PHILADELPHIA-CAMDEN-WILMINGTON-ATLANTIC CITY-READING | Metro Development Thread

[jonesrmj]

Originally Posted by Nova08

The Trenton airport having a handful flights a day on an ultra low cost carrier is really nothing to write home about. Wilmington is not losing out on business because of the lack of air service and vice versa, the increase in business does not mean Wilmington needs a bustling airport. There are so many options around...which is where this topic originated.

The city of Wilmington is seriously closer to PHL (20 miles) than DFW is to Dallas (~26 miles) and IAH is to Houston (21 miles). ORD from Chicago is just a bit closer at 17 miles, but those 17 miles easily take 1 hour in the car throughout much of the day.

Maybe, but I don't think proximity to intl airports is really the biggest problem for ILG. I think airlines that have come to ILG didn't do a good job of attacking the market and attracting people. Frontier was the closest to being successful, but they decided to suspend flights out of nowhere, giving people tickets to cancelled flights and that made less and less people fly Frontier which hurt Frontier and ILG. Also, about NYC, I understand it is very dense and has a ton of air travel, but I almost wonder how they can have three airports instead of one big one. Also, couldn't Wilmington Airport appeal to people who visit southern Delaware, where there isn't any commercial airports. Also, Delaware is 6th in the nation for population density so its not like this region isn't densely populated. Maybe I am overthinking this topic though because I get very annoyed to hear things about Wilmington and Delaware like "the only state without commercial air service" and also knowing that I've flown out of ILG when commercial service was there and enjoyed it a lot.

[TempleGuy1000]

Our area continues to be one of the best for flipping houses.

https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleas...despite-3-perc

Among the 136 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report with at least 50 home flips completed in Q1 2018, those with the highest average gross flipping ROI were East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania (164.1 percent); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (146.6 percent); Atlantic City, New Jersey (133.3 percent); Reading, Pennsylvania (120.8 percent); and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (110.2 percent).

[hammersklavier]

Originally Posted by TempleGuy1000

Our area continues to be one of the best for flipping houses.

https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleas...despite-3-perc

Apparently we live in a great state for flipping houses.

[Urbanthusiat]

Just some interest mass transit tidbits and improvements that went under the radar yesterday...

Governor Wolf, PennDOT Secretary Announce Plan to Improve Travel Between King of Prussia and Philadelphia Using New Smart Corridor Technologies

PennDOT plans to employ a series of smart corridor strategies and technologies over the next several years through an integrated corridor management initiative intended to maximize capacity on I-76, optimize traffic flow on adjacent roadways and incentivize transit, bicycle, and pedestrian travel throughout the corridor.

The first phase of the plan includes installing a series of Variable Speed Limit (VSL) and Queue Warning (QW) systems on I-76 in Montgomery County. The VSL systems will display regulatory speed limits that can change based on real-time expressway, traffic, and weather conditions to improve traffic flow and safety by warning drivers of changing travel conditions. The QW systems will be deployed to provide real-time displays of electronic warning messages to alert motorists of significant slowdowns ahead to reduce sudden stopping and the potential for rear-end crashes.

...

Preliminary design is currently underway on the next phase of this corridor-wide transportation management plan which will include the modernization of traffic signal systems along several roadways running near the expressway; expansion of public transit service along the Manayunk/Norristown regional rail line; and transforming the existing shoulders on portions of I-76 to accommodate an additional travel lane or “flexible” travel lane during peak travel times.

To complement “flexible” lane use on I-76, PennDOT will incorporate additional smart corridor initiatives such as:

Ramp Metering: Red and green traffic signals to control the frequency with which vehicles enter the flow of traffic from entrance ramps to increase vehicle throughput during peak hours and increase expressway speeds;

Junction Control: The use of overhead electronic signs over travel lanes to regulate or close lanes at merge areas to improve traffic flow at high-volume interchanges, including U.S. 202/U.S. 422, I-476 and U.S. 1;

Dynamic Lane Assignments: Overhead electronic signs provide information for each travel lane on the expressway to identify open lanes and alert drivers of upcoming lane closures due to crashes or disabled vehicles; and

Multimodal Enhancements: In partnership with SEPTA, PennDOT plans to provide real-time transit information on electronic message signs along I-76 in conjunction with SEPTA’s potential deployment of a Smart Parking pilot program. The message board displays will inform motorists of transit station parking availability and real-time train departure times to better inform citizens of transit travel options. SEPTA also intends to enhance service on the Manayunk/Norristown Regional Rail line.

