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

[Mr Saturn64]

Which corner at Gay and Church is that going on?

[wcphil]

The horrible looking mosteller building will be demoed for this. So will go along both gay down to kildares and down church to the alley.

[domodeez]

Wilmington Brew Works barrel their way into making Delaware history

http://www.wdel.com/features/wilming...d0f107db2.html

In about three months, Wilmington Brew Works (WBW) will barrel its way into history.
...
After extensive revitalization, WBW looks to brew history by being located in the historical Harper-Thiel Electroplating Company. The Spanish colonial-style building was constructed nearly a century ago for the duPont family, and has remained vacant since the closing of Harper-Thiel in 2000.

“What a picturesque beautiful building to have in a really great location, too,” said Wensell. “There’s nearly nothing nightlife-related to do up in that end of the city, and that just happens to be where my wife and I live, so we wanted to bring some nightlife up there for our neighbors and ourselves.”

Yoga, live music, a 5K race, and a make-your-own terrarium event, all already scheduled to happen in June, are just some of the kinds of active events WBW will host in its 1,400 sq. ft. taproom and 1,600 sq. ft. outside patio.

Wensell is looking to put multiple restaurant-type vendors throughout the space, so guests will have an assortment of options from finger food to big meals to sandwiches.
...
“What we are trying to do with Wilmington Brew Works is be the space that parents—like my wife and I and most of my partners for that matter—don’t have to bring so much with us for the kids to come along,” said Wensell. “We want to have board games and all sort of fun stuff for the kids to do, in addition to different types of beverages that you would be happy to give your kids.”
...
Wilmington Brew Works is located at 3201 Miller Road in Wilmington.

[domodeez]

Some big news for Wilmington buried in this article from a week ago (items downtown in bold, but these are all great)

Delaware approves $4.3M in downtown grants

https://www.delawareonline.com/story...nts/351067002/

More than two-thirds of the grant funding announced Monday was awarded to seven projects in Wilmington. Of the nearly $3 million earmarked for the city, more than $1 million was allocated to three projects owned by the Buccini/Pollin Group, the largest private property owner in the city.

They include a $52,000 award for a $306,000 renovation of the bar inside the Queen Theater; $557,000 toward a $7.4 million redevelopment of a vacant building at 519 N. Market St. into a hotel and restaurant; and $401,000 to convert a building at 801 N. West St. into a commercial laundry and office space, a project with a total price tag of $5.6 million.

Other projects awarded funding Monday include:

- A $1 million in grant funding to YBTZ LLC, the Pomona, New York-based owner of a 12-story office building at 913 N. Market St. that is being converted into apartments with retail space on the first floor.

- A church building at 934 N. Lombard St in Wilmington is being redeveloped by Eastside Community Buildings into a combination employment training center, grocery, office space and community center with a $257,400 rebate.

- A building in the 800 block of Wilmington's North Church Street that once housed a cabinet manufacturer is being turned into a church sanctuary, offices, classroom space and a community center by Christian Growth Ministries at a cost of $4.6 million. The project is eligible for a $500,000 rebate.

- A developer looking to spend $1.5 million on adding a restaurant and apartments to a building at Wilmington's East Seventh Street received an allocation for $208,000.

Here are some Google streetview screenshots of the Frank Furness building at 519 N. Market that's being renovated into a hotel and restaurant. It is quite possibly my favorite building in Wilmington.




That white building on the left is Live Nation at The Queen


And here are some screenshots of the 12-story building at 913 N. Market that's being converted to apartments by YBTZ:


It's on the left in brown brick

[jonesrmj]

Originally Posted by domodeez

Some big news for Wilmington buried in this article from a week ago (items downtown in bold, but these are all great)

Delaware approves $4.3M in downtown grants

https://www.delawareonline.com/story...nts/351067002/




Here are some Google streetview screenshots of the Frank Furness building at 519 N. Market that's being renovated into a hotel and restaurant. It is quite possibly my favorite building in Wilmington.




That white building on the left is Live Nation at The Queen


And here are some screenshots of the 12-story building at 913 N. Market that's being converted to apartments by YBTZ:


It's on the left in brown brick

We are getting another hotel!? My goodness have we been getting many hotels here lately!

Speaking of, when is the Residents Inn Marriott opening? Has an opening date been released because I can't imagine it would take much longer to complete the building. Also, Whats the deal with that Riverfront hotel plan by Big Fish Grill? I haven't heard anything about it.

