PHILADELPHIA | The Development Thread VIII

[Muji]

From here.

Condo sellout a Chinatown success story
Just three years after construction began at the Pearl, 90 residential units and 10 commercial suites have been sold.

By Alan J. Heavens

Inquirer Real Estate Writer

Almost 20 years ago, Pan Am Realty owner Julie Wong realized that Chinatown needed fewer vacant lots and more housing.

She set her sights on a parking lot at Ninth and Arch Streets. But the $750,000 price tag was a problem.

"I talked to developers, telling them that we could pay $250,000 now and then $500,000 later, but they wouldn't do it," she recalled.

Wong didn't give up, though. In 2003, she and Parkway Corp. owners Joseph and Robert Zuritsky became partners in developing that lot.

The result is Pearl Condominiums, 90 one- and two-bedroom residential units ranging in price from $220,000 to $440,000 and 10 commercial suites that recently sold out - just three years after the start of construction.

The project's success demonstrates that if market-rate housing is produced in Chinatown, "professional, middle-class Asian Americans will be drawn back into the city," said Paul Levy, executive director of the Center City District. "A 100 percent sellout rate is very rare."

It certainly surprised Rob Zuritsky.

"We were very concerned when the housing market started to soften," Zuritsky said, "but Julie was incredibly effective at selling them [the condos] because she's so tapped into the community and has really good people working for her."

The target market was primarily first-generation Chinese, many of them business owners who had moved to the suburbs because of the shortage of suitable housing.

"Some people have to commute an hour to work every day," Wong said. "I knew they wanted to move back."

The developers knew their market well, said Mark Wade, a veteran agent with Prudential Fox & Roach in Center City, who sells condos in the neighborhoods surrounding Chinatown.

"The Pearl filled a special need," Wade said, "one- and two-bedroom units with a tax abatement and parking, at a price point that has not been too heavily saturated in the Center City condo market."

Convenience to government buildings and easy access to Interstate 676 and the Ben Franklin Bridge certainly helped the relatively quick sellout, he added.

Rob Zuritsky, whose company has developed five million square feet of space over the years, also is a partner of developer Tom Scannapieco in 1706 Rittenhouse, "a different niche market," where units start at $1 million and are selling briskly.

That both projects are doing well is unexpected in this economic climate because, Zuritsky said, "it's not easy being a developer in Philadelphia, and a lot of them have failed over the years."

There's a reason for that, said economist Kevin Gillen: If the city is shrinking and incomes are falling, "the difference between what it costs to build and what you can sell or rent it for is made up with public subsidies.

"The result is that Philadelphia has only two types of new housing: either very nice - but largely unaffordable - housing developed at market rates for the very rich, or very basic - but affordable - housing developed with public subsidies for the poor."

Still, Chinatown has always had an allure of its own. Though there have been stumbling blocks to development over the years, Levy said he could not emphasize enough how important the neighborhood has been to Center City in the past and will be in the future.

"In the 1980s and early 1990s, when the rest of Center City was empty, Chinatown was Philadelphia's 24/7 destination," he said, "because it remained a live/work environment and a regional destination.

"There are few neighborhoods that are simultaneously a regional draw and integrated commercially and residentially," Levy said, contrasting it with South Street, where the two sectors often collide.

Getting developers interested in Chinatown can be a challenge, said Terry Gillen, executive director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, who is working with neighborhood groups to turn city-owned parcels into residential and commercial venues.

"Developers outside the neighborhood don't know how to do it," she said. Chinatown is a major tourist attraction and a regional portal for immigration, "so you need to figure out how to accommodate cultural differences."

Though Chinatown is known primarily for restaurants, other businesses are being added to the mix. The ground floor of the Pearl building reflects that, with law offices, a dry cleaner, and other retail, and First Trust Asian Bank.

In July, the Philadelphia Planning Commission published its plan for the Market Street area, including Chinatown. It recognizes the neighborhood's "latent potential for growth" by providing expansion opportunities toward Franklin Square and north of Vine Street, an area into which Chinatown has been moving for more than 20 years.

Chinatown groups, which have battled the city's government over the Convention Center, the Gallery, a proposed baseball stadium, and casinos, appear encouraged by the change in official attitudes toward the neighborhood.

But housing continues to rank at the top of the list of needs, said John Chin, executive director of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp. - especially housing for low- and moderate-income families. Thirty-eight percent of residents there are at or below the poverty line.