More info here: https://www.governor.pa.gov/governor...-technologies/

[skiesthelimit]

Can anyone do an update on the WilmU Campus on 202?

I moved to Phoenix in January, so I’ve been trying to keep up on here but no one else seems to venture up that way.

[jonesrmj]

Originally Posted by skiesthelimit

Can anyone do an update on the WilmU Campus on 202?

I moved to Phoenix in January, so I’ve been trying to keep up on here but no one else seems to venture up that way.

I don't have any pictures unfortunately, but I've driven by it recently and saw that the main building exterior is basically done and more work on the surrounding area is underway.

[Jawnadelphia]

'Harvey Hanna's vision for Newport Boxwood plant includes 2,100 jobs, $281M economic impact'

"The owner of the 142-acre industrial plant on Boxwood Road in Newport will hold another public meeting Tuesday, June 12, to discuss the current state and the future of the site that was long a job provider in New Castle County."

https://www.delawareonline.com/story...ant/677034002/

The giant former GM plant mentioned above employed thousands of people for a couple of generations before it went vacant. I hope it gets redeveloped finally, Newport is one of those working class towns that has been struggling since the primary employer of the area disappeared, and with the opioid crisis-- sort of a microcosm of the many issues facing the working class/lower middle class in America.

-----------------------------------

Downtown Wilmington --

B/P Group's 'The Residences of Midtown Park' project is nearly complete, along with the walkway/beer garden between Market and Shipley Streets.
(231 units).











DuPont Building/Hotel duPont -- Food Hall work continues:
"A new $3.5 million food hall coming to the DuPont Building..."
A mini Reading Terminal Market is the goal, I hope they are successful.
https://whyy.org/articles/hotel-du-p...wn-wilmington/



and finally,
The Grand Opera House is getting some new windows, it's a real treasure.

[Urbanthusiat]

No real surprises here, but worth posting I suppose.

Census data show Chester County's hot, South Jersey's not. Here's how towns are changing

Demographic shifts, including an aging population that has ever-increasing numbers of baby boomers retiring and millennials entering the workforce and raising families, continue to change the makeup of the region, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

The data, released May 24 and including town and city projections, show a sustained slow decline in South Jersey, ongoing population spikes in swaths of Chester and Montgomery Counties, and stability in Bucks and Delaware Counties.

...

As they grow older and start families, they want denser suburbs with walkable downtowns and other amenities — places such as Downingtown, Chester County, or Collingswood, Camden County.

Older families, especially more affluent ones, are drawn to the larger homes popping up in developments farther from the city, in suburbs such as Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County, and East Brandywine Township, Chester County.

Retirement can be the time to reevaluate whether you’re getting your money’s worth from those taxes. For people in South Jersey, especially, the answer often turns out to be no. Goodbye, Medford Lakes in Burlington County and Paulsboro in Gloucester County. Hello, Florida and South Carolina.

...

A growth spurt to the west: Chester and Montgomery Counties

Chester County’s population is growing the fastest, with an increase of 3.9 percent between 2010 and 2017.

The county has a relatively young population — with far more births than deaths per year — and is attracting international migration, said Ben Gruswitz, a senior planner with the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

The municipalities seeing the most growth include East Brandywine and West Vincent Township in Chester County and some of the traditionally less-dense areas in Montgomery County, including Upper Hanover, Salford, and Upper Providence Townships.

...

Communities such as West Chester and Phoenixville, which boast walkable downtowns, are also growing. And they’re popular with young professionals and people with adult children, Gomez said.

...

Slow shrinkage in South Jersey: Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties

You will not be shocked to hear that taxes are still high in New Jersey, where residents have long complained about the cost of living.

What is changing, demographers said, is the character of the population: It’s aging, and people once willing to pay the high taxes feel differently as their life stage changes. Baby boomers whose kids aren’t in the schools anymore see less benefit from their taxes; as they retire from work, the equation shifts even more.

...

Hughes and others said New Jersey also suffers from issues on the other end: Many towns in South Jersey lack the amenities, starter homes, and other benefits that millennials are seeking. Young adults starting families want different kinds of suburbs from older adults; why pay the New Jersey property taxes when some suburbs in Pennsylvania have similar amenities for less?

