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

[Urbanthusiat]

Hope that a $75M project will help revitalize Willow Grove

Upper Moreland has worked for decades on revitalizing its downtown. Progress has been slow, but a new $75 million project across from the Willow Grove Train Station is expected to accelerate its ambitions to rejuvenate the area.

J.G. Petrucci broke ground on Station at Willow Grove, which will have 275 apartments and 25,000 square feet of retail space at Davisville Road and Route 611.

More: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...evitalize.html

[DIESELPOLO]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

Hope that a $75M project will help revitalize Willow Grove





More: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...evitalize.html

'Revitalize' gives the impression that Willow Grove is on the outs. Although I realize that "Redeveloping underutilized property" surrounding a busy transit station to create a model TOD for the region (with a major mall within walking distance) is a longer sentiment to communicate in the headline...

[iamrobk]

Originally Posted by DIESELPOLO

'Revitalize' gives the impression that Willow Grove is on the outs. Although I realize that "Redeveloping underutilized property" surrounding a busy transit station to create a model TOD for the region (with a major mall within walking distance) is a longer sentiment to communicate in the headline...

Lol yeah, slightly misleading headline, but a good looking project. Not really sure where it's going though, unless they're knocking down a few buildings?

[Milksteak]

Originally Posted by iamrobk

Lol yeah, slightly misleading headline, but a good looking project. Not really sure where it's going though, unless they're knocking down a few buildings?

Yeah so from the looks of it they are going to replace these tired buildings:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.1430...7i13312!8i6656

This is an awesome project, that part of 611 looks like shit. A few years back, they built a handsome strip with some trendy fast casual restaurants/bars (Grub Burger and Zoes Kitchen) down the road. This will really do wonders for the area - and it happens to be right next to the train station.

The article says they broke ground, did this completely fly under the radar? I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned before - I can't get behind the paywall to confirm.

[iamrobk]

Originally Posted by Milksteak

Yeah so from the looks of it they are going to replace these tired buildings:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.1430...7i13312!8i6656

This is an awesome project, that part of 611 looks like shit. A few years back, they built a handsome strip with some trendy fast casual restaurants/bars (Grub Burger and Zoes Kitchen) down the road. This will really do wonders for the area - and it happens to be right next to the train station.

The article says they broke ground, did this completely fly under the radar? I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned before - I can't get behind the paywall to confirm.

Ah yeah, that makes sense - everyone was complaining about Mandarin Garden closing a few weeks ago. I guess they just did demolition. Agreed it's a good spot for more transit-oriented development, although Willow Grove isn't exactly a hotspot for people who are commuting into Center City.

[Milksteak]

Originally Posted by iamrobk

Ah yeah, that makes sense - everyone was complaining about Mandarin Garden closing a few weeks ago. I guess they just did demolition. Agreed it's a good spot for more transit-oriented development, although Willow Grove isn't exactly a hotspot for people who are commuting into Center City.

I lived there a few years back and admittedly only took the train when I wanted to go into the city to have more than a few and not worry about driving. I think it's only about a 45 minute train ride right? I'm surprised more people aren't regular commuters, but you're right, the train station is tiny and there isn't much parking. Maybe this project will change that.

[JaydenB]

Originally Posted by iamrobk

Lol yeah, slightly misleading headline, but a good looking project. Not really sure where it's going though, unless they're knocking down a few buildings?

Yea, I live 2 blocks away and was doing work with my mom across the street from their. They should have torn down maybe 5-7 or so business' that were connected since I last saw, and destroyed the parking lot. They could be almost done fixing the ground for installation of any pipes or anything.

[Milksteak]

Originally Posted by JaydenB

Yea, I live 2 blocks away and was doing work with my mom across the street from their. They should have torn down maybe 5-7 or so business' that were connected since I last saw, and destroyed the parking lot. They could be almost done fixing the ground for installation of any pipes or anything.

Welcome to the forum! Would love to see some progress pics since you live so close.

[Urbanthusiat]

Fun Fact: MSA job growth has continued to accelerate in 2018 - https://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atla...elphia_msa.htm

Went from 0.7% year-over-year growth in January 2018, to 1.0% in February, 1.3% in March, and now 1.4% in April. Of the 39.4k jobs added to the MSA over the last 12 months, 13.2k have been in the City of Philadelphia for a rate of 1.86%. Not bad!

[Urbanthusiat]

Buccini/Pollin Group to break ground on $30M Hilton hotel on Wilmington riverfront

Real estate company Buccini/Pollin Group will break ground on a $30 million Hilton hotel on the Wilmington, Del., riverfront.

It's another development on a list that has officials bullish on the market: a new home for the Philadelphia 76ers' G League affiliate, a new bridge connecting the area to South Wilmington and a 2017 U.S. Supreme Court decision involving patent lawsuits.

The Wilmington-based Buccini/Pollin Group, or BPG, on Tuesday, May 29, will break ground on the 120-suite Homewood Suites Wilmington — a property at least two years in the making.

It will be a 14-month construction project, and the hotel is expected to open in September 2019. The hotel will be managed by PM Hotel Group.

