves here (or some other huge company), there won't be. That land will stay low-rise for decades.
I wish that were not the case, and I think Schuylkill Yards is a far, far better fit to Amazon's RFP than Long Island or Virginia. But without them, the plans for SY aren't worth the computer monitors they're displayed on.

And since Amazon already knows where its future lyes .... ( did I spell that right ? ) ..... and the chance of some other blue
chip mega business moving here is a bit of a stretch ..... don't count on any new extended skyline any time soon .

[Inquizative]

Originally Posted by Tatts

Um...I could propose a 3,000 ft tall tower right for Point Breeze--the next Burj Khalifa--and it would be no less a pipe dream than any building in that Schuylkill Yards project.
For someone who posts in the Philly section of SSP, you really don't understand the difference between an artist's conception and a concrete plan.
None of those buildings is anything more than a developer's tortured fantasy. There's nobody ready to pay for them, nobody ready to move in to them, no detailed plans, no contracts. Nobody is going to build a supertall skyscraper (or a 20-story box) unless they have somebody ready to move in and pay for it.
There is no market for those buildings; and until Amazon moves here (or some other huge company), there won't be. That land will stay low-rise for decades.
I wish that were not the case, and I think Schuylkill Yards is a far, far better fit to Amazon's RFP than Long Island or Virginia. But without them, the plans for SY aren't worth the computer monitors they're displayed on.

Philly is going to have to cultivate it's next big corporation. Seattle lucked up with a progressive Bezos and created Amazon. We lucked up with Comcast which started out as a local cable company that had the expertise and drive and grew into now the multinational corporation that it is today. We'll never be able to compete with the likes of NYC or D.C. for reasons there's no need to explain. The good thing is Philadelphia had everything Amazon asked for in spades but again, we cannot compete with the big boys immediately north and south of us. Whatever Philly did to keep Comcast should be a similar formula used to create more. We have major universities, culture, infrastructure, one of the largest populations ranked 5 or 6. We have mass transit, which needs to increase it's heavy rail subway system up and down Roosevelt Blvd, instead of buying new fleets busses (which just adds traffic to our narrow streets) every 6 or 7 years. NYC still runs busses that are almost 40 years old. They invest in subway rail, Philly needs to do the same if they want to move up.

It seems many here want a larger skyline for aesthetic purposes, but your skyline reflects the economy of the city and Philly has a fabulous skyline but we keep looking up at that overpriced, overcrowded city called NYC, where the average citizen struggles to pay rent or living in public housing with rent control. New York City literally has too many skyscrapers it's hard to define it's character or aesthetic identity. The developers must have the zoning board in their back pocket to the point their building super skinny skyscrapers not because they want to but because they have to, there isn't any space! They look like a good wind will topple them.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by Inquizative

NYC still runs busses that are almost 40 years old. They invest in subway rail, Philly needs to do the same if they want to move up.

ROFL, NYC's decrepit subway system is an eternal shit-show.

They Vowed to Fix the Subway a Year Ago. On-Time Rates Are Still Terrible. | NYTimes.com

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by Jayfar

ROFL, NYC's decrepit subway system is an eternal shit-show.

They Vowed to Fix the Subway a Year Ago. On-Time Rates Are Still Terrible. | NYTimes.com

Right?! The praise NY gets around here is crazy.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by Redddog

Right?! The praise NY gets around here is crazy.

It's not right...

Having lived in NYC and here, I can say NY's subway is leagues above SEPTA. I used their subway. I don't use SEPTA except to get to the stadiums.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

It's not right...

Having lived in NYC and here, I can say NY's subway is leagues above SEPTA. I used their subway. I don't use SEPTA except to get to the stadiums.

Then you are underutilizing a valuable resource. I'm not sure where you have to go for work so I can't speak on that, but on the weekends when I'm going anywhere even remotely near a subway stop I take it.

[Knight Hospitaller]

^ I too mainly use SEPTA for sporting events, but that's mainly a function of where else it doesn't go. I think the service is OK and certainly more user friendly that MTA. Too bad that Center City loop planned around the early 1900s never happened.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

^ I too mainly use SEPTA for sporting events, but that's mainly a function of where else it doesn't go. I think the service is OK and certainly more user friendly that MTA. Too bad that Center City loop planned around the early 1900s never happened.

