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

[summersm343]

How far can the revival of Camden's Cooper Street go?

The history of Cooper Street is the story of Camden — the tale of a city’s rise, fall, and fledgling revival.

That’s the narrative Miranda Powell and Mikaela Maria offered a diverse group of a dozen city dwellers and suburbanites who took a closer look at the storied downtown thoroughfare during a tour Sunday focused on architecture and historical significance.

“I’ve walked past these buildings for years when I was going to school here. It’s important to know the backstory,” said Cherry Hill businesswoman Benniemae Lewis, a 2005 Rutgers graduate.

Said photographer and Rutgers sophomore Austin Cuttino, of Voorhees: “I didn’t know a lot about these buildings, and this is a chance to wander around Camden and take photos.”

With its roadway freshly paved, trees still leafy green, and eclectic array of buildings aglow in the autumn sun, the street named for the city’s pioneering Quaker family was looking rather swell Sunday morning. Tour participants were encouraged to make sketches and take photos, and several vowed to come back.

“The city is always changing, and Cooper Street is representative of those changes,” said Powell, curator of the excellent “Picturing Camden” exhibit in the Stedman Gallery at the Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts. The center sponsored the tour with the university’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH), which is researching the life of Cooper Street.

Citing dramatic 1980s photographs by Ken Hohing that are showcased in a portion of the exhibit, Powell noted that while some parts of Camden look “the worse for wear” in recent decades, others “look much better now.”

But the park is now a deep green jewel of public space graced with restored sculptures and architectural amenities.

Several tour-takers said they were pleasantly surprised by the renewed vitality along Cooper Street, which in the last century has shifted from posh residential, to industrial and professional, and more recently, educational, uses. The street reached bottom in the 1980s, after its eastern blocks were lost to urban renewal and several architecturally distinguished homes were abandoned or demolished.

“It’s magnificent what they’ve done here,” said Cherry Hill resident Sara Gilgore, who grew up in Parkside and attended Rutgers-Camden in the 1970s.

“I’m thrilled to see the enormous presence of Rutgers.”

Indeed, Cooper Street had been nearly moribund for decades until Rutgers-Camden emerged from its once rather cocoon-like campus in a big way nearly 20 years ago. Other educational institutions, including Rowan University, Camden County College, and the LEAP charter schools, also boosted the area with new or renovated buildings.

The tour began at the busy intersection of Fifth and Cooper, an apt choice, given that its four corners are home to a jazzy new Rutgers academic building; a 19th-century mansion repurposed as the home of the university’s history department; a magnificent church built in 1892; and a vacant lot where the sad Plaza Hotel stood vacant for nearly 30 years.

I’ve seen beautiful, grand but long-vacant residences transformed into the Writers House and Alumni House projects, recently completed by Rutgers on opposite sides of Cooper near Third Street.

And I’m dying to see the Pierre apartments, where the classic art deco facade has been obscured for a year as a $7 million renovation project continues.

“It was a hotel, built in 1932,” Maria Del Mar Lopez, one of the partners in M&M Development, said by phone Monday. “We’re converting it into 32 apartments, seven of them affordable, the rest market rate.”

Lopez, whose firm has built and renovated residential projects elsewhere in downtown Camden, said Cooper Street is an ideal location “to create units for people who are coming into Camden to work, so they can live in Camden.”

With other development projects rising all over town and the city expected to make a play for Amazon’s second headquarters, Cooper Street matters more than ever. It survived the urban renewal frenzy of the 1960s and ’70s substantially intact, and it connects to neighborhoods, such as Cooper-Grant and lower Market Street, that also seem to be turning around.

But almost every property along Cooper is tax-exempt. Save for a convenience store in the impressive new Rutgers high-rise dormitory at Fourth and Cooper, and a gas station several blocks east, there’s almost no private enterprise at all; the street is a pretty but bland monoculture of educational, institutional, and nonprofit uses.

Camden will never be self-sustaining with so much of its choicest real estate off the tax rolls. And Cooper Street can’t be the fine urban thoroughfare it was — and could be again — without at least a coffeehouse and a restaurant or two.

http://www.philly.com/philly/columni...-20171003.html

[Urbanthusiat]

Target store eyed for Ardmore project

A new Target Corp. store is part of a mixed-use project that is being proposed for a prominent corner in Ardmore.

