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Old 03-17-2017, 03:41 PM
 
Location: Philadelphia, PA
8,700 posts, read 14,610,841 times
Reputation: 3663

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Ben Franklin Technology Partners hits biggest year yet for investments amid regional growth

Quote:
The success of the seed stage investment fund and economic development nonprofit is a good sign.

Lightning struck for Ben Franklin this year.

The nonprofit seed fund and economic development organization Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania posted its highest numbers yet when it released its 2016 investment figures this week. In total, it's approved $10.6 million in seed funding for 52 companies over the course of the last calendar year. The figures aren't just a sign the public-private partnership itself is making gains, leaders say, but that demand and opportunity in the regional ecosystem is also on the rise.

“It’s our biggest year yet, both in dollars committed and number of deals; but that is a statement as much about the depth and quality of opportunity in Greater Philadelphia as it is our increasing ability to support it,” RoseAnn Rosenthal, president and CEO of the statewide public-private partnership’s southeastern operation, said in a statement. “Our portfolio companies are scaling, and so are we.”

In 2016, Ben Franklin approved 27 deals in the information technology sector that totaled $4 million, followed by 13 deals in the health industry for $3.2 million. Investments in the growing digital health sector totaled $1.9 million in nine deals, and the physical sciences received $1.5 million in four deals.

The investments are spread across the region, with 28 in Philadelphia county, 11 in Montgomery County, eight in Delaware County, five in Chester County and one in Bucks County.
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelp...d-2016-vc.html
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Old 03-18-2017, 02:30 AM
 
Location: Germantown, Philadelphia
13,956 posts, read 8,816,997 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by wpipkins2 View Post
Pittsburgh's Walnut Street is located in Shadyside. Shadyside is east of Oakland and is in the heart of the East End. Stores include Apple, Banana Republic, Coach, American Apparel, J Crew, Gap, See Eye Boutique (New and very very nice!! This store replaced White House Black Market). Shadysides Walnut and Ellsworth Ave had more upscale local stores than national chains.
That gives me a useful reference point - and an insight into why the Golden Triangle dies after dark.

It seems that Pittsburgh's main shopping and entertainment districts lie outside the Triangle now. Station Square (is it still a happening place? I thought I read something not too long ago about problems with crime there; please correct me if I'm wrong) is across the Allegheny from the Triangle, and Shadyside well away from it. (RightonWalnut: From a political-geography standpoint, I'd say that Philadelphia's answer to Shadyside is Chestnut Hill. It also has a fair number of local boutiques and restaurants. Maybe you saw the wet kiss I threw it last summer?)

That means that some of the things that provide after-work activity in Center City don't exist, or don't exist in sufficient quantity, in the Triangle. But the biggest thing missing from the Triangle that would change that picture is residents.

IIRC, the universities are in Oakland, right? That would make Pittsburgh's East End its Chestnut Hill and its University City rolled into one.

Quote:
Originally Posted by speagles84 View Post
Why are you bragging about Philadelphia finally having more jobs than Allegheny County? It has nearly 400,000 more people it should have all along! I'm not trying to bring Philadelphia down, but be realistic. It's catching up to where it SHOULD be not speeding ahead.
Absolutely! A stat the Center City District loves to repeat is that while Boston, New York and Washington have all returned to their 1975 levels of employment in the years since the Great Recession, Philadelphia remains well below that level. Our recent reversal of fortune in the job-growth department is built on top of that depleted base.

Quote:
Originally Posted by RightonWalnut View Post
Great article about the resurgence of the Tacony neighborhood in Northeast Philly
The death and life of Philadelphia's 'middle neighborhoods'
Would it surprise you to know that Inga Saffron (The Philadelphia Inquirer's architecture critic and winner of the paper's 20th Pulitzer Prize in 2015) and I are acquainted?

We've both agreed we need to hang out together once the weather gets better at the Sawtown Tavern - whose owners I know as well. Troy Everwine, who runs the establishment with his life partner Charles Tyson, worked in the same office I did at Penn from 1999 until I left in 2004. Mike "Scoats" Scotese has his hands full with his two other establishments, The Grey Lodge Public House in Mayfair ("giving Northeast haters one less reason to hate the Northeast since 1999") and the Hop Angel Brauhaus in Fox Chase, so he's never at the Sawtown.

