PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

I'll take Suburban over Penn Station any day.

One Penn Center is also very nice looking.

[Parkway]

I was just in New York over the weekend. I took the train up to visit my brother who lives in Queens. I didn't really think their stations were better than ours. Penn Station is a lot like Suburban except darker and more dingy. 30th and Grand Central are comparable except that GC has more high end food offerings and is bigger.

[summersm343]

Demolition at the Rail Park is nearly finished

http://philly.curbed.com/2017/3/16/1...n-update-march

[Nova08]

GCT is practically exponentially bigger than 30th St. Penn Station is terrible, but I am a bit bias in that the leveling of the "original" Penn Station was one of the great architectural travesties.

That said, it has been nice to see the concourse level of Suburban cleaned up a bit, however for the main station in the heart of the Philadelphia business district it leaves a lot to be desired.

[iheartphilly]

I would love to see our 30th street station opened up as one big cavern. The main area is kind of small and some of the retail is hidden. This place has so much potential, we just need the vision and money for execution. My personal favorite is D.C.'s Union Station. Fabulous all around.

[iamrobk]

There are people who don't like the new Dilworth Park? Really? It's my personal favorite park in Center City (Rittenhouse a close 2nd; depends on my mood, tbh). I'm really excited to see the new Love Park, as the old one was... eh... a bit past it's expiration date. Agreed that Thomas Paine Plaza should be next to be redone. It's not bad IMO it's just extremely boring and blah; it gives no reason for anyone to really be there.

[summersm343]

Great article about the stabilization and resurgence of Tacony in Northeast Philly

Read more:
http://www.philly.com/philly/columni...a-saffron.html

[summersm343]

Lincoln Square - Broad and Washington - apartments/commercial/retail - 9 floors
Update from Building Philly





https://www.facebook.com/BuildingPhilly/

[PhilliesPhan]

In my opinion, 30th Street Station is the grandest station on the Northeast Corridor. Penn Station in NYC lost that spot when the original station was demolished, Baltimore's Penn Station is surrounded by a highway, D.C.'s Union Station feels too much like a mall and giant food court, and Boston's South Station is too small. Wilmington, Newark (NJ), and Providence also have nice stations, but they don't even come close to the ridership numbers at 30th Street. The only thing that 30th Street Station needs concerns its immediate surroundings to the west: it needs the parking lots that encompass the station developed. The Porch has VASTLY improved the exterior of the station by adding foot traffic and reducing its previous auto-centric nature. The next step would be to introduce a built environment to the area west of the station, which Schuylkill Yards and the 30th Street Station District Plan will do.

Suburban Station is also a beautiful station...from the exterior. I commute in and out of Suburban Station every week, and I can definitely agree that the interior of the station is pretty dreary. The situation HAS improved with new lighting and bathrooms, but work still needs to be done. SEPTA should invest more capital expenditures in bringing the interior of Suburban Station back to its former glory, albeit after more urgent projects are completed (ex. City Hall for the BSL).

Philadelphia truly received a sweet deal when the Pennsylvania Railroad not only agreed to rid Center City of the Chinese Wall, but also build TWO Art Deco stations. The PRR also buried the El in West Philadelphia as a part of the deal.

[DudeGuy]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

In my opinion, 30th Street Station is the grandest station on the Northeast Corridor. Penn Station in NYC lost that spot when the original station was demolished, Baltimore's Penn Station is surrounded by a highway, D.C.'s Union Station feels too much like a mall and giant food court, and Boston's South Station is too small.

I disagree with you about Union Station - not that they're removed the restaurant from the main hall and finished up the renovations, the station is truly amazing. 30th Street is also gorgeous, but I think the huge advertisements hanging from the walls really detract from the elegance.