"We have been trying to work with developers for set-asides for affordable housing, and there are some developments on the drawing board now with 10 percent."

The biggest affordable-housing need is among senior citizens, especially first-generation immigrants, who typically held low-paying jobs in the more than 100 businesses and restaurants in Chinatown and don't have much in savings or Social Security benefits.

Though the majority of condo owners at the Pearl are Asian Americans, the condo association president, Steven Liciardello, is not.

Liciardello now works at the Federal Court Building at Sixth and Market Streets. For many years, however, he was a police lieutenant stationed at the Police Administration Building at Eighth and Race Streets.

"I fell in love with the area, so when I saw the sign go up for the Pearl [in 2006], I decided to buy," he said. "I really enjoy the hustle and bustle, and I like being able to walk everywhere."

He moved into his seventh-floor unit in November 2007.

Some of the condos are being rented to Temple University medical students and others, and "when they go up for rent, they go pretty quickly," Liciardello said.

The condo board makes it clear to the students from the start that "this isn't a dormitory, so there are no problems," he said.

Not even with sightseers.

Four verdigris dragons, crafted by Kensington artist Ward Elicker, perch atop steel poles in a parking area next to the Pearl.

"Ever since the dragons went up, we've had lots of tourists photographing them, but that's no problem at all," he said.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by theWatusi

I think the comparison comes into play as both lines have been under consideration with nothing happening for-ev-er

Sounds an awful lot like a certain subway planned under Wilshire...

[acenturi]

Originally Posted by Cro Burnham

Great job Swinefeld. Thanks.

A couple more revisions: ....................

Waldorf Astoria dead - Marketing office was closed almost as soon as it was opened. Lenfest bought out Mahoney because they couldn't agree on a new project concept once it finally became obvious condo/hotel idea wouldn't fly 2 years after the market started diving. Whatever happens next won't be what was last proposed. Right now, I think it should go in the "empty lot" section.......

Actually a 2013 opening still appears on the WA web site.
http://www.waldorfastoria.com/future-openings/index.cfm

[GarCastle]

Go Phillies!

Wow these announcers on ESPN blow. Guess I got spoiled on CSN where they actually talk about the team you are watching instead of minimizing the game and showing other crap lol.

Any news on the SS United States?

[Cro Burnham]

Originally Posted by acenturi

Actually a 2013 opening still appears on the WA web site.
http://www.waldorfastoria.com/future-openings/index.cfm

Waldorf Astoria is not the developer, Lenfest is; but if they remain a part of an eventual project, it won't be the one we have seen pictures of.

[hammersklavier]

Has everybody been reading my blog? I just wrote a new post about Francisville...

[Muji]

The Daskalakis Athletics Center at 33rd and Market continues to take shape:


Unfortunately, Drexel's Integrated Science Building site at 33rd and Chestnut is still a fenced off mound of dirt.

[theWatusi]

Originally Posted by hammersklavier

Has everybody been reading my blog? I just wrote a new post about Francisville...

Interesting stuff about Francisville...not too bad. Don't feel like you have to post something everyday though. Better no new posts than an off topic filler post IMO.

[Swinefeld]

Originally Posted by Cro Burnham

Great job Swinefeld. Thanks.

A couple more revisions:

Curtis Institute expansion site prep / u/c 12 stories?

Le Meridien Hotel rehab u/c

Front Street loft rehab (former Girard Estate wharehouses) u/c

CHOP expansion u/c 11 stories?

Foreign Medical Graduates Accreditation building (38th St) - u/c 10 stories?

Jefferson expension, 9th & Walnut - proposed - 14 stories?

Castleway - dead/mothballed. Castleway the same Irish-bank backed Ireland-based developer who attempted the Chicago Spire but only got as far as digging a $120 million hole in the ground. Spire dead and being litigated; Irish economy and Irish bank finances collapsed = no money backing this project.

Enterprise Heights - dead/mothballed

Waldorf Astoria dead - Marketing office was closed almost as soon as it was opened. Lenfest bought out Mahoney because they couldn't agree on a new project concept once it finally became obvious condo/hotel idea wouldn't fly 2 years after the market started diving. Whatever happens next won't be what was last proposed. Right now, I think it should go in the "empty lot" section.

Marina View & Bridgeview dead - novice developer one of the first to fold when the condo craze peaked.

