PHILADELPHIA | General Developments Thread - Page 7

philadelphiathrives · #**121** Posted: **Jul 11, 2009, 11:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capsule F

I can't get over how expensive the addition is with only 180,000 sf added.

It's not just about size, but quality.

This will be quite a high-tech, high-class facility. The LEED Silver rating adds to the cost. And the jobs are union jobs: that adds to the cost, but also stimulates the local economy more than non-union jobs.

Aleks · #**122** Posted: **Jul 12, 2009, 7:10 AM**

Wow, that's an amazing expansion. And wouldn't they also remodel the current library? Taking up a lot of what the cost will be.

Anyways, good for Philly.

cwd22 · #**123** Posted: **Jul 13, 2009, 4:18 AM**

With all these projects lined up for the Parkway, it might finally develop into what it was intended to be. But as of right now it's as boring and soulless as ever.

Muji · #**124** Posted: **Jul 13, 2009, 9:40 PM**

New landscaping construction is currently going ahead full steam on the Banks between Race St and MLK Drive, which will create a small plaza and river overlook:

The Schuykill Banks website also has a rundown of current and near future projects here on its website: http://www.schuylkillbanks.org/newsV...D=0&newsID=148

Among other things, the Locust to South Street boardwalk and the elevated track crossing at Locust Street have completion set by the end of 2010. I hope that's not too good to be true!

hammersklavier · #**125** Posted: **Jul 14, 2009, 6:55 AM**

Thanks for the link Muji! I'll have to really update the start page with info from it soon...when I'm not so sleepy, maybe, and when I have plenty of free time.

bucks native · #**126** Posted: **Jul 15, 2009, 10:16 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by cwd22

With all these projects lined up for the Parkway, it might finally develop into what it was intended to be. But as of right now it's as boring and soulless as ever.

It's agreed that The Parkway is too auto-centered. The Center City District (CCD) has plans to make The Parkway pedestrian-friendly. The CCD gets things done. Check its website.

With The Barnes next door to the expanded library, the renovated Aviator Park and the museum's Perelman annex and planned underground expansion, we're assured a transformed Parkway.

What's happened to the former school administration building that sits beside(west side) the Franklin Institute? Last I heard, it would be condos.

logansquare · #**127** Posted: **Jul 16, 2009, 3:26 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bucks native

It's agreed that The Parkway is too auto-centered. The Center City District (CCD) has plans to make The Parkway pedestrian-friendly. The CCD gets things done. Check its website.

With The Barnes next door to the expanded library, the renovated Aviator Park and the museum's Perelman annex and planned underground expansion, we're assured a transformed Parkway.

What's happened to the former school administration building that sits beside(west side) the Franklin Institute. Last I heard, it would be condos.

The Administration building has been developed into apartments (not condos). They are relatively high-end and it has brought new residents into the area. The plans for re-doing the parkway from 22nd to 20th street are good and result in a decrease in traffic lanes and an increase in bike lane widths, and the plan is to also re-do Sister City Park (in front of the Cathedral).

All and all positive developments.

hammersklavier · #**128** Posted: **Jul 16, 2009, 12:26 PM**

All excellent. I also heard something about work on the pocket park proposals between the Schuylkill Banks and the Parkway...

Also, shouldn't the Williams Tsien Barnes design have come out months ago? If it did it's the best kept secret in the Northeast.

hammersklavier · #**129** Posted: **Jul 16, 2009, 12:46 PM**

OP extended. Q: does anyone have any new photos of the progress of the South Street Bridge?

hammersklavier · #**130** Posted: **Jul 16, 2009, 12:53 PM**

Why is construction east of 13th proceeding faster than that west of it?

Orion1 · #**131** Posted: **Jul 17, 2009, 10:03 PM**

I'm only guessing, but maybe the priority is being placed on connecting the old with the new.

theWatusi · #**132** Posted: **Jul 17, 2009, 10:09 PM**

I think it's just because they started over there and are working their way west.

bucks native · #**133** Posted: **Jul 18, 2009, 8:30 AM**

Thanks, Logan. I was afraid the admin building might be empty and decaying. Has exterior illumination been installed? It's a handsome building but kind of hidden. With the right lighting, I'm sure it would stand out nicely at night.

katzky · #**134** Posted: **Jul 21, 2009, 12:27 AM**

..That would be a great factor to every book enthusiasts....!

taux emprunt
immobilier

Swinefeld · #**135** Posted: **Jul 23, 2009, 1:58 PM**

Philly Live!