[Jonboy1983]

That Gay/Church St. proposal, is the plaza fronting the corner of Church & Gay? I'm just trying to figure out the orientation of the project. This would certainly do wonders to enhance the already active pedestrian activity in this corridor, and I can't wait to see it come to fruition.

I've always thought that corner was missing something. So it's nice to see this change.

[Urbanthusiat]

KoP to get new hotel, 390 apartments and refurbished office building

Three projects are set to get underway along North Gulph Road in Upper Merion, continuing the robust development activity that King of Prussia has been experiencing during the last several years.

The projects represent tens of millions of dollars in investment and highlight that the development continues to involve a variety of property types, underscoring the demand that King of Prussia has from a range of users. These three developments concern the hospitality, office and multifamily sectors and are clustered along North Gulph Road where the township has already been experiencing a great deal of real estate investment.

The owner of the Sheraton at Valley Forge has plans to develop a 120-room Element hotel on the property at 480 N. Gulph Road. In the fall of 2007 when Park Ridge Hotel Development of Haverford went to the township to redevelop the property, it took what had been an existing 300-room hotel down to 180 rooms and incorporated 20,000 square feet of meeting space. Under an arrangement with the township made at the time, the developer could at a later date add a 120-room hotel and is seeking to exercise that now, according to township documents. The site totals a little more than nine acres.

Next door at 500 N. Gulph Road, Brandywine Realty Trust received approval for the redevelopment of an existing five-story, 100,820-square-foot vacant office building that was built in the 1970s. The real estate investment trust will be re-doing the facade, adding atriums and amenity spaces as well as about 3,000 square feet of additional office space. As part of the project, Brandywine is also developing a single-story parking deck that will be located on a parcel behind the building and adjacent to the Pennsylvania Turnpike and have 100 spaces, according to township documents.

The project should be completed this fall, according to Brandywine.

Lastly, directly across the street at the Village at Valley Forge, Realen Properties is teaming up with Hanover to develop another apartment project at the site. This one will have 390 apartments and a parking garage and join five other multifamily developments at the property some of which have been completed and others in various stages of construction and among them have a total of 1,528 rental units. Hanover and Realen teamed up to develop one of those projects called Hanover Valley Forge and this one is referred to as Hanover Village.

From: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...ments-and.html

[Frontst17]

This area of KOP needs its own light rail now... The amount of development is extreme (in a good way). What was once a dead zone is now going to be a bustling satellite city with the largest mall on the east coast. Sits on every major highway in the area and getting a regional rail line. Wow. Just worries me the amount of cars being introduced into an already crowded traffic area

[Boku]

$25M luxury boutique hotel in New Hope set to open in 2019

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...s-opening.html

A new $25 million hotel will open next year in the Bucks County town of New Hope, where a "continued revitalization" – including recent expansions and renovations – are transforming the hospitality industry.

The Riverhouse at Odette's, a 34-room boutique hotel project with a $25 million price tag attached to it, will open winter 2019, nearly three years after the lease for roughly a half-acre of land to build the hotel was signed.

Construction will begin this spring.

The original 1784 structure is being staged to relocate to the intersection of South Main and New streets in New Hope, where it will be restored as part of a comprehensive community revitalization plan.

The property, donated to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, will sit on the parcel of land deeded to the state by New Hope’s American Legion post.

The Riverhouse at Odette's hotel will have 34 guestrooms and suites, a signature restaurant, a rooftop lounge and an indoor-outdoor event space. It will feature salvaged items like books, artwork, menus and a 1900s chandelier.

[domodeez]

At building two, the ground floor retail windows just went in and the 9th Street sidewalk is done (facade panels are going up quickly at building one... I'll grab a picture soon):

[Urbanthusiat]

More Development in Phoenixville, the borough finally updated their website with all of the new stuff. All of this is proposed, but approved. Looks like there's a lot of development for old folks.

Steelworks Lofts - 336 units, 36,700 sqft of retail, 500 car parking garage.



Site: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.1308...7i13312!8i6656

Barclay Gardens - 55+ housing (I think 40 units)



Site: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.1331...7i13312!8i6656

Eland Point Crossing - 193 units



Site: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.1294...7i13312!8i6656

Odessa Seniors Housing - 240 Independent Living units, 260 Assisted Living units


(Site not yet accessible, but the Northern Relief route which just received state money will connect to the site.)