“These problems have been in place for a while — these policies were enacted decades ago — but what’s exacerbating them today, making them come to the fore, is the aging population,” said Kevin C. Gillen, an urban economist at Drexel University. “People are leaving and dying off.”

Of the 15 Philadelphia-area towns that have grown by more than 10 percent since 2010, only one was in South Jersey: Woolwich at 21 percent. Meanwhile, 23 of the 26 towns that experienced population loss of at least 2 percent over that time period were in South Jersey, and half were in Burlington County.

A mixed bag and overall plateau: Bucks and Delaware Counties

Bucks County’s population has been relatively stable — and some municipalities have lost some people, including Bristol Borough and Warminster Township in Lower Bucks.

Overall, the county’s population grew slightly, with central and upper Bucks County growing more than lower Bucks.

...

Delaware County’s population also remained stable, with growth of just 1 percent since 2010. Much of the county is already built out. Newtown Township, an outlier, grew by 9.6 percent — but most municipalities saw modest growth.

Michael Roedig, a senior planner with the Bucks County Planning Commission, said the county has seen “historically lower levels of residential development” in the last decade, in part because many towns are already developed.

More: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pe...-20180611.html

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

Just some interest mass transit tidbits and improvements that went under the radar yesterday...

Governor Wolf, PennDOT Secretary Announce Plan to Improve Travel Between King of Prussia and Philadelphia Using New Smart Corridor Technologies



More info here: https://www.governor.pa.gov/governor...-technologies/

Here's an idea that would alleviate traffic along the Schuylkill Expressway: in conjunction with increased service along the Manayunk/Norristown Line, why not simultaneously extend the Cynwyd Line further into Lower Merion Township and establish a large park-and-ride? A park-and-ride facility could be constructed near Green Lane, which is served by an exit on the Schuylkill Expressway. Furthermore, the Cynwyd Line has an advantage that no other Regional Rail line in the system has: it terminates at Suburban Station instead of continuing onto the Reading side. This could potentially mean that an extended Cynwyd Line could run at higher frequencies, depending on whether or not Amtrak would allow for additional SEPTA slots along the Keystone Corridor.

The answer to congestion in the region has far more to do with transit than highway expansion. PA should focus on improving SEPTA service with the goal of transforming the Regional Rail into an RER-style regional rapid transit system. It's entirely possible to do on certain segments of the system.

[ksb]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

...extend the Cynwyd Line further into Lower Merion Township and establish a large park-and-ride? A park-and-ride facility could be constructed near Green Lane, which is served by an exit on the Schuylkill Expressway...

I don't see this happening given that the Lower Merion rail bed beyond Cynwyd Station became the Cynwyd Heritage Trail (via rails-to-trails) and that there seems to be almost no suitable land in the area for a lot.

Assuming that a trails-to-rails conversion were possible, where would you put the park-and-ride lot? You can't use either cemetery and Rock Hill Road is surrounded by steep hills, is two traffic lights from the exit, and is at least 0.5 miles from the nearest point along the old train line.

[Urbanthusiat]

With AmerisourceBergen lease, list of big tenants gets smaller

With AmerisourceBergen landing at Sora West in Conshohocken, the number of big tenants scouring the suburban office market that could kick off a new building continues to dwindle.

At one point three years ago, several large tenants were looking for space in the suburbs but one by one they landed in either new space in existing buildings or renewed and stayed put. American College of Financial Services, Philadelphia Insurance, State Farm Insurance, Vertex and Lincoln Financial Group were among those tenants.

Even so, there is still plenty of demand and a limited number of existing places that could accommodate these tenants. At this point, five companies are in the market seeking 150,000 square feet or more and of those, three need more than 300,000 square feet, according to CBRE Inc. research.

While those mega-tenants are few and far between, the market seems awash in smaller, though still sizable, tenants looking for new office space. Eight companies are seeking a minimum of 100,000 square feet, according to CBRE data. In addition, several needing less than 100,000 square feet are on the hunt. However, most of these are too small to fill a new building by themselves but large enough to help chip away at pre-leasing requirements needed before breaking ground.

“You have a lot of 50,000- to 80,000-square-foot deals looking around and you don’t have a lot of blocks that size,” said Jim Dugan, a broker with Newmark Knight Frank. “They may not be the full building, but the question is whether someone can kick off a building.”