Location: Sports Complex, South Philadelphia, PA
Usage: Entertainment/Retail
Size: 350,000 square feet
Developers:
• Comcast-Spectacor
• Cordish Co.
Estimated Cost: $100,000,000
Groundbreaking: Early 2010
Completion: 2011

Photo Courtesy of Comcast-Spectacor and The Cordish Company

Photo Courtesy of Comcast-Spectacor and The Cordish Company

A glitzy game plan for developing Spectrum site

A glitzy game plan for developing Spectrum site A plan to bring life to the vast asphalt desert around Philadelphia's stadium complex moved forward yesterday when a Baltimore developer released drawings for a $100 million entertainment center that would provide easier connections among Wachovia Center, Citizens Bank Park, and Lincoln Financial Field.

The glitzy architectural renderings, presented to the city Planning Commission, showed a two-block-long, diagonal street lined with restaurants, bars, and shops. Modeled on such destinations as Boston's Quincy Market and Baltimore's Power Plant Live!, the partly enclosed street linking the sports venues would displace the Spectrum, which is scheduled for demolition early next year.

The project, called Philly Live!, is being developed jointly by Comcast-Spectacor and the Cordish Co., which created a similar entertainment district around a former power station at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Although they announced their partnership more than 18 months ago, yesterday was the first time they have gone public with a detailed site plan and renderings.

Gary A. Block, the Cordish vice president overseeing the project, said the company hoped to start construction of the 350,000-square-foot entertainment center by this time next summer. But that schedule is tied to the Spectrum's demolition, which is expected to begin in early 2010.

The project Cordish presented yesterday was just the first phase of what could be a much more expansive entertainment district, Block said. Cordish is also trying to snare a "boutique hotel" for a spot on Pattison Avenue near the ballpark.

The Planning Commission did not vote yesterday on the project. According to Block, the design fully meets the city's zoning requirements. But city planner William Kramer said some legislation may yet be required before construction can start.

Although commission members enthusiastically praised the idea of filling in the asphalt landscape south of Pattison Avenue, several also raised concerns about Cordish's site plan. Philly Live! will be located more than a block from the Broad Street subway entrance, and a huge empty zone of parking will continue to separate the complex from transit and Philadelphia's central boulevard.

"It's an island we're designing," Block conceded.

Nevertheless, the other commission members nodded in assent when Natalia Olson de Savyckj gushed, "I love this project."

The lack of a transit connection is partly a result of the way the stadium district has evolved. The former Veterans Stadium was designed to anchor the corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue. But the new Citizens Bank ballpark and Lincoln Financial Field football stadium were built farther away, and they are now a three-block hike from the subway.

Link

Additional reading here.

Busy Bee · #**136** Posted: **Jul 23, 2009, 4:08 PM**

So its mall? Is this really happening? Looks like Orlando.

hammersklavier · #**137** Posted: **Jul 25, 2009, 4:21 AM**

I think it would be a good idea if there wasn't so damn much parking.

I'll bet that's what the Planning Commission'll say, too.

volguus zildrohar · #**138** Posted: **Jul 25, 2009, 4:59 AM**

We'll see how it goes. I do admit to liking the idea of the diagonal avenue. I like spaces that disrupt the grid.

bucks native · #**139** Posted: **Jul 25, 2009, 7:47 AM**

Chinatown Gate
photo credit: www.aviewoncities.com

photo credit: nickcarey

Reading Viaduct

photo credit: www.readingviaduct.org

The two spurs of the Reading Viaduct come together near Noble St. and eventually led into Reading Terminal

photo credit: egoldin

photo credit: ronin47

from here:http://planphilly.com/node/9435

Discussion of the future of Chinatown North

July 23, 2009
By Kellie Patrick Gates
For PlanPhilly

Residents of Chinatown North gathered at the Theresa Hu Center Wednesday night to talk about the future of their neighborhood – the part of Chinatown split off by the Vine Street Expressway.

The discussion, sponsored by the Asian Arts Initiative and the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, hinged around a status report of the 2004 Neighborhood Plan for Chinatown and Callowhill, which was developed by the PCDC and John R. Gibbons, director of architecture for Kise Straw & Kolodner architects and planners after many months of community input. (KSK was hired by the Delaware Regional Planning Commission through a grant from the William Penn Foundation).

Based on the discussion last night, the community wants the same things it did then: Development that includes a significant amount of low-income housing. More green space and recreational opportunities for families. Education and help, including English language instruction, for immigrants. A wider variety of businesses. And oh, how they wish the Vine Street Expressway could be capped.

Some of the things outlined in the plan have happened, or soon will, said Gibbons and PCDC Executive Director John Chin.