The five-story development at the corner of Lancaster and Ardmore avenues would involve a 32,000-square-foot Target on the first two floors and 35 apartments on the upper three stories, according to plans submitted to Lower Merion. As part of the plans, there would be surface parking as well as below-grade parking.

The project, which is in the early stages, adds to a growing list of developments that are underway or proposed for this Main Line community and it's not lost on the township.

“Ardmore has been very busy,” said Andrea Campisi, a senior planner with Lower Merion. “It’s walkable, has access to transit as well as has unique shops and restaurants.”

More: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...e-project.html

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

Target store eyed for Ardmore project



More: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...e-project.html

Noice! This is a nice project.

[Boku]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Noice! This is a nice project.

I live close to there. Some locals are not happy about this. Same old story, parking and traffic.

[Urbanthusiat]

Originally Posted by Boku

I live close to there. Some locals are not happy about this. Same old story, parking and traffic.

I would be thrilled about getting a new Target and new residents to keep the place lively. I'll never understand the NIMBY mindset. My hometown Phoenixville has seen a lot of development, and I see it as something to be proud of, a sign that "we made it." It doesn't bother me so much if it takes a few more minutes to find parking if it means are streets are bustling.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Boku

I live close to there. Some locals are not happy about this. Same old story, parking and traffic.

Blah, blah, blah....

Ardmore and Bala Cynwyd are so close to the city, and both are served by regional rail lines. They can handle the increased density.

This development would be so much better than the empty lot that's there now.

[summersm343]

Chesco insulin pump maker closing. It impacts 400 employees, 90K diabetics.

Insulin pump maker Animas Corp., a division of Johnson & Johnson, is closing its operations in a move that will impact 410 employees.

The West Chester, Pa., company said Thursday it will discontinue making and selling its Animas Vibe and OneTouch Ping insulin pumps and exit the insulin pump business.

Animas intends to work with Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) of Minneapolis to “facilitate a seamless transition for patients, caregivers and healthcare providers.” The estimated 90,000 diabetic patients using an Animas insulin pump will be offered the option to transfer to a Medtronic pump.

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...ulin-pump.html

[Urbanthusiat]

New mixed-use building proposed for Bala Cynwyd

Ardmore>> Another new mixed-use building with apartments in Bala Cynwyd is now undergoing the beginning of the approval process.

Monday night, the Lower Merion Planning Commission recommended the approval of the tentative sketch plan for the new building. The plan would consolidate six properties along North Highland and Bala avenues for the construction of a five-story building with a 41,704-square-foot footprint. The structure would have 6,650 square feet of ground-floor retail space located along Bala Avenue. There would also be 86 apartments on the upper floors and two levels of parking. The parking would be accessed from driveways on both Bala and North Highland avenues.

The new project would have 112 parking spaces in the on-site garage and nine spaces on the street.

The builder is Cross Properties, the same company with two other projects in the area. They include the mixed-use building at 10 Union Avenue. The other project, still undergoing its approval process, is across Union Avenue at Cynwyd Road. That mixed-use building is expected to go before the Planning Commission for its preliminary plan next month.

More: http://www.mainlinemedianews.com/mai...90cd1822b.html

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

New mixed-use building proposed for Bala Cynwyd







More: http://www.mainlinemedianews.com/mai...90cd1822b.html

I love this. More towns in the area should be aspiring to promote development like this....especially towns contiguous and/or close to the city.

[Busy Bee]

^Yeah that looks really good. Lovin it.

[Slyfox]

Originally Posted by jonesrmj

I get that, and I honestly do understand that there is not much of an office demand either here, but I try to look at what would be more beneficial to Wilmington. It might sound great to have thousands of ugly short apartments sprouting up everywhere, but the more I think about it, I don't see a living demand here either. I say that Wilmington should focus on office more because it is LOOSING OFFICES. Entire buildings like Hercules (and some of Dupont for a time) are vacant. And guess what happens to these buildings. More apartments. It's such a shame to see what was once a booming city turn into an apartment city.