Suburban rents are rising and in some submarkets, such as the Swedesford Road area, they are in the mid-$30s a square foot. “Rental rates clearly dictate that a spec building could be built,” Dugan said. “You are at replacement cost rents.”

Though the AmerisourceBergen lease removes a development site from the list of options, there remain several parcels prepared for new construction, for instance, in Conshohocken, King of Prussia, Newtown Square and Plymouth Meeting.

Amerisource’s lease has other implications. Its 1,500 employees are expected to have a significant affect on Conshohocken as well as the development of Sora West, a multifaceted, $100 million mixed-use development in the heart of the borough. It will transform its gateway and become a major new anchor in the community.

“Conshohocken has gotten built up over the last 25 years but during the last 10 years, there hasn’t been a lot of new office development but more residential development,” said Paul French, a broker with Avison Young. “With Sora West and Amerisource coming to town, that could lead to more companies wanting to come in and I think it will have a tremendous impact on the Conshohocken economy and impact Fayette Street. It will also impact rents and help the residential markets in Conshohocken and West Conshohocken as well.”

For investors, the Amerisource move validates the submarket as a continued desirable business address. “It only helps folks like us on the west side of the river,” said Taylor Young of Maguire Hayden Real Estate, which owns 300 Four Falls and Five Tower Bridge. “We continue to be bullish on our position in West Conshohocken.”

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...g-tenants.html

[Urbanthusiat]

Burlington City hopes to spark a rebirth with luxury riverfront apartments

After years of anticipation and then delay, a luxury apartment complex along the Delaware River in Burlington City is poised to rise on a former municipal parking lot.

Developers and city officials gathered Wednesday amid much hoopla to break ground for Pearl Pointe, a complex of 184 units that will be built by Peron Development. The project is a critical part of the long-planned rebirth of the historic city, officials and redevelopment consultants said shortly before announcing that construction would begin on the 3.8-acre site.

During the last five years, several upscale restaurants and a brewery have opened on High Street, sparking the slow revival of a once-dilapidated downtown. Officials said the apartment complex will attract customers for the restaurants and the downtown’s businesses and attract more people to the city of 10,000, giving it an added boost.

“This is the first market-rate housing in the city since the ’70s,” said Jim Kennedy, the city’s redevelopment consultant and a former mayor of Rahway, a North Jersey community that was given a makeover under his watch. “We’re talking about bringing in about 400 people who will depend on the restaurants and businesses here.”

The $29 million project, to be built on a gravel parking lot along the Delaware River, between High Street and Pearl Boulevard, is expected to be completed by next summer

More: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/ne...-20180613.html

Site: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0807...7i13312!8i6656

Looks like some very nice TOD, with the light rail stop 2 blocks away through the main street.

[Urbanthusiat]

Jefferson selects site for 25,000-square-foot bioprocessing institute

Thomas Jefferson University has found a home for its proposed educational and training center for biological manufacturing.

The 25,000-square-foot facility, to be called The Jefferson Institute for Bioprocessing, will open in the spring of 2019 at the Spring House Innovation Park in Lower Gwynedd, Pa.

The institute will house programs to educate and train about 2,500 people, including biopharmaceutical professionals and bioprocessing engineering students, annually to produce potentially life-saving biotherapeutic drugs It will also provide workforce training and certifications through regional educational partnerships.

“The Jefferson Institute for Bioprocessing demonstrates the vision and mission of Jefferson by leveraging partnerships with industry, academia and government agencies to provide globally recognized, transdisciplinary education and training in this fast-emerging field,” said Ron Kander, Jefferson's dean of Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce and the associate provost for applied research. “Our facility at Spring House Innovation Park will utilize leading-edge biopharmaceutical manufacturing technology and support current and future workforce demands in this critically important field.”

More: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...house-inn.html

[SJPhillyBoy]

Rail Park drone video: An overview of Philly’s newest green space

https://www.courierpostonline.com/st...ine/705185002/


Philadelphia's New Rail Park, Phase 1- Drone video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suHZAHwgb_g

[Jawnadelphia]

Nearly completed now:


https://www.instagram.com/p/BkKzGwSA...s_construction

[Urbanthusiat]

CHOP unveils plans for hospital in King of Prussia

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia unveiled plans Tuesday to build a second inpatient hospital.

The 52-bed, 250,000-square foot medical center will be built in King of Prussia next door to where CHOP already operates a specialty care and surgery center.