Here's a pic of the renovated Union Station:

[1487]

Originally Posted by SEFTA

It would be nice to see plans that conclude that any new projects at 22nd & Market would include the addition of an integrated subway station as a part of the project. Perhaps planning in advance might attract developers to the area with the prospect of new easy access to transit while creating a creative way for possible funding.

not happening. Major projects like that are not likely unless something significant changes on the federal funding end of things. Federal matches have been reduced and thus most major expansions of service nationwide are funded largely through local initiatives like regional taxes and fees. We have none of that in this region. In the old days major transit projects got like 80% federal funding.

[1487]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

In my opinion, 30th Street Station is the grandest station on the Northeast Corridor. Penn Station in NYC lost that spot when the original station was demolished, Baltimore's Penn Station is surrounded by a highway, D.C.'s Union Station feels too much like a mall and giant food court, and Boston's South Station is too small. Wilmington, Newark (NJ), and Providence also have nice stations, but they don't even come close to the ridership numbers at 30th Street. The only thing that 30th Street Station needs concerns its immediate surroundings to the west: it needs the parking lots that encompass the station developed. The Porch has VASTLY improved the exterior of the station by adding foot traffic and reducing its previous auto-centric nature. The next step would be to introduce a built environment to the area west of the station, which Schuylkill Yards and the 30th Street Station District Plan will do.

Suburban Station is also a beautiful station...from the exterior. I commute in and out of Suburban Station every week, and I can definitely agree that the interior of the station is pretty dreary. The situation HAS improved with new lighting and bathrooms, but work still needs to be done. SEPTA should invest more capital expenditures in bringing the interior of Suburban Station back to its former glory, albeit after more urgent projects are completed (ex. City Hall for the BSL).

Philadelphia truly received a sweet deal when the Pennsylvania Railroad not only agreed to rid Center City of the Chinese Wall, but also build TWO Art Deco stations. The PRR also buried the El in West Philadelphia as a part of the deal.

suburban was renovated in the early 2000s. Lighting, HVAC, cosmetics, elevators, etc. were all done during that project. I think it was $30M or so. More bathrooms are being done now and they upgraded the lighting. Aside from the homeless problem it's not that bad. The concourse east of the station is really what needs a lot of work and that work is coming in the next few years as SEPTA puts $40M into the concourses in CC.

[1487]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

I would love to see our 30th street station opened up as one big cavern. The main area is kind of small and some of the retail is hidden. This place has so much potential, we just need the vision and money for execution. My personal favorite is D.C.'s Union Station. Fabulous all around.

In case people haven't been past 30th in the last year the entire exterior is being restored. They are also working on plans to redo part of the interior and I think the bathrooms are being redone or already have been. Not to mention all the work that was done on the west side to rebuild the driveways and roads. And all the landscaping, lighting and signage work that was done several years ago. People are talking about 30th street like it's sitting there in stagnation.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

In my opinion, 30th Street Station is the grandest station on the Northeast Corridor. Penn Station in NYC lost that spot when the original station was demolished, Baltimore's Penn Station is surrounded by a highway, D.C.'s Union Station feels too much like a mall and giant food court, and Boston's South Station is too small. Wilmington, Newark (NJ), and Providence also have nice stations, but they don't even come close to the ridership numbers at 30th Street. The only thing that 30th Street Station needs concerns its immediate surroundings to the west: it needs the parking lots that encompass the station developed. The Porch has VASTLY improved the exterior of the station by adding foot traffic and reducing its previous auto-centric nature. The next step would be to introduce a built environment to the area west of the station, which Schuylkill Yards and the 30th Street Station District Plan will do.

Suburban Station is also a beautiful station...from the exterior. I commute in and out of Suburban Station every week, and I can definitely agree that the interior of the station is pretty dreary. The situation HAS improved with new lighting and bathrooms, but work still needs to be done. SEPTA should invest more capital expenditures in bringing the interior of Suburban Station back to its former glory, albeit after more urgent projects are completed (ex. City Hall for the BSL).

Philadelphia truly received a sweet deal when the Pennsylvania Railroad not only agreed to rid Center City of the Chinese Wall, but also build TWO Art Deco stations. The PRR also buried the El in West Philadelphia as a part of the deal.