The reason the office buildings are empty and being replaced by apartments is because businesses don't want the office space, as people previously pointed out, if the demand was there then you would see more office buildings. Businesses don't magically appear, and Delaware has no real business plan to attract new companies. I like Wilmington, I go to the Riverfront, walk through Market Street, take the Amtrak out of the station....but why would, say, Amazon (Since thats the hot topic right now) have any desire to move to Wilmington? High Crime, street after street of boarded up windows, 1 university which puts out a tiny amount of tech students, a 1% wage tax? The state needs to do a makeover, they just say "It would be great if we could be a tech state... so that's what we are, we're getting tech companies" and then half a%$ some minor incentives. We have credit cards because of pro bank usury laws, we have incorporations because of the court of chancery, if DE wants more business then they have to innovate or give real incentives like these aforementioned pros.

I would love to see the office buildings in DE packed, but the state can't just wish for it, look at the competition. High tech talent in Boston, Pro business laws, mild winters, cheap cost of living and high tech talent in Austin, high tech talent and innovation in San Francisco, what does Wilmington offer them?

[jonesrmj]

Originally Posted by Slyfox

The reason the office buildings are empty and being replaced by apartments is because businesses don't want the office space, as people previously pointed out, if the demand was there then you would see more office buildings. Businesses don't magically appear, and Delaware has no real business plan to attract new companies. I like Wilmington, I go to the Riverfront, walk through Market Street, take the Amtrak out of the station....but why would, say, Amazon (Since thats the hot topic right now) have any desire to move to Wilmington? High Crime, street after street of boarded up windows, 1 university which puts out a tiny amount of tech students, a 1% wage tax? The state needs to do a makeover, they just say "It would be great if we could be a tech state... so that's what we are, we're getting tech companies" and then half a%$ some minor incentives. We have credit cards because of pro bank usury laws, we have incorporations because of the court of chancery, if DE wants more business then they have to innovate or give real incentives like these aforementioned pros.

I would love to see the office buildings in DE packed, but the state can't just wish for it, look at the competition. High tech talent in Boston, Pro business laws, mild winters, cheap cost of living and high tech talent in Austin, high tech talent and innovation in San Francisco, what does Wilmington offer them?

Yes, but there is also not much demand for all this apartment development either, because of the same reasons why there is not much office development. I mean like why would anyone want to live in Wilmington when it is loosing offices and full of crime. I see your point that office demand is nowhere near where it was in the 20th century, but that doesn't mean Wilmington should stop trying to have offices. My point is that Wilmington should work to try to bring another office demand here just like in every other city in the Philadelphia Metro. Places like Camden and King of Prussia are seeing so much great development and all what we are getting are thousands of small, ugly apartment buildings. Look, maybe I just want Wilmington to be like it was in the 70s and 80s, and get another office boom with skyscrapers, but the odds of that now seem like it's never going to happen, and it makes me sad because the office boom here was so exciting back then

[jonesrmj]

On the upside, Wilmington has Delaware's tallest building, and when compaired to the tallest buildings in each US State, Delaware ranks 39/50! Go River Tower at 340 feet (27 floors):

[IMG]Tallest Buildings by US State (2017-2018) by jonesrmj, on Flickr[/IMG]

Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpOEYEhMcnY

[Slyfox]

Originally Posted by MikeNigh

If Amazon wants an actual top tier truly cosmopolitan urban lifestyle for their employees then Philadelphia, San Francisco and New York are their only choices. Also amazon loves to poach employees. It would be insanely easy for anyone from DC, New York, Pittsburgh and Boston to move here and they would love to do it. The cost of living is insane for what you get, they just need the job to move here. And if they buy their own tower they'd make out ten fold. Philly is already booming, once the lots for towers are up then the prices will skyrocket..

What other cities offer truly cosmopolitan lifestyles? Houston TX, Dallas TX, Phoenix/Scottsdale AZ, Miami FL, Boston MA, Chicago IL, Los Angeles CA, San Diego CA, Denver CO, Charlotte NC, Toronto Canada....

Philadelphians like most city residents have a bias towards their city because it's their home, but when you break it down we live in a country with an unbelievably large and diverse selection of urban settings, and competition is fierce. My money is on Boston or Austin. I don't see a real draw for Amazon in Philly, or Delaware or Pennsylvania for that matter, and I'm a local to the region and love my home, but realistically we cannot compete with what Austin or Boston or San Fran has to offer a tech company. Austin has high tech turnout, is a huge tech base already so there's plenty of talent to draw from, no city of state income tax (Philly has a state income and city income tax), relatively low cost of living, mild winters, a decent international airport, and already has Whole Foods which was recently acquired by Amazon...... and there is no East Coast city which can come close to Boston for tech talent, trade offs are brutal winters and high cost of living, however it would give them a presence on both coasts of the U.S.... my money is on Austin.