Many trees have been planted through neighborhood streets since 2004, and Franklin Square has been revitalized into a recreation space utilized by neighborhood residents and many other people. Many new homes have been built – most of them at market rate. Even more are planned, Gibbons said, but work has been slowed by the economy.

This year, work will soon begin on a small park with green space, benches, and pergola at 10th and Vine.

In March, improvements will start on 10th Street, from Race to Callowhill, to make it both more beautiful and safer, Chin said. This includes new sidewalks, lighting upgrades and more trees. Also to help pedestrians, more on-street parking was added along Vine Street as a way to slow down traffic, he said.

Another important element: Transforming the abandoned Reading Viaduct that crosses the neighborhood into a park, somewhat like New York City's High Line Park. This is one of the pieces that took a lot of discussion prior to the 2004 plan. In fact, there is still some disagreement about how much of the viaduct should be kept, and how much should be demolished.

A Commerce Department study found it would cost about $5 million to turn the entire length into a bare-bones park and $35 million to completely dismantle it.

The Neighborhood Plan calls for removing a section of the Viaduct, and creating a grade-level park. Gibbons said the removal would help provide space for high-density development where there would otherwise be irregularly shaped building lots.

But Sarah McEneaney, vice president of the Callowhill Neighbors Association and a founder of an organization that is trying to save the Viaduct, said the irregular lots would just result in buildings with character, and the Viaduct could serve as a link between neighborhoods. McEneaney brought up the Commerce Department study, and said it would be much cheaper to keep the entire viaduct.

Andrew Toy, a board member of PCDC, said that demolishing the section from Vine to Green would cost significantly less than demolishing the whole thing – between $11 million and $13 million. He said it took a lot of time to come up with the compromise in the neighborhood plan, and he was concerned that continued disagreement could postpone movement on the project.

An often heated Chinatown topic – the proposed Foxwoods Casino – did not come up until close to the end of the three-hour session, when one man asked through an interpreter what impact the casino would have on the long-range neighborhood plan. Another man added that he hoped that Spina would lobby for the plan if the casino would have a negative impact on it when the City Planning Commission reviews Foxwoods' proposal for Market and 8th.

The PCDC and Asian Arts Initiative representatives said they hope to keep the discussion going with future events. Spina said residents should watch for a City Planning meeting sometime this fall. The City is creating a new comprehensive plan, she said, and will hold meetings around the city to hear what residents want in their neighborhoods.

bucks native · #**140** Posted: **Jul 25, 2009, 8:22 AM**

from here: http://www.planphilly.com/node/9425

July 21
By Thomas J. Walsh
For PlanPhilly

Tuesday’s monthly meeting of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission was packed with seemingly significant development proposals, zoning implications and policy. But observers were left wondering what much of it will mean in the long run.

Philly Live, exclamation point, in its latest incarnation, was presented in “information only” mode to the Commissioners, which means it carries no recommendations from the Planning Commission staff.

Gary Block, vice president in charge of Philly Live for Cordish, said the development would be one of the company’s “lifestyle urban entertainment complexes” that have become “kind of our forte.”

He showed renderings of what the gleaming facilities would look like from various angles. Block and an architect showed what was described as “a market-style building that opens up to park-like seating before or after the game.”

Philadelphia is the only city in the country right now with a stadium complex where all four major American sports have home teams. Block said that there is at least one event at the complex more than 300 days a year. “When you talk to prospective tenants, their eyes just bug out of their heads” at that fact, he said.

But as detailed as it seems, the project is far from certain. And aside from a mild request from one Commissioner asking that the developer do what they can to incorporate the Broad Street subway station into the plans, no questions were asked.

Schelter’s list of unasked questions was similar to PlanPhilly’s. Though Block said the company would furnish many more parking spaces than called for in the plan, there was no mention of how parking and traffic at Philly Live would impact parking and traffic during home games for any of the teams.

Other factors which will presumably be made public later:
• The impact on existing infrastructure (specifically, but not limited to, the subway, the surrounding surface streets and interstates 95 and 76)
• Impact on the Navy Yard and port
• Impact on the surrounding neighborhoods (though there was an assurance that neighbors’ “reaction has been fantastic,” there was nobody representing a neighborhood or the South Philly Sports District who testified)
• Details on the 300-room hotel, or if there is a hotel company onboard, or interested
• Any mention at all of eight other buildings mentioned on the agenda for the meeting
• Retailers, and types of retail
• Environmental factors, such as possible remediation, or green buildings

The agenda’s description of the information-only presentation for Philly Live said, “The structures are proposed to be constructed in a fashion which will provide a practical and visual connection between the existing Wachovia Center and Citizens Bank Park. The development will reduce available parking by approximately 700 parking spaces however the proposal will still exceed the required parking for the District.