NEWS FOR FEBRUARY 22

Hi everyone. This week I have some news about downtown and some news about developments that I already mentioned. So, without further ado. (Sorry about the lack of spaces at the headings. I use Google Blogger, which as we can see is complete garbage. I tried everything I could to edit it and it is just not working).

CENTER CITY NEWS:

A few years ago, I passed by the parking lot at 17th & Vine Sts. Not the one where Grasso Holdings wants to build their massive 1601 Vine Street project, but the one in between that lot and the Family Courts building. On the fence was a white zoning notice for a development that included a 22 story residential tower. The notice disappeared a few months later and the project obviously hasn't been happening. A few months ago I read a story in the Business Journal about a company called Klein Company that wanted to build two residential towers in Logan Circle, but didn't elaborate. I tried to find them online, but was unable to. Then recently, I saw a brief story about one of the owners of the company in the paper and they had a web address that I logged onto and found that the zoning notice at 17th & Vine was for one of their projects.

The site showed that the project will have not only a 22 story condo tower, but retail along Vine St., which is long overdue for that neighborhood. The site mentioned how the retail would help make the area more of a neighborhood that would be busy in the evening. It, also, would develop the Parkway into a more complete destination and would make Logan Circle busier. I just hope since it is on the Parkway, the retail wouldn't be too mundane. But, anyway, it sounds exciting! The picture of the project is on the top of the page and their website is http://www.kleindevelops.com/. I don't know where the second tower would be, it wasn't on the site.

NORTH PHILLY NEWS:

In my last post, I talked about the Ludlow and LaPradera developments just east of Temple University. I mentioned that LaPradera, which was built by a local community group Asociacion Puertorriquenos en Marcha, was completed. However, according to the Office of Housing and Community Development newsletter, the OHCD Bulletin, there are plans for a third phase that will eventually bring the total number of homes to 126. I'm not sure where they would have room to build at this point, unless this phase were to be scattered site homes. Anyway, it would continue the virtual rebuilding of that neighborhood into a largely clean and safe mixed income neighborhood.

Also, according to another OHCD Bulletin, redevelopment will be continuing west of Broad Street as well. Just four blocks west of Temple is the affordable Twins at Oxford Commons development. This consists of several dozen new duplex homes with front yards and garages, probably intended mostly for the lower middle class. It is another example of a dramatic redevelopment surrounded by a still blighted neighborhood. The new homes are located north and south of Oxford St. at 19th & 20th Streets. As seen on the map at top, they are about three blocks north of Girard College, just east of Ridge Avenue, and looking east on Oxford St. you see the Pearl Theatre at Avenue North about five blocks down. These new homes are occupied now. Just south of the homes is a huge empty lot where they demolished several homes below Jefferson St. Also, across 20th St. their is a large lot just off of Ridge Avenue. These sites are to be developed next, according to the newsletter, creating a new neighborhood that will be as big as LaPradera. So, the Sharswood neighborhood would also see a lot of redevelopment, enough to create the feeling of a transformed neighborhood their as well. For more info on these projects, you can find the OHCD site at http://www.phila.gov/.


Anyway, that's what I have for now. Have a nice weekend!

NEWS FOR FEBRUARY 13TH

Ludlow homes

La Pradera

courtesy www.phila.gov and Mayor John F. Street

photos courtesy of http://www.phillypictures.com/

Hi, everyone. I hope everyone is having a great middle of the month. This week I have news about North Philly and Center City.

NORTH PHILLY NEWS:

This weekend I did more walking around the city. On Saturday, I walked from University City to the Delaware River waterfront and back and on Sunday I walked from University City to Yeadon and back. Except for a few walks over the bridge to Camden, I never walked outside of the city limits before. Great exercise! While walking around on Saturday, I observed some new things. For one, they've started site preparation for Trump Tower Philadelphia. Now, I'm not a fan of "the Donald", but it's sure to say that his new tower will bring a lot of attention to the waterfront. The design isn't so unusual, especially compared to other Northern Liberties designs, but it is quite tall at 45 stories and will have a five-star restaurant and plenty of other decadent luxury. That along with his name recognition will probably signal to a lot of people, including developers, that the waterfront is finally becoming the upscale destination that people have predicted for some time. Also, the next tower for Waterfront Square is going up next door. As I made my way to Northern Libs, I noticed that the next phase of "The Piazza" at Bart Blatstein's expansive development is well under way. That would finish off that part of the development, which I think is one of the most innovative new developments in the city. It would essentially create a sort of urban artist colony, granted one for wealthier artists and creative businesspeople. But, after all, it is an "urban" artist colony. It could become the downtown for the creative neighborhoods in that part of the city, and who knows how popular it could become for tourists!

