PHILADELPHIA | The Development Thread VIII

[hammersklavier]

Originally Posted by rricci

Wait, so does that mean they aren't doing anything with the Granary building? The original proposal called for refitting the Granary building into a mixed use purpose, and building a residential tower next to it. The LSNA fought the tower out of the plans so as not to impact the views of neighbors. Personally I would rather see a tower than this low-rise suburban looking thing. It reminds me of Northern Virginia. Anyway, what gives with the existing building? Does anyone know?

1) Actually the ISA proposal called for grafting a modernist extension on top of the existing Granary building. This didn't go over well not just because certain people are fond of the existing Granary, but also because because the Granary had a ginormous parking lot covering most of its site that many commentators (myself included) suggested ought to be developed before playing with a high-rise on the existing structure.

It's too bad the ISA debacle killed their chances at historical architecture in this city, though. It was a pretty good-looking proposal, just not the right proposal at the right time.

2) Large midrise structures like that are among the most urban building types available. Saying otherwise is certifiably insane.

[bucks native]

WALL STREET JOURNAL

EVEN IN THE most historically significant of cities, the past can get a little…well, old. Despite being the home of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, Philadelphia is managing to avoid that fusty, dusty state. Over the past several years, in fact, an influx of creative energy has transformed this town into an art-centric, food-focused metropolis. Even that antique bell has a glossy new home that infuses Philly's colonial past with some 21st-century cool.

all here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj

[Ninjawho]

Originally Posted by bucks native

WALL STREET JOURNAL

EVEN IN THE most historically significant of cities, the past can get a little…well, old. Despite being the home of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, Philadelphia is managing to avoid that fusty, dusty state. Over the past several years, in fact, an influx of creative energy has transformed this town into an art-centric, food-focused metropolis. Even that antique bell has a glossy new home that infuses Philly's colonial past with some 21st-century cool.

all here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj

This is pretty awesome...although I'm a little disapointed in Morimotos. I get the feeling he doesnt live here and his PA copied it out of a guide book.

Still good stuff and happy to see Pafa get some love.

[GarCastle]

200,000 SF being added to the recently built Perelman and TRC buildings. This may also free up more space in Penn Tower so that building can eventually be removed for the "big" project down the road.

Cheers,
G.

Continuing to Improve the Patient Experience
In the original architectural plans for the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, future growth was a key component. Shortly after the Perelman Center opened in 2008, the expansion began, with the building of the ‘west tower,’ better known today as the Translational Research Center. Now, construction has begun on the next project: the South Pavilion Extension.

Located at the back of the Perelman Center, the South Pavilion will rise five floors above the loading dock, adding 200,000 square feet. When it is completed in early 2014, nearly all outpatient practices now remaining at HUP will be relocated in the Center. “Moving most of our outpatient practices into Perelman will not only improve the patient experience but also help us increase our outpatient services,” said Garry Scheib, HUP’s executive director.
The South Pavilion will maintain the architectural continuity of the Perelman Center, wrapping around to the TRC, much as the TRC wraps around to the front. Inside, it will appear seamless as well. “You won’t know you’re entering another building.” said Stephen Greulich, senior project manager of Real Estate, Design & Construction.

The addition will provide a comfortable and easy-to-navigate environment for patients and families. It will incorporate many of the Center’s original features -– such as shared support spaces between the clinical modules -– but “fine-tuned and improved, using data and feedback from user groups within the Center as well as from the TRC,” Greulich said.

Each of the approximately 180 exam rooms will be a spacious 110 square feet, with ample room for family members. Consultation rooms will bring health-care providers directly to patients, eliminating the need to visit different offices around the medical campus. “There will also be comfortable waiting areas, computers and/or kiosks for check-in and access to mypennhealth.org, as well as easy-to-follow signs to guide patients to the right location.” Free wireless Internet access will be available throughout the South Pavilion.

[summersm343]

I like the sound of this. Why have there been no renders for it?

[Aaamazarite]

Originally Posted by summersm343

I like the sound of this. Why have there been no renders for it?

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Aaamazarite

disappointing.

On a brighter note. One step closer to addressing the vacant lot problem in the city.
http://planphilly.com/citys-front-door-cracks-open


Also, here is an article by Hidden City on the new Temple U library.
http://hiddencityphila.org/2012/05/t...moves-forward/

[Jelly Roll]

Originally Posted by summersm343

disappointing.

On a brighter note. One step closer to addressing the vacant lot problem in the city.
http://planphilly.com/citys-front-door-cracks-open

That is awesome!

[DIESELPOLO]

I gave up on the Perelman building in my early 20s...

[bryson662001]

Originally Posted by DIESELPOLO

I gave up on the Perelman building in my early 20s...

Don't give up on it. It saved my life......literally. (Stage 3 Melanoma)
I hate to see the Penn tower go however. It is such a classic example of a brutalist highrise with a great composition. IMO. Why do people have to be such fashion victims?

[PhiLaw]

Originally Posted by bryson662001

Don't give up on it. It saved my life......literally. (Stage 3 Melanoma)
I hate to see the Penn tower go however. It is such a classic example of a brutalist highrise with a great composition. IMO. Why do people have to be such fashion victims?

The building didnt save your life: the doctors, nurses, big pharma and most likely your family saved your life.

PS. Glad you're still with us!

[Phillywatcher]

Does anyone have an update how how plans for the Westview Plaza in Mantua are going? It was posted a while back and Aquinas Realty still says Sping 2012 ground breaking.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Phillywatcher

Does anyone have an update how how plans for the Westview Plaza in Mantua are going? It was posted a while back and Aquinas Realty still says Sping 2012 ground breaking.

http://nakedphilly.com/university-ci...tacles-remain/

[GarCastle]

Originally Posted by summersm343

disappointing.