Rohm & Haas rehab dead - Rohm & Haas was acquired and is shrinking Philly presence. I believe the building is supposed to be put up for sale.

17th & Chancellor dead - a "concept" by World Acquisition Partners, whose lead partner Hardeep Chawla was just sentenced to 30 months for fraud/bribery (apparently older brother Ravinder had been jailed for similar crimes many years ago). These guys are frauds. I might suggest that all WAP projects, such as, River City, which I understand is also caught up in litigation over questionable acquisition financing issues, be considered dead (probably "pre-dead" is a better description as these were never real projects to begin with).

CREI - any unbuilt projects (including 5th & Walnut, Upknot) dead. American Loft was repossessed by the bank. The company went bust and purportedly the Indian principals have skipped the country deeply in hock.

World Trade Center - pre-dead. That picture is so old, so "early 90s", it should probably just be deleted.

Liberty Landing - pre-dead. See above.

1301 Buttonwood - pre-dead

Thanks Cro. Changes made.

Le Méridien Hotel is actual recently completed.
and Foxwoods was moved to proposed. Shouldn't have been put in DEAD, not yet anyway.

[cubanChris]

Originally Posted by Muji

The Daskalakis Athletics Center at 33rd and Market continues to take shape:


Unfortunately, Drexel's Integrated Science Building site at 33rd and Chestnut is still a fenced off mound of dirt.

Wow. That is really going to change the face of campus dramatically... and for the good.

From what I remember reading a rather large bar/restaurant is going in part of that space as well? About time Drexel got a bar on its campus, little life (night & day!) should do great things for that block of Market St.

[phillyscooter]

Disappointed Drexel did not take the opportunity to bridge over Market at that corner...could have made a dragon bridge out of Mario...

[Swinefeld]

Chestnut Hill College plans major expansion
By Susan Snyder
Inquirer Staff Writer

Chestnut Hill College - once a small women-only institution wrestling with a deficit and a shrinking student body - has more than doubled its enrollment since going coed in 2003 and operates well in the black today.

Now, the school is preparing to make another major leap. It is planning a multi-decade, $500 million development project, including 10 new buildings on a 32-acre property known as Sugarloaf, near its 45-acre main campus. The college purchased the property, at Bells Mill Road and Germantown Avenue, across from the Woodmere Museum, from the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation in 2006.

more

[pwp]

College unveils two-campus
by Jennifer Katz
A rendering by SaylorGregg Architects depicts what Chestnut Hill College’s Sugarloaf campus will look like when the school’s new master plan is relaized.




Chestnut Hill College will come before the Development Review Committee of the Chestnut Hill Community Association on Sept. 15 to present its largest undertaking to date: a completed master plan for both of its campuses — the main campus across from Northwestern Stables and its newly acquired campus at Sugarloaf.

The college is seeking a zoning variance from its current R-2 status to an Institutional Development District. The variance request is the first step in a just-completed master plan that would allow the college to increase its enrollment to 1,500 students. There are currently 900 full-time students at the school.

“This is a multi-year, multi-million dollar plan,” said Peter Saylor, a Chestnut Hill resident and principal architect of SaylorGregg Architects, the college’s architectural firm for the project.

The price tag could reach a half-billion dollars, and the fulfillment of the master plan could take more than 25 years. Still, the college is forging ahead with its plans, which include a new student center and underground parking lot on the main campus and the creation of a new campus at the Sugarloaf site that includes more than a half dozen new buildings to house classrooms, dormitories, support services and additional parking.

“The purpose of the master plan is to unify both campuses in a way that fulfills the college’s mission and creates a European city on two hilltops,” said Sr. Carol Jean Vale, president of the college.

Becoming an IDD, a common practice among institutions of higher education (i.e., University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and St. Joseph’s University) benefits the college because it allows for implementation of the master plan without going through the zoning variance process at each turn.

Vale believes it will also benefit the community because the master plan will have to be approved by the CHCA before the college can present it to City Council, which will make the IDD determination.

“The nice thing about this for the community is that Chestnut Hill gets to see what the college will do over the long haul,” Saylor said. “There will not be a surprise every year.”

According to Robert Shusterman, a neighbor known for his role in working with near neighbors of the Woodmere Art Museum to oppose its expansion plan, the college is off to a good start.

“We have a good basis for communication with the college,” he said.