Then after I walked around that development, I noticed a zoning notice on an old auto parts warehouse on Germantown Ave., just below Girard. The notice stated that there are plans to convert that building into a farmer's market with fourteen stalls. That clearly would add another happening amenity to that neighborhood. You know, I remember when that area was a desolate ghost town that no one knew about in Center City. Now its bustling with people and is the heart of trendiness!

Then I walked west of there and north of Girard through the neighborhoods that are just east of Temple. This area of the city is being rebuilt with two developments known as La Pradera and Ludlow. Despite what some in the Daily News would say, this is definitely a neighborhood that has been transformed! Most of the abandoned buildings and large empty lots have been replaced by new townhouses and duplexes, mostly with some open space around them. This was once one of the most blighted, poorest, and most dangerous urban areas on the East Coast, now it looks like a post card in the completed areas and a huge construction zone in the unfinished areas. La Pradera is completed, unless they want to expand it, and it is several blocks north of Girard Avenue. The homes there have aluminum shingles and peaked roofs that resemble farm houses. They're all duplexes with little front and back yards and some bricks in the sidewalks out front. Ludlow is just north of Girard and is still being built. These homes are a mix of duplexes and rowhomes with brick and aluminum shingles, as well as peaked roofs. Most are built to the sidewalk and have garages, and they all have back yards. These two developments are right in between the growing Temple campus and the booming neighborhoods of No Libs, Fishtown, and Kensington. Imagine what that will mean for the city if this whole area of the city were safe, clean, and prosperous while still providing decent affordable housing for working class families! For more info on Ludlow, you can get it at www.phila.gov/pha; they play smooth jazz on the site when you view the development!

CENTER CITY NEWS:

There's some interesting Center City news as well. The metro recently reported (and the Business Journal reported a few weeks ago) that the developers at 15th and Chestnut are claiming that they are ready to start building their tower at the parking lot on Chestnut Street this spring. It would be called 1441 Chestnut, at least for now, and would have a 174 room hotel and 174 condos. The top would be redesigned from earlier designs to let more sun into the Residences at the Ritz. The designs I saw of the project from a couple of years ago were truly striking; I hope they stick with that. I checked the website at 1441chestnut.com, but it is still not ready.

Also, I was walking past the site of what is supposed to be the 1601 Vine Street project, and there was a permit for demolition of the parking structure on the lot there, so I think they are finally ready to start that one. The project will have a 40 story condo and hotel tower, and a big shopping center with Wholefoods, Best Buy, and a few other chain stores where even trendy Center City people shop. There's a rendering and more info at http://www.grassoholdings.com/.

Well, that's what I have for now. Until next time, have a great week!

NEWS FOR FEBRUARY 4TH

courtesy of http://www.phillypictures.com/

NORTH PHILLY NEWS:

Walking around the city Saturday took me to North Philadelphia where I observed the neighborhoods west of Temple. I walked down Diamond Street where many of the old Victorian homes are being renovated. Then I walked south and passed by the homes that are being renovated by Bon Jovi (which I can't help but call the "Bon Jovi homes") and the Honickman Learning Center. That area is a significant area of revitalization in one of the poorest areas of the city. Then I walked over to Brewerytown (the development that includes "Brewerytown Square") and saw that they have a big, huge sign that details the next phases of the development. It will definitely be huge! The big lot at Girard Ave. will have a mid-rise apartment building with big windows and retail at Girard extending back to Master St. North of Brewerytown Square (the stacked townhouses already built) will be more townhouses. There's already a chain-link fence there, which might mean that that is the next phase and they're ready to start soon. We'll see. Then, there are plans for townhouses across 31st Street with stone facades and a small brick apartment building at 31st & Master Streets. Also, several old breweries and factories at the north end of the site will be converted to lofts. It will be an impressive development when it's all done. The map can be found at http://www.westrum.com/ and there are signs at each site as well with pictures of each phase. And as I made my way to Trader Joe's, I passed by new townhouses under construction at 24th & Brown Streets. They're traditional looking townhouses in one of the only sites in Fairmount where there is room to build.