[Slyfox]

Originally Posted by jonesrmj

Yes, but there is also not much demand for all this apartment development either, because of the same reasons why there is not much office development. I mean like why would anyone want to live in Wilmington when it is loosing offices and full of crime. I see your point that office demand is nowhere near where it was in the 20th century, but that doesn't mean Wilmington should stop trying to have offices. My point is that Wilmington should work to try to bring another office demand here just like in every other city in the Philadelphia Metro. Places like Camden and King of Prussia are seeing so much great development and all what we are getting are thousands of small, ugly apartment buildings. Look, maybe I just want Wilmington to be like it was in the 70s and 80s, and get another office boom with skyscrapers, but the odds of that now seem like it's never going to happen, and it makes me sad because the office boom here was so exciting back then

I get it, and I understand how you feel. I drive through the downtown and think, "Wouldn't it be awesome if there was a high rise right here" and imagine what the neighborhoods would look like..... but I'm also pragmatic and realize there's nothing to draw them in.

I guess my point is the state and city need to do something drastic to bring in companies, you make a good point and it's one I agree with, every city in the country, small and large, is fighting tooth and nail to attract new business, they need to make major changes, like really lax laws and taxes. They don't have the warm weather and beaches like California, the mild winters of Texas, the romanticisation of New York. They need to truly be business friendly.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by Slyfox

What other cities offer truly cosmopolitan lifestyles? Houston TX, Dallas TX, Phoenix/Scottsdale AZ, Miami FL, Boston MA, Chicago IL, Los Angeles CA, San Diego CA, Denver CO, Charlotte NC, Toronto Canada....

Philadelphians like most city residents have a bias towards their city because it's their home, but when you break it down we live in a country with an unbelievably large and diverse selection of urban settings, and competition is fierce. My money is on Boston or Austin. I don't see a real draw for Amazon in Philly, or Delaware or Pennsylvania for that matter, and I'm a local to the region and love my home, but realistically we cannot compete with what Austin or Boston or San Fran has to offer a tech company. Austin has high tech turnout, is a huge tech base already so there's plenty of talent to draw from, no city of state income tax (Philly has a state income and city income tax), relatively low cost of living, mild winters, a decent international airport, and already has Whole Foods which was recently acquired by Amazon...... and there is no East Coast city which can come close to Boston for tech talent, trade offs are brutal winters and high cost of living, however it would give them a presence on both coasts of the U.S.... my money is on Austin.

Did you even read the RFP or is this just based on your own biases?

Austin literally meets almost none of the significant criteria listed in the RFP around location and transportation infrastructure. It doesn't have a meaningful airport and it has literally almost zero rail infrastructure. It would be nearly impossible for workers in Austin to take public transit to work and the city is already literally choked with cars.

Also. It has 1 university. Big f*cking deal. Austin isn't all Austin is cracked up to be. It just has an amazing marketing image.

Lastly. Texas isn't as low tax as people think it is. The property taxes in Texas are among the highest in the nation. I believe 4th highest after NY, NJ, and CT. Governments just don't magically function with zero revenue.

Texas has decided that that revenue should come from property instead of income. Property taxes on a $300k home in Texas are northward of about 12K a year. That's where they hide their tax "burden".

[Busy Bee]

I don't live in Phila or in Penn and I don't make much of a habit of commenting in Phila threads but I want to tell you all this:

From an outsiders point of view, I think you guys are the front runner. If I was a betting man I'd put money on Philadelphia.

[1487]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Did you even read the RFP or is this just based on your own biases?

Austin literally meets almost none of the significant criteria listed in the RFP around location and transportation infrastructure. It doesn't have a meaningful airport and it has literally almost zero rail infrastructure. It would be nearly impossible for workers in Austin to take public transit to work and the city is already literally choked with cars.

Also. It has 1 university. Big f*cking deal. Austin isn't all Austin is cracked up to be. It just has an amazing marketing image.