People said it would have been a chokepoint but I would argue otherwise. Chicago manages to do it pretty efficiently, albeit tediously.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

It's not right...

Having lived in NYC and here, I can say NY's subway is leagues above SEPTA. I used their subway. I don't use SEPTA except to get to the stadiums.

We must have experienced two different MTAs. I took that subway everyday from Brooklyn to Wall Street to the Upper East Side and back everyday for 6 years. I have not experienced the "leagues above" you speak of.

Is it as far reaching. Well, no. It doesn't have to be.

[McBane]

^ The fact you were able to make such a trip, from Brooklyn to Wall Street to the UWS is enough evidence to show how much better NY's subway is than ours.

The NY subway system has 27 lines and 472 stops, spanning nearly the entire city (except Staten Island) and providing access to a large percentage of NYers. In Philly, large chunks of our city - the entire Northeast and Northwest - are devoid of a subway line, excluding a huge number of the city's residents from using it. And where do the SEPTA subways go? Well, there's no direct subway connection to some of the most important job centers in the city - Market West, the Navy Yard, and the hospital district. How shortsighted is that? Even our "stadium" stop is a good 15 minute walk to the actual stadiums.

Also, the NY subway runs 24 hours a day with frequent headways compared and no transfer fee.

But the most telling thing about the NY subway system is that the riders reflect that city's diversity because pretty much everyone uses it: college kids, working professionals, seniors, tourists, the rich, and the poor. In Philly, outside of the rush hour and during some sporting events, it's almost all poor people who have no other choice.

Sorry, but there's no comparison between the MTA and SEPTA. It's not even close and anyone who thinks it is, is delusional.

PS: NY's most recent transit accomplishment: a brand, spanking new (after decades of delays) subway line. Ours? We finally got rid of tokens and the workers who sat behind the both without any change.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by McBane

^ The fact you were able to make such a trip, from Brooklyn to Wall Street to the UWS is enough evidence to show how much better NY's subway is than ours.

The NY subway system has 27 lines and 472 stops, spanning nearly the entire city (except Staten Island) and providing access to a large percentage of NYers. In Philly, large chunks of our city - the entire Northeast and Northwest - are devoid of a subway line, excluding a huge number of the city's residents from using it. And where do the SEPTA subways go? Well, there's no direct subway connection to some of the most important job centers in the city - Market West, the Navy Yard, and the hospital district. How shortsighted is that? Even our "stadium" stop is a good 15 minute walk to the actual stadiums.

Also, the NY subway runs 24 hours a day with frequent headways compared and no transfer fee.

But the most telling thing about the NY subway system is that the riders reflect that city's diversity because pretty much everyone uses it: college kids, working professionals, seniors, tourists, the rich, and the poor. In Philly, outside of the rush hour and during some sporting events, it's almost all poor people who have no other choice.

Sorry, but there's no comparison between the MTA and SEPTA. It's not even close and anyone who thinks it is, is delusional.

Upper East Side.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by McBane

^ The fact you were able to make such a trip, from Brooklyn to Wall Street to the UWS is enough evidence to show how much better NY's subway is than ours.

The NY subway system has 27 lines and 472 stops, spanning nearly the entire city (except Staten Island) and providing access to a large percentage of NYers. In Philly, large chunks of our city - the entire Northeast and Northwest - are devoid of a subway line, excluding a huge number of the city's residents from using it. And where do the SEPTA subways go? Well, there's no direct subway connection to some of the most important job centers in the city - Market West, the Navy Yard, and the hospital district. How shortsighted is that? Even our "stadium" stop is a good 15 minute walk to the actual stadiums.

Also, the NY subway runs 24 hours a day with frequent headways compared and no transfer fee.

But the most telling thing about the NY subway system is that the riders reflect that city's diversity because pretty much everyone uses it: college kids, working professionals, seniors, tourists, the rich, and the poor. In Philly, outside of the rush hour and during some sporting events, it's almost all poor people who have no other choice.