Should you ever have the occasion to visit Tacony, you should drop by. It's a cool neighborhood bar.
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Old 03-18-2017, 10:36 AM
 
Location: Philadelphia, PA
8,700 posts, read 14,610,841 times
Reputation: 3663
Working quietly, N.Y. group moves to develop massive new North Philly enclave

Working quietly, N.Y. group moves to develop massive new North Philly enclave
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Old 03-18-2017, 11:14 AM
 
Location: Washington County, PA
4,240 posts, read 4,885,061 times
Reputation: 2859
Quote:
Originally Posted by RightonWalnut View Post
You're looking at outdated information sir. Those numbers are from 2013. Check the 2015 numbers:

Philadelphia - $41,233
Pittsburgh - $41,293

http://www.city-data.com/city/Philad...nsylvania.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Pittsb...nsylvania.html

They're practically neck and neck. Philadelphia is increasing at about $1,490 per year. Pittsburgh is increasing by $578 per year. Should the current rate increases continue, Philadelphia will surpass Pittsburgh in Median Household Income when the 2016 numbers are released. Philadelphia should be $42,723, and Pittsburgh should be $41,871. Again, this is nothing to brag about, and Philadelphia's MHI SHOULD be higher as it is a larger and wealthier metropolitan area, and the cost of living is higher in Philadelphia as you pointed out.
So the census Bureau is wrong? Woof. So if were taking 3rd party sources over government sources should we believe Blackbeauty over the BLS then?

Whatever dude.
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Old 03-18-2017, 11:29 AM
 
Location: Philadelphia, PA
8,700 posts, read 14,610,841 times
Reputation: 3663
Quote:
Originally Posted by speagles84 View Post
So the census Bureau is wrong? Woof. So if were taking 3rd party sources over government sources should we believe Blackbeauty over the BLS then?

Whatever dude.
Actually, yes it is. They have not updated the numbers to 2015 yet for whatever reason, it's still the 2013 number. The MHI in Philadelphia in 2014 rose to $39,043 and rose to $41,233 in 2015.

Philadelphia Household Income Increasing, New Census Data Shows - Roxborough, PA Patch
Despite Income Gains, Poverty Unchanged in Philly | Coalition Against Hunger
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Old 03-18-2017, 12:19 PM
 
Location: Philadelphia, PA
8,700 posts, read 14,610,841 times
Reputation: 3663
New 17-story residential building proposed in Walnut Hill, West Philadelphia
This is one of the last neighborhoods bordering University City to gentrify, along with West Powelton. Some serious investment and development coming to this area:

Who Needs a Clean Car? Let's Get More Apartments on Chestnut Street | Naked Philly
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Old 03-18-2017, 07:04 PM
 
Location: The canyon (with my pistols and knife)
14,169 posts, read 22,590,072 times
Reputation: 17328
No idea what Blackbeauty212's problem is with Philadelphia. It's not New York, but she makes it sound like Camden.
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Old 03-19-2017, 08:11 AM
 
Location: Center City
7,528 posts, read 10,191,166 times
Reputation: 11018
Quote:
Originally Posted by Craziaskowboi View Post
No idea what Blackbeauty212's problem is with Philadelphia. It's not New York, but she makes it sound like Camden.
I'd report her for trolling, but her posts are usually guaranteed for a good laugh.
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Old 03-19-2017, 09:34 AM
 
4,173 posts, read 2,916,132 times
Reputation: 3067
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarketStEl View Post
That gives me a useful reference point - and an insight into why the Golden Triangle dies after dark.

Pittsburgh does not die after dark. Those days are over. Pittsburgh has reached the a critical mass wgen it comes to downtown residents. New residents coupled with the new hotels concentrated in a small area has improved downtown nightlife. Penn Avenue, the Cultural District and Market Square stays active well into the evening.

It seems that Pittsburgh's main shopping and entertainment districts lie outside the Triangle now. Station Square (is it still a happening place? I thought I read something not too long ago about problems with crime there; please correct me if I'm wrong) is across the Allegheny from the Triangle, and Shadyside well away from it. (RightonWalnut: From a political-geography standpoint, I'd say that Philadelphia's answer to Shadyside is Chestnut Hill. It also has a fair number of local boutiques and restaurants. Maybe you saw the wet kiss I threw it last summer?)

Station Square was never a Pittsburgh go to place. Station Square is a tourist trap still trying to reach its full potential. The Just Ducky and Gateway Clipper Boat tours
Are an asset to the area. The new Highmark soccer stadium expanded the footprint of the complex as well.

There has never been a crime problem in Station Square. Never ever. There were incidents after hours associated with the adjacent night clubs. The night clubs and restaurant spaces were demolished for riverfront apartment blocks.

That means that some of the things that provide after-work activity in Center City don't exist, or don't exist in sufficient quantity, in the Triangle. But the biggest thing missing from the