Lastly. Texas isn't as low tax as people think it is. The property taxes in Texas are among the highest in the nation. I believe 4th highest after NY, NJ, and CT. Governments just don't magically function with zero revenue.

Texas has decided that that revenue should come from property instead of income. Property taxes on a $300k home in Texas are northward of about 12K a year. That's where they hide their tax "burden".

very interesting note on TX- never heard that. Its similar to how people think DE is a low tax state and don't mention their state income tax. Florida is a "low tax" state partially because of the high taxes they have on tourism related services. I think the tax on rental cars down there may be 20-30%.

[Nova08]

Originally Posted by Slyfox

What other cities offer truly cosmopolitan lifestyles? Houston TX, Dallas TX, Phoenix/Scottsdale AZ, Miami FL, Boston MA, Chicago IL, Los Angeles CA, San Diego CA, Denver CO, Charlotte NC, Toronto Canada....

Philadelphians like most city residents have a bias towards their city because it's their home, but when you break it down we live in a country with an unbelievably large and diverse selection of urban settings, and competition is fierce. My money is on Boston or Austin. I don't see a real draw for Amazon in Philly, or Delaware or Pennsylvania for that matter, and I'm a local to the region and love my home, but realistically we cannot compete with what Austin or Boston or San Fran has to offer a tech company. Austin has high tech turnout, is a huge tech base already so there's plenty of talent to draw from, no city of state income tax (Philly has a state income and city income tax), relatively low cost of living, mild winters, a decent international airport, and already has Whole Foods which was recently acquired by Amazon...... and there is no East Coast city which can come close to Boston for tech talent, trade offs are brutal winters and high cost of living, however it would give them a presence on both coasts of the U.S.... my money is on Austin.

Austin has blossomed as a tech city with an influx of outsiders. It's not like the Texas universities even beyond Austin are the sole source for the talent in Austin.

I think there is a lot of emphasis put on "Tech" talent. Don't get me wrong, Amazon is a tech company, but I imagine they have a ton of non-tech talent with MBA's, supply chain background, and analytics guru's. Amazon wants smart people that fit, that doesn't mean they want 50,000 computer scientists/engineers.

Amazon doesn't care about brutal winters. Boston is a tech hub so it's clear people put up with the brutal winter's just to work there. In the same vein I suspect Amazon really only cares about affordability because they do not want to tack $10k+ onto everyone's salary because of cost of living negotiations

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Austin literally meets almost none of the significant criteria listed in the RFP around location and transportation infrastructure. It doesn't have a meaningful airport and it has literally almost zero rail infrastructure. It would be nearly impossible for workers in Austin to take public transit to work and the city is already literally choked with cars.

I'd argue Austin has a pretty good size airport that connects with most major cities and is growing quite a bit on the international front. Is it a mega-hub...no, but it can hold it's own.

[Capsule F]

Originally Posted by Slyfox

What other cities offer truly cosmopolitan lifestyles? Houston TX, Dallas TX, Phoenix/Scottsdale AZ, Miami FL, Boston MA, Chicago IL, Los Angeles CA, San Diego CA, Denver CO, Charlotte NC, Toronto Canada....

Philadelphians like most city residents have a bias towards their city because it's their home, but when you break it down we live in a country with an unbelievably large and diverse selection of urban settings, and competition is fierce. My money is on Boston or Austin. I don't see a real draw for Amazon in Philly, or Delaware or Pennsylvania for that matter, and I'm a local to the region and love my home, but realistically we cannot compete with what Austin or Boston or San Fran has to offer a tech company. Austin has high tech turnout, is a huge tech base already so there's plenty of talent to draw from, no city of state income tax (Philly has a state income and city income tax), relatively low cost of living, mild winters, a decent international airport, and already has Whole Foods which was recently acquired by Amazon...... and there is no East Coast city which can come close to Boston for tech talent, trade offs are brutal winters and high cost of living, however it would give them a presence on both coasts of the U.S.... my money is on Austin.

Lol he said these cities provide cosmpolitan lifestyles:

Houston TX, Dallas TX, Phoenix/Scottsdale AZ, San Diego CA, Denver CO, Charlotte NC.

The others you mentioned...yes. However these are a joke.