Yeah, it's just a tad underwhelming LOL. Not sure what the idea is. We NEED that back "tower" (more like a stub) to have enough room in it so that we can empty out Penn Tower of the remaining floors. I suppose if they move the remaining outpatient services/offices out of the hodge-podge HUP buildings, then they could move the Penn Tower folks over to HUP but there are sizeable MRI magnets, etc in Penn Tower too.

By the sounds of HUP v2.0 with its 1200 beds, it is going to be massive on the remaining "leg" of Perelman so why build such a low-rise on the back of it? It's almost like someone still wants their view or something LOL. Maybe the Penn execs gave the UPHS execs a NIMBY ultimatum about their view of center city from campus, who knows. Maybe if my CIO is around tomorrow, I'll pick his brain and see what he knows. :^)

Cheers,
G.

[GarCastle]

Hmm, maybe they plan on building new Radiology scanners/magnets in that low-rise's basements. Maybe I'll pester radiology folks too, they may know something more. :^)

[summersm343]

Thanks Gar... let us know what is going on.

[Ninjawho]

Sorry bryson...

[EastSideHBG]

Posted: Sun, May. 27, 2012, 3:00 AM
Planning new life for the ‘Lower Schuylkill’

By Linda Loyd
IN­QUIR­ER STAFF WRIT­ER

Phila­del­phians are fa­mil­iar with the pic­tur­esque Schuylkill River Trail, and, farther south, the grit­ty stor­age tanks at Su­no­co’s Phila­del­phia re­fin­ery. But there’s a vast stretch of the Schuylkill that many peo­ple drive past, but few ac­tu­al­ly see.

The city says that six miles along the riv­er’s banks, from University City to Phila­del­phia International Airport, is prime for com­mer­cial de­vel­op­ment and accounts for 68 per­cent of Phila­del­phia’s un­der­u­til­ized and va­cant in­dus­tri­al land.

It’s home to refineries, utilities, freight rail, scrap yards, and remnants of industries that grew up on rail lines that passed through the area.

This "Low­er Schuylkill" is the last un­planned tract in the city, said Alan Green­berg­er, dep­u­ty mayor for eco­nom­ic de­vel­op­ment. "In a city that’s out of land, but for this, we should be thinking long and hard about what we see happening there."

The City Planning Commission, Commerce Department, and Phila­del­phia Industrial Development Corp. are fi­nal­iz­ing a Low­er Schuylkill mas­ter plan to trans­form the 4,100 acres into an­oth­er Route 202 cor­ri­dor — a hub for businesses, tech­nol­o­gy start-ups, in­dus­try, and re­search spun out of near­by universities and med­i­cal schools.

The goal is to cre­ate jobs that were lost when companies including U.S. Gyp­sum, National Heat & Power, M.A. Brud­er & Sons (MAB paints), DuPont Co. Mar­shall Lab­o­ra­to­ry, and Brey­ers Ice Cream Co. downsized, relocated, or closed.

They left be­hind emp­ty buildings and large parcels from the 34th Street Bridge and Grays Ferry Avenue to the air­port and the Navy Yard.

The mas­ter plan for the Low­er Schuylkill, which will be re­leased this fall, envisions new city streets, an ex­ten­sion of the Schuylkill River Trail to the west bank, and con­struc­tion of a pe­des­tri­an walk­way across an old Conrail bridge.

One goal will be to link the campuses of the University of Penn­syl­van­ia, Drex­el University, Children’s Hospital, and the University of the Sciences south to Bar­tram’s Garden, part of the Fairmount Park sys­tem, and be­yond.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/busines...#ixzz1w4egHWB5

[Pennsgrant]

Originally Posted by EastSideHBG

One goal will be to link the campuses of the University of Penn­syl­van­ia, Drex­el University, Children’s Hospital, and the University of the Sciences south to Bar­tram’s Garden, part of the Fairmount Park sys­tem, and be­yond.

Wouldnt it have made more sense for the Phillies ball park to be at 30th + Walnut where 45,000 people could patronize the restaurants and bars of Center City/University City while enjoying the ambience of downtown baseball?

Then Penn could have used their Billions on expanding and gentrifying the post industrial areas this article talks about.


This underutilized penn park at such a crucial location in the city just blows me away. That land would be gold in NYC,Chi,Tor, or SF, here in Philly its a preppie playground.

[Cro Burnham]

Originally Posted by Pennsgrant

Wouldnt it have made more sense for the Phillies ball park to be at 30th + Walnut . . . That land would be gold in NYC,Chi,Tor, or SF, here in Philly its a preppie playground.

One more corpse for your stable of abused dead horses.

This isn't NYC,Chi,Tor, or SF. Have you noticed that there is a good deal of vacant, underutilized property nearby, indicating low demand and limited commercial viability for it?

But most would probably agree with you that a high density use is more appropriate over the long-run. Apparently there's no demand for it now, though. I'm sure the park is a long-term placeholder for higher density development at some point in the future. But it's a long way off. In the meantime, a park is better than what was there before. Unless the NIMBYs begin to feel entitled to it (likely).

Regardless, a stadium would have been an awful use. Places like Cleveland and Baltimore, with little or no native downtown life to speak of, need stadiums downtown. They need anything they can get. Philly doesn't need that. Better to let drunken lunkhead sports bar patrons to wreak havoc and pay loads of city taxes in a no-man's land where they cause limited damage and cheesification to the environment. They should have built the casinos along with XfinityLive by the S. Philly stadiums as well, and that would have been the perfect revenue collection machine for Philly to snag the suburban money without having to deal with the drunks, cars, garages, bar brawlers, low-end chain restaurants, and general classless behavior.

As an aside, I suppose a stadium would only have worked for you if it could have been the world's first 70-story sports venue? How would that have worked, I wonder.