The college organized a meeting with near neighbors last week and will hold another meeting on Sept. 14, the day before the DRC meeting, to unveil its master plan to the larger community.

There is one snag, however, as the college’s plan moves forward. For the college to become an IDD, all of the property to be included in the district must be owned by the same entity. Currently, the Sisters of St. Joseph own the college’s main campus and the college owns the Sugarloaf campus. Saylor said the attorneys are working on this issue and he expected it to be resolved favorably, but he noted that the Sisters have not shown any interest in obtaining the IDD designation.

The college seems committed to working with all of the interested parties, fairly and equally. Shusterman said the college approached him and his neighbors even before purchasing the Sugarloaf campus in July 2006. The college had just begun its master plan process at that time and incorporated the neighbors’ concerns into the final plan.

“The master plan addresses what the college said it would do with the [Sugarloaf] property at that time,” Saylor said.

Neighbors asked the college to preserve the green fields along the perimeter of the site in order to maintain the bucolic scenery from Germantown Avenue. The neighbors are also concerned about traffic.

The master plan calls for the razing of all of the existing buildings except the mansion, which the college is renovating. In place of the existing structures, a new series of buildings will be dispersed along a main path. The parking structures will have green roofs and will be wedged in between the buildings to provide grassy quads for the campus, which will hide the underground parking lots beneath them.

SaylorGregg worked with landscape architectural firm Andropogon to create a green campus that is functional, environmentally sound and in line with the neighbors’ stipulations.

“The peripheral land will be preserved in perpetuity,” Vale said. “It can never be built on.”

Vale said the neighbors concerns were foremost in the college’s thoughts as it proceeded. Of equal importance was to maintain the character of the main campus through the Sugarloaf campus.

“We are trying to replicate the ambiance, character and architectural details,” she said.

The idea of the European town on two hilltops is taken from Le Puy, France, where the Sisters of St. Joseph order was founded in 1650. Vale said it was important to the college to restore the mansion and keep it as part of the Sugarloaf property because of its historic significance.

“Three presidents slept there,” she said.

Shusterman said the neighbors had concerns about traffic. He called the intersection of Bells Mill Road and Germantown Avenue “a failed intersection.” The college’s plan would increase the parking capacity at the site from 145 to 600 cars. The college has a strict policy, however, that prohibits students from moving their cars from one campus to the other.

Freshman and sophomores are not allowed to have cars on campus, and juniors and seniors have assigned parking. Once they are there they may not move. The college has 24-passenger vans that shuttle students back and forth between the campuses.

The master plan would also close off the entrances on Bells Mill Road and limit access at the Germantown Avenue entrance to emergency vehicles. Instead, the college will build a new entrance road off of Germantown at Hillcrest Avnue, creating a four-way intersection at the light.

“Its much safer to add a road at Hillcrest,” Shusterman said. “Many neighbors have seen accidents at the other entrances.”

From the college’s perspective, the benefit to the community of the master plan and the IDD, which will bind the college to its plan, is that everything will be spelled out.

“In the back of everyone’s mind is preservation,” said Ken Hicks, vice president of institutional advancement for the college. “This removes doubt. Without this, in 10-20 years there could be a different relationship between the college and the community. Here you get to see what the future will be — now.”

As proposed, the master plan will probably take many decades to complete, Vale said, and the current administration’s successors will be tied into this plan.

And that may be true, Shusterman said, if the city doesn’t change the zoning code and if the controls in the current zoning code for an IDD really provide for that kind of commitment.

“I would say we are cautiously optimistic,” he said. “We need to see more details, to read the actual wording of the code and see what the controls really are.”

The public will have an opportunity to hear from the college directly at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, at a meeting to be held in the St. Joseph Villa Auditorium, 110 W. Wissahickon Ave., Flourtown. The DRC meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, at Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave.

http://chestnuthilllocal.com/issues/....10/news1.html

This is great news... hopefully it adds to the prestige, status and popularity of the school. I'd love to see another highly ranked institution in the Phila MSA - although 1,500 students is hardly an impressive number.

[pwp]

This was initially a surprise to me but makes sense after reading their reasons why.

25 Best Places to Retire

10 of 25 - Philadelphia - Population: 1,449,600
Percent over 50: 31%
Typical 3-bedroom home: $375,000
State income tax: 3.07%*

The City of Brotherly Love has the same four seasons and northeastern sensibilities as New York, but it is smaller, a bit slower-paced and a whole lot more affordable. Philadelphia's small city blocks make it ideal for pedestrians, and Center City retirees have an array of shopping and dining options within walking distance. Culture abounds at the city's many museums and theaters.