...

The new hospital in King of Prussia is expected to open in 2021.

Among its features will be:

- A 16-bed pediatric intensive care unit;

- A 36-bed medical surgical unit;

- A broad range of pediatric specialties, including orthopaedics, plastic surgery and ear, nose and throat; and

- A 20-bay emergency department, open 24/7, specializing in pediatric care.

The new hospital will also have four operating rooms, specializing in elective services requiring overnight stays; comprehensive radiology services; and transitional care for chronic complex patients with assisted breathing. Bell said the new hospital will have the capacity to expand to 100 inpatient beds.

More: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...n-king-of.html

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

CHOP unveils plans for hospital in King of Prussia





More: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...n-king-of.html

Wow. This combined with the NHSL branch in the same year is going to make KOP a hot area.

[el don]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Wow. This combined with the NHSL branch in the same year is going to make KOP a hot area.

I would say been hot for quite some time now. I've seen consistent development for all 28 years of my life over there.

[PhillyEngineer]

Pics of the construction of One Ardmore Place taken 6/24/2018:

[Nova08]

Liberty Property to sell portfolio leased to Vanguard

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...leased-to.html

Offers are due tomorrow on what would be considered one of the crown jewels in Liberty Property Trust’s local portfolio and among the last properties the real estate investment trust will shed as it sell its suburban office assets.

Up for sale is a portfolio of eight properties leased on a long-term basis to Vanguard Group in the Great Valley Corporate Center in Malvern. The buildings total 884,000 square feet and could sell for upwards of an estimated $250 million. Robert Fahey and Jerry Kranzel of CBRE Inc. are marketing the portfolio.

he sale of these properties is significant. Once they go, the company will essentially be done divesting its local, suburban office properties as part of a strategy that started in earnest in 2013 to transform itself over five years into an industrial real estate investment trust from an owner of office and flex space.

Liberty will continue to own 650 E. Swedesford Road, where it maintains its new headquarters, and 680 E. Swedesford Road in Wayne. The company still has a couple of flex buildings in the Brandywine Business Park in West Chester that it plans to eventually sell as well. In addition, Liberty continues to own buildings at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and is also developing buildings in Camden and Center City for tenants.

As Liberty methodically has been selling its office assets here, it has apparently saved its best-in-class as the last properties to put on the market. For example, it sold last month Five Crescent Drive, a four-story, 207,779-square-foot building leased to GlaxoSmithKline at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for $130.5 million, or $628 a square foot.

Its biggest local sale came at the end of 2016, when Workspace Property Trust bought a portfolio of 108 office and flex buildings for nearly $1 billion. A year earlier, Liberty exited the Horsham office market with a $245.3 million portfolio sale of 41 buildings to Workspace Property.

Vanguard has been one of Liberty’s top office tenants for years and the mutual fund company has had a presence in Malvern since 1975. Vanguard accounted for 4.2 percent of the real estate company’s annual rent revenues, according to the company’s 2017 annual report. By comparison, GlaxoSmithKline accounted for 2.5 percent and Comcast 1.6 percent.

The buildings leased to Vanguard up for sale are: 425 Old Moorehall Road at 202,000 square feet; 1001 Cedar Hollow Road at 133,000 square feet; 60 Moorehall Road at 117,000 square feet; 50 Moorehall Road at 117,000 square feet; 700 Chesterfield Parkway at 80,000 square feet; 600 Chesterfield Parkway at 80,000 square feet; 100 Chesterfield Parkway at 67,000 square feet; and 14 Lee Blvd. at 89,000 square feet. The last building Liberty developed for Vanguard was 425 Old Moorehall. Vanguard moved into the $60 million office property in 2014.

The Vanguard portfolio is expected to generate a lot of interest. Investors not looking for a value-add opportunity are drawn to stable properties such as these that have a strong credit tenant and leased on a long-term basis. Over the eight buildings, Vanguard will be occupying the space on average for another nine years.

Vanguard's presence in Malvern isn’t limited to the space it occupies in the Liberty buildings. In addition to the company's main campus, where it maintains its headquarters, Vanguard owns a former pharmaceutical campus that includes three buildings totaling 517,485 square feet and room to build another 390,000 square feet. The company took advantage of that and broke ground in December 2017 on a new 240,000-square-foot office building that is expected to be completed by next summer