Community Senior Center, conveniently near the Odessa seniors development



Site: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.1425...7i13312!8i6656

[chris08876]

Pic by me. Taken today. Wilmington Deleware.


Deleware Wilmington by Christopher Estevez, on Flickr

I gotta say on my way to Baltimore, I noticed a ton of road construction on the way, especially on I-95.

Seems like the Philly Metro is really ramping up on the infrastructure, especially with the highways.

Does anybody have a development map showcasing the road construction/bridge work?

[ePlanningPhila]

There are several projects that I am aware of. The one expected to be completed first is the $1B PA Turnpike/I95 interchange connector, it will open later this year connecting NYC and Philadelphia via 95. There are still some further build out phases with enhancing capacity on the newly routed 95 between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but those have not started yet.

http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.c...ajor-milestone

[Milksteak]

Originally Posted by ePlanningPhila

There are several projects that I am aware of. The one expected to be completed first is the $1B PA Turnpike/I95 interchange connector, it will open later this year connecting NYC and Philadelphia via 95. There are still some further build out phases with enhancing capacity on the newly routed 95 between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but those have not started yet.

http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.c...ajor-milestone

The other biggie is the remake of the Scudders Falls bridge - which connects PA to NJ and is long overdue. Rumor has it that there will be a pretty sizable toll added to it, but I heard that years and years ago.

The plan is to connect 95 to the PA Turnpike, which connects to the NJ Turnpike. They will reassign that portion of the PA Turnpike to 95, and the old 95 (anything north of the interchange) will be reassigned (I believe as a part of 295 - where it picks up later in Jersey). This was the only piece of the grand plan to have one interstate go from Miami to Maine that broke up into multiple highways before eventually getting back to 95 (NJ Turnpike)...so there will be a true single interstate all the way up and down the east coast.

[jslice]

So Dupont has officially spun off with Dupont, Chemours and Corteva remaining in Wilmington. Any thoughts on if Dupont or Corteva will be planning new headquarters?

[jonesrmj]

Originally Posted by jslice

So Dupont has officially spun off with Dupont, Chemours and Corteva remaining in Wilmington. Any thoughts on if Dupont or Corteva will be planning new headquarters?

Wait, does this mean that Dupont could leave Delaware??

And I hope Corteva will plan a downtown headquarters in Wilmington.

[jonesrmj]

Originally Posted by Milksteak

The other biggie is the remake of the Scudders Falls bridge - which connects PA to NJ and is long overdue. Rumor has it that there will be a pretty sizable toll added to it, but I heard that years and years ago.

The plan is to connect 95 to the PA Turnpike, which connects to the NJ Turnpike. They will reassign that portion of the PA Turnpike to 95, and the old 95 (anything north of the interchange) will be reassigned (I believe as a part of 295 - where it picks up later in Jersey). This was the only piece of the grand plan to have one interstate go from Miami to Maine that broke up into multiple highways before eventually getting back to 95 (NJ Turnpike)...so there will be a true single interstate all the way up and down the east coast.

There is also a US-301 expressway project in Delaware (though it is along DE-1, not I-95). Its a 14 mile expressway project that will lead from St. Georges, DE to the Maryland stateline where the current 301 goes. This will help tremendously with traveling to DC as it would avoid Baltimore. Existing 301 from there takes you to the Chesapeake Bridge and on US-50 to DC. I believe this should be completed by the very end of this year but I'm not 100% sure.

Here are some images of the project:
[IMG]US-301 Project Delaware by jonesrmj, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]US-301 Project Delaware by jonesrmj, on Flickr[/IMG]

[AbortedWalrus]

Yikes those developments in Phoenixville are horrible. The whole reason the town has charm is because the main streets are somewhat urban, and they are essentially approving more suburban style development.

[Frontst17]

Those are pretty urban developments for where they're located in town. The more suburban style developments are going on the outskirts it seems

[Nova08]

Originally Posted by jonesrmj

There is also a US-301 expressway project in Delaware (though it is along DE-1, not I-95). Its a 14 mile expressway project that will lead from St. Georges, DE to the Maryland stateline where the current 301 goes. This will help tremendously with traveling to DC as it would avoid Baltimore. Existing 301 from there takes you to the Chesapeake Bridge and on US-50 to DC. I believe this should be completed by the very end of this year but I'm not 100% sure.

There is also a new Amazon distribution center in Middletown. I do not know about the history of the 301 project, but I suspect it goes a bit hand in hand with Amazon.