There are an abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities, too. The 28-mile, partially paved Schuylkill River Trail invites bikers to travel along the river from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to Valley Forge National Historic Park. Fairmount Park offers hiking, horseback riding and golfing within the city limits. Philadelphia's location also makes for easy weekend getaways. The city is less than three hours from New York City, Washington, D.C., the New Jersey shore and the Pocono Mountains.

But there's no need to travel for good healthcare. Philadelphia's got several major teaching hospitals that offer stellar services. Among them: Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Temple University Hospital, University of Pennsylvania Hospital and Hahnemann University Hospital.

Pennsylvania doesn't tax retirement income such as pensions. Like many major cities, though, Philadelphia has higher crime rates than many on this list. --B.B.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/...neymag/10.html

[We Got Five]

Retirees? Sure, why not. But I'd rather keep our College talent.

Couple notes from Globest

Is Temple getting overbuilt?

Many have given kudos to the redevelopment effort of North Broad Street by Temple University. What once was considered a blighted community is now marked with new developments funded by a combination of the University and some courageous private developers who have ventured to the area and found great success. Apparently, one of those successful developers, Bart Blatstein of Tower Investments, is cooling on the area. After the recent success of his 1200-bed student housing project, “The Edge," one of the largest private developments in Philadelphia’s history, Blatstein, according to multiple sources, is now looking to sell his parcel and development rights located adjacent to “The Edge” rather than develop the lot himself.

Does Toll Brothers believe the housing slump is over?

According to one source, local residential housing giant Toll Brothers is looking to hire people for land acquisition in the region. This may suggest, that Toll feels the residential housing slump has bottomed out.

A Jackass buys at the Murano.

According to rumors, local West Chester native Bam Margera, star of MTV’s hit series-turned-movie Jackass, has purchased a unit at Center City’s Murano condominiums as a place to crash in Philly when he isn’t in West Chester building skate parks or terrorizing his parents. It is unknown whether Bam participated in the recent condominium auction, or whether he purchased at similar pricing thereafter.

[hammersklavier]

Originally Posted by We Got Five

Is Temple getting overbuilt?

Many have given kudos to the redevelopment effort of North Broad Street by Temple University. What once was considered a blighted community is now marked with new developments funded by a combination of the University and some courageous private developers who have ventured to the area and found great success. Apparently, one of those successful developers, Bart Blatstein of Tower Investments, is cooling on the area. After the recent success of his 1200-bed student housing project, “The Edge," one of the largest private developments in Philadelphia’s history, Blatstein, according to multiple sources, is now looking to sell his parcel and development rights located adjacent to “The Edge” rather than develop the lot himself.

I feel like student housing's profit margins are incredibly low, is why. Temple is stuffed to the friggin gills with incoming freshmen this year, and you know I've been posting here since I was a freshman. Where are they all going to go? There is a significant Temple presence in South Philly and in Uni City, too. And no small amount in Fishtown. But those who stay around campus are the ones most likely to do four and done IMO.

EDIT: Whatever Plan Philly did with their slide shows, the fact that Youtubes appear in front of em is really really frustrating...

[wanderer34]

Somebody needs to tell VZ to move the Progress Plaza from proposed to under construction, because it looks like the supermarket might be finished before the end of this year.

And The Hub on Chestnut St has been completed a loooong time ago!!!

[rricci]

The Hub on Chestnut PHASE II is not complete. It's not even started to the best of my knowledge.

[We Got Five]

Is it me or does every article of late give no "real" information.



Center City now looks to hook retail

By Maria Panaritis

Inquirer Staff Writer

Center City has come a long way since 1992, when Philadelphia was teetering on the verge of bankruptcy: Now, there's a downtown convention center, posh hotels, gleaming new office towers, coveted condo addresses (with the accompanying residents), and a restaurant scene with a major cool factor.

Now, if only it could get a little more - how to put it? - King of Prussia in the shopping department.

Eyeing what has been an elusive goal for the otherwise burgeoning downtown district, local leaders yesterday launched an initiative to market Center City aggressively as a place retailers can no longer afford to overlook.