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...iverfront.html

[PhillyEngineer]

Pics of the construction of One Ardmore Place:

[Slyfox]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

Buccini/Pollin Group to break ground on $30M Hilton hotel on Wilmington riverfront

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...iverfront.html

For those who may not be aware and want more detail/context on the patent comment. The U.S Supreme Court just ruled that patent lawsuits must be heard in the state of incorporation, and since DE is the incorporation capital, this is expected to greatly increase the amount of civil suits heard within the state, which translates to more attorney and support related jobs, more out of state professionals on business trips to the state, etc..... which of course in turn means more demand for hotels, restaurants, entertainment, etc which in theory should/could translate to more development within the city of Wilmington to cater to this.

https://www.delawareonline.com/story...are/339852001/

[jonesrmj]

Originally Posted by Slyfox

For those who may not be aware and want more detail/context on the patent comment. The U.S Supreme Court just ruled that patent lawsuits must be heard in the state of incorporation, and since DE is the incorporation capital, this is expected to greatly increase the amount of civil suits heard within the state, which translates to more attorney and support related jobs, more out of state professionals on business trips to the state, etc..... which of course in turn means more demand for hotels, restaurants, entertainment, etc which in theory should/could translate to more development within the city of Wilmington to cater to this.

https://www.delawareonline.com/story...are/339852001/

That would be AWESOME if we are experiencing an economic boom!

[Jawnadelphia]

I was walking around the Riverfront this weekend --

The Big Fish hotel and convention space are under construction, and immediately south of this site, there's a fence up with a BPG Construction sign.

I was curious about the location of the BPG hotel, basically these hotels will be very close to each other, right next to the Chase Center -- under construction at the same time.

(see pg. 131 update -- to see the Big Fish group's hotel development).

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by jonesrmj

That would be AWESOME if we are experiencing an economic boom!

Delaware seems to be turning a corner with new development, which is great! But I'm not sure how much you can attribute to this decision or how much more we'll see as a product of it. TC Heartland is over a year old now (this article is from 2017), and there has been a jump in DE patent filings. But nothing astronomical. The article also seems to imply that the only place you can be sued for patent litigation is where you're incorporated. That's not really correct. The patent venue statute has two prongs and TC Heartland only dealt with the first prong ("residence" of a domestic corporation). Under the second prong, if you (allegedly) commit acts of infringement in a place and have a "regular and established place of business" there, you can be sued there. So basically, under current thinking, Apple can be sued anywhere it has an Apple store which sells allegedly infringing iPhones/iMacs/etc. (Biggest impact is a drop in filings in E.D. Texas more than a huge jump in DE; plaintiffs used to sue in Texas whether or not they actually did business there or were incorporated there for a lot of reasons)

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by Slyfox

For those who may not be aware and want more detail/context on the patent comment. The U.S Supreme Court just ruled that patent lawsuits must be heard in the state of incorporation, and since DE is the incorporation capital, this is expected to greatly increase the amount of civil suits heard within the state, which translates to more attorney and support related jobs, more out of state professionals on business trips to the state, etc..... which of course in turn means more demand for hotels, restaurants, entertainment, etc which in theory should/could translate to more development within the city of Wilmington to cater to this.

https://www.delawareonline.com/story...are/339852001/

No, they ruled in May 2017... In the last year, we've seen a jump in DE filings, but nothing too crazy. See above post.

[Nomad9]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

No, they ruled in May 2017... In the last year, we've seen a jump in DE filings, but nothing too crazy. See above post.

Are you an IP lawyer in DE? That’s not an accusatory question—you just seem to know a lot about the subject. I thought I saw an article in Law360 a while back that said there was a pretty significant jump (maybe not crazy, but big)? That factor alone may not boost the regional economy much, but it should eventually lead to growth in local law firms and satellite offices of bigger firms (I.e., more jobs and more hotel/restaurant business).

[eixample]

On a related note, there have been proposals in Congress to reform the bankruptcy code to require bankruptcy filings in the principal place of business of the filing company rather than the state of incorporation. Not sure if the legislation is going anywhere, but that would be bad news for the Wilmington legal world if it is passed.

[Nomad9]

Originally Posted by eixample

On a related note, there have been proposals in Congress to reform the bankruptcy code to require bankruptcy filings in the principal place of business of the filing company rather than the state of incorporation. Not sure if the legislation is going anywhere, but that would be bad news for the Wilmington legal world if it is passed.

Yeah that bill is bad. Pretty blatant attempt to score political points by bringing a hollow “victory” to the little guy and punishing big corporations. The bankruptcy court here is expert at handling large corporate bankruptcies. The idea that handing those over to judges used to personal/small-time bankruptcies will somehow help employees and consumers is asinine.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by Nomad9

Are you an IP lawyer in DE? That’s not an accusatory question—you just seem to know a lot about the subject. I thought I saw an article in Law360 a while back that said there was a pretty significant jump (maybe not crazy, but big)? That factor alone may not boost the regional economy much, but it should eventually lead to growth in local law firms and satellite offices of bigger firms (I.e., more jobs and more hotel/restaurant business).

I'm a lawyer in Delaware (and Philadelphia). I don't specialize in patent cases but brush against them. Patent filings in Delaware increased from about 12% of all filings before the ruling to about 23% now. Similar increase in Los Angeles. Patent filings in East Texas are down 65%.