Good points but you forgot Grand Central which is, IMO, the winner. I also agree that Union Station is an amazing structure that does not at all feel to me like a food court.

[McBane]

As I've argued before, Thomas Paine Plaza's worst sin is its very existence. You can't have Love Park AND Dillworth Plaza AND Thomas Paine Plaza AND expect them to all be highly trafficked. We don't have that sort of population density to keep three plazas - all within one block of each other - populated. And an empty windswept park is a magnet for homeless and hoodlums. The best thing the city can do is demolish the park and permit some sort of development here.

Re the Parkway, I was just there and played Frogger trying to get from Fairmount Ave to the Schuylkill Banks Trail. Ended up taking a very circuitous route that took far longer than necessary. Parkway could be vastly improved for pedestrians for not a lot of money if the following improvements were made:

1) Demarcate direct pedestrian routes from the various points of interest along the Parkway and place signage to help direct pedestrians figure out how to get from Point A to Point B. Even for a life long resident, I find getting around the Parkway to be extremely confusing and difficult. For example, the crossing between the Art Museum and Eakins Oval should really be moved to the center, directly at the bottom of the steps and the Washington statue and fountain. This is the more "natural" path and in fact is where many people cross anyway (at their own peril). And then once you're on the Oval, you're on your own to so to speak in terms to figuring out how to navigate to City Hall, the Schuylkill Trail, the various museums, etc.

2) Fix the traffic lights so that way you can cross an intersection in one light cycle. Again, I'll use the highly trafficked crossing between the Art Museum and Eakins Oval as an example. Like many intersections along the Parkway, these two points of interest are separated by a traffic island. Each traffic cycle permits pedestrians to go from the Parkway to the island - wait - and then from the island to the Oval. In addition to its off-center location, the annoying traffic light setup is probably why so many people dart across the Parkway between the stairs and the statue/fountain.

These suggestions don't require massive construction or millions of dollars.

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by 1487

In case people haven't been past 30th in the last year the entire exterior is being restored. They are also working on plans to redo part of the interior and I think the bathrooms are being redone or already have been. Not to mention all the work that was done on the west side to rebuild the driveways and roads. And all the landscaping, lighting and signage work that was done several years ago. People are talking about 30th street like it's sitting there in stagnation.

Your last statement is weird and defensive. I think those of us that were talking about it were making a comparison at its current state and not saying anything about the past or future aspects of 30th street station. I've used 30th St. station and other stations on the NE Corridor so its my perspective from recent uses. And, there's a lot to left to be desire with 30th street station at the moment. It looks tired for sure and is in need of interior renovations as much as the exterior.

Untitled by iheartphilly iheartphilly, on Flickr

Untitled by iheartphilly iheartphilly, on Flickr

[1487]

^ don't see the point of the pics above. The exterior is being restored for a huge cost. Everything can't be done at once. Do you think Amtrak is flush with cash? You totally ignored all the improvements recently completed or underway. Not many 90 year old buildings don't need some work, but overall 30th street is in pretty good condition in terms of the public spaces.

[1487]

all good news here. More jobs, more tax revenue.

http://www.philly.com/philly/busines...he-state-.html

It should be noted why the RFP for private development of SOuthport didn't work out well. Goes to show how difficult it is to totally turnover certain functions to the private sector- the math doesn't always work.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

It looks tired for sure and is in need of interior renovations as much as the exterior.

Outside of updating some of the newer signage and replacing curtains, I’d hate for someone to mess with 30th Street Station. The main hall is basically unchanged since construction and I’d scream at the notion of removing the benches to make it “open concept” (I hate that term)….because outside of that, what would you do to make it “not tired”?

(p.s. I think you picked the worst possible photo for this comparison)


(credit: Damon Landry)

[summersm343]

Yards Brewing on track to open new space this year after closing on loan

http://www.philly.com/philly/busines...-19M-loan.html