Sorry, but there's no comparison between the MTA and SEPTA. It's not even close and anyone who thinks it is, is delusional.

I bow to you. My delusions often get the best of me.

[Skintreesnail]

Originally Posted by McBane

^ The fact you were able to make such a trip, from Brooklyn to Wall Street to the UWS is enough evidence to show how much better NY's subway is than ours.

The NY subway system has 27 lines and 472 stops, spanning nearly the entire city (except Staten Island) and providing access to a large percentage of NYers. In Philly, large chunks of our city - the entire Northeast and Northwest - are devoid of a subway line, excluding a huge number of the city's residents from using it. And where do the SEPTA subways go? Well, there's no direct subway connection to some of the most important job centers in the city - Market West, the Navy Yard, and the hospital district. How shortsighted is that? Even our "stadium" stop is a good 15 minute walk to the actual stadiums.

Also, the NY subway runs 24 hours a day with frequent headways compared and no transfer fee.

But the most telling thing about the NY subway system is that the riders reflect that city's diversity because pretty much everyone uses it: college kids, working professionals, seniors, tourists, the rich, and the poor. In Philly, outside of the rush hour and during some sporting events, it's almost all poor people who have no other choice.

Sorry, but there's no comparison between the MTA and SEPTA. It's not even close and anyone who thinks it is, is delusional.

PS: NY's most recent transit accomplishment: a brand, spanking new (after decades of delays) subway line. Ours? We finally got rid of tokens and the workers who sat behind the both without any change.

I agree you can't compare MTA and SEPTA, but I use the SSL and MFL often enough on the weekends and outside of business hours to know that it's used by all walks of life. It would be nice to get more coverage with subway lines though. That 1913 (or whatever year that was) plan should have been build out, but now it would probably too cost prohibitive and residents would probably complain over construction.

Maybe the SSL idea could be leveraged elsewhere in the city, coupled with unused rail infrastructure like the city branch tunnel. Also, more stops and better headways along the chestnut hill and Norristown RR lines could help with covering the NW better (NE is still kind of screwed without the Roosevelt Boulevard extension, which could branch out to other parts of the NE if it's built as light rail that converges at the Broad street tunnel). Continuing to push for transit-oriented dev is important as well. I know we're not going to get what NYC has, but we can at least take better advantage of what we do have.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by McBane

But the most telling thing about the NY subway system is that the riders reflect that city's diversity because pretty much everyone uses it: college kids, working professionals, seniors, tourists, the rich, and the poor. In Philly, outside of the rush hour and during some sporting events, it's almost all poor people who have no other choice.

I’m going to echo Skintree’s comment that SEPTA is used by all walks of life including off-rush. Are poor people a higher percentage of transit riders in Phila vs. NY? I’m sure but we also have a higher percentage or poor people in general. But now that South Philadelphia, the Riverwards, and U City have exploded, the subway lines have become well traveled by college kids and professional people, especially when compared to 10 or 20 years ago.

[MetroSplash]

Originally Posted by TK2001

I had posted this a few pages back, but I was also in the lobby 2 days ago and I asked a worker by the office gates and he said it's a virtual reality experience and Steven Spielberg helped develop it

Yeah, my office moved from the Comcast Center to the CTC in late September, so i’ve been walking past the sphere for two months now. They say it’s going to be an interactive experience and better than the video wall at CC. I’ll reserve judgement for now.

One thing I’ve noticed is that the lobby glass ceiling has been leaking a bit when it rains. Fortunately they still have a full construction crew working on the west side of the building, so there are people on site to fix these minor things. And the underground concourse connection from the CTC to Suburban Station opened about a week ago, so when it rains, I can walk underground to half a block from my home, so I don’t get very wet.

I keep running into Glen “Hurricane” Schwartz in the cafeteria, in the elevator, etc. I know I’m running into other on screen talent, but I so rarely watch the local NBC 10 news that I don’t know them. I can deduce that they’re onscreen talent if they get off the elevator on the 12t floor and have TV makeup caked on.

All in all, it’s such a nice building to work in. I never imagined I’d be working in such a beautiful and comfortable building.