WEST PHILLY NEWS:

Here in West Philadelphia, I came home the other evening to see Mantua Hall on 36th Street in the distance lit up like it was on stage. I've known for a while that they are planning to implode it soon and start over with new affordable townhomes at the site and on surrounding blocks, but that surprised me so I walked over to it to investigate. It turns out that they lit it up with flood lights and put a chain-link fence around it as they begin to prepare it for demolition. They were even removing doors that were sitting on the balconies behind the metal grates. Yesterday, I read that the implosion will take place on Sunday, March 30th, which can be found on the city website http://www.phila.gov/pha. It will be quite a sight to see a building that tall coming down! After the rebuilding, Mantua will probably become a much more upscale neighborhood overnight, not just lower middle class but upper middle class as well (like Graduate Hospital). It has a perfect location, Powelton Village and the ever growing universities and Cira Center to the south, Fairmount Park and its new attractions to the north, the rebuilt neighborhoods of Belmont and Mill Creek to the west, and the Parkway and Schuylkill River Park to the east. As if that isn't enough, they're building a new park at 32nd & Powelton which has one of the greatest skyline views in the city, if not the country! Mantua always had potential to become one of the up and coming neighborhoods of the city, but the ill-conceived housing project of Mantua Hall held it back for some time. Now with the development of new, decent quality affordable housing in the neighborhood and development in every direction around it, Mantua will now be on the list of "hot" neighborhoods while still providing decent affordable housing in the catchment area of the School of the Future.

SOUTH PHILLY NEWS:

Speaking of attractive parks in up and coming neighborhoods, I was walking through Queen Village a couple of weekends ago and passed by Jefferson Square Park at 4th & Washington. While it looks nice from a distance, walking through it reveals that it needed some serious renovation, which apparently is now happening. The sidewalks running through it were being torn up in preparation for replacement. I don't know what materials they will be using to replace it (stone, brick, slate, or just concrete), but the replacement of the walkways will be a big improvement. That's another area where there's been serious redevelopment over the years including the Courtyard at Riverview, which replaced the old Southwark project (and I watched it being imploded in 2000), and the Jefferson Square homes built below Washington Ave. Those developments already remade that area, now with an improved Jefferson Square Park that neighborhood could be taken to a new level! It'll be exciting to see the changes.

DOWNTOWN NEWS:

Updating downtown development news, there are several new skyscrapers under construction including, of course, the Comcast Center, the Murano, and the Symphony House, which we've all seen. The Residences at the Ritz are up to the 30th floor & have some glass on them, Ten Rittenhouse is a couple of floors high, and 1706 Rittenhouse on 17th St. is building the underground garage. I had the opportunity to stop at the Brandywine Development office at Cira Center the other day and saw the model for Cira Center South. What a sight! It has two buildings, one about 25 stories on Chestnut St. and one almost 50 stories on Walnut St. The buildings are very sleek and beautiful. The model also shows the streetscape improvements that PennDot is planning to make to the area around 30th St., which includes trees, new lighting, and of course new sidewalks. I hope that they will also cover over the railroad tracks in front of Cira South. You can find a picture of Cira South at http://www.pennconnects.upenn.edu/. And Brandywine is also considering a Cira Two next to the existing building, but no announcements yet. These buildings will give West Philadelphia a new skyline and an improved economy.

CHESTER NEWS:

Even though this is "Philadelphiathrives.com", Chester is still part of our metro area (which is the real breadth of a city) and deserves mentioning here. As you may know, the state is contributing about $47M to help build a soccer stadium on the waterfront in a project that will include offices, apartments, a supermarket and other retail, and even a convention center. Many wonder if this will have much impact on the city, given that the developments on Camden's waterfront have done little to change that city so far. What many people don't realize, however, is that Chester is a much smaller city than Camden, just 40,000 residents or so and about two square miles. So in fact, most of that city lives within a mile of the waterfront. It seems likely that in the next ten years Chester will be a very different city, with more concern about affordable housing than day to day crime. And while some worry about "gentrification", I think this project will be great for those already living in Chester because it creates the opportunity to get out of poverty. You can't fight poverty if all you have is poverty. The stadium itself will be quite a landmark right next to the Commodore Barry Bridge and near I-95. Also, it won't be far from where they're about to build one of those movie studios, so I bet it will be seen in some movies and TV shows at some point.

That's all I have to say right now. I hope you enjoyed my first post for this blog. Feel free to comment or give me any info you have. Thanks!

Gabriel

The pictures at the top are courtesy of http://www.phillypictures.com/. Feel free to log on to them for great pictures of Philadelphia, available framed and as prints.