The Philadelphia Retail Marketing Alliance, led by the Center City District, introduced a plan whose cornerstone is a new Web site, http://philadelphiaretail.com, that includes a database of vacant retail property, the names of corresponding brokers, and information about government incentives available for development.

Backers of the new initiative, in the works since March 2008, hope it gives retail the same kind of urgency that helped tourism, culture, and the culinary world turn Center City into a must-go destination over the last two decades.

"Philadelphia, in many ways, has changed its reputation on the hospitality side, certainly on the residential side, but there hasn't been an organized effort to change its image nationally on the retail side," said Paul R. Levy, president and chief executive officer of the Center City District.

CCD took the wraps off the initiative at the Convention Center yesterday, at the annual two-day regional gathering sponsored by the International Council of Shopping Centers.

"Philadelphia is open for business, and we are ready for you," Mayor Nutter told about 300 real estate lawyers, developers, investors, and retailers.

"Everyone knows that we've been going through the toughest economic time quite possibly since the Great Depression," Nutter said. It's a particularly difficult time for Philadelphia, the mayor added, as it tries to avert "devastating action" while mired in a state budget deadlock that has choked off much-needed revenue.

And yet, Nutter said, Center City's housing market remains strong and continues to grow, two new hotels will soon open, and the Convention Center will be twice its current size once an expansion is completed in 2011.

Still, it may take more than a snappy sales pitch to change the way retailers view Center City.

Levy said national retailers had an "outdated image" of Center City and failed to recognize the population density and high-income customer base it has developed in recent years.

But retail experts and retailers see real obstacles that do not exist in the suburbs, where retail expansion reached unprecedented heights before the lending markets crashed. Parking is scarce and expensive, asking rents are high, and storefront ownership is fractious, with many landlords to contend with.

By Levy's count, there are 2,500 to 3,000 separate owners of retail parcels in Center City.

Roy Perez-Daple, senior real estate manager in charge of selecting new sites in the region for the Lowe's Cos. Inc. home-improvement chain, said that downtown Philadelphia was an attractive market, but that the economics were not yet ideal.

A landlord may own 10 shops totaling 100,000 square feet, he said. That owner can collect $75 per square foot, per shop, and make a lot of money, rather than offering the entire space at the lower prices retailers such as Lowe's pay in the suburbs.

"I'm not going to pay that," Perez-Daple said. Lowe's has opened three stores on large tracts in the city: on the Delaware River, at Center City's edge; in West Philadelphia; and in Northeast Philadelphia, with a fourth location coming to Port Richmond, also along the river.

Agreeing with his analysis was retail broker Steven H. Gartner, president of Metro Commercial Real Estate Inc. and regional director of the shopping center trade group holding its annual deal-making summit this week.

"You get a lot more money selling pieces of bread instead of a loaf," Gartner said, "and he's a loaf."

Plus, Philadelphia has a 7 percent sales tax, soon to be 8 percent when the budget impasse ends, which has made it less competitive with the suburbs, said Jonathan D. Miniman, vice president and senior analyst for ING Clarion Real Estate Securities L.P., of Wayne.

"The economics have to work for the retailer," said Miniman, who analyzes the retail market. He added that parking hassles in Center City, where shoppers notoriously fret about being ticketed or towed or paying hefty fees for lots, are also concerns for retailers.

Center City boosters, however, said the economics were increasingly in retailers' favor.

A report issued by CCD says 66 percent of the 54,096 people living in the immediate Center City area (Vine Street to Pine Street, the Delaware River to the Schuylkill) have bachelor's degrees and average household incomes of $74,317.

Expand that area to Tasker Avenue and Girard Avenue, the report says, and there are 159,325 people with average household incomes of $63,547, while 45 percent of residents have bachelor's degrees.

Those demographics have created huge demand for restaurants, but not for other retail ventures.

The number of restaurants and take-out stores increased 4 percent over the last year and 29 percent since 2005. Yet there was a small drop in apparel, shoe, and accessory stores last year, despite the arrivals of Juicy Couture, True Religion Brand Jeans, and other high-end stores.

Prominent Walnut and Chestnut Streets have high-profile vacancies and landlords so far unwilling to reduce rents. But Levy said overall vacancies were up only a half-percentage point, further evidence that Center City has staying power.

[wanderer34]

I don't know why a retailer like Lowe's would want to open shop in CC, since the closest one is in South Phila. But an Apple Store would be most likely, as well as the upcoming North Face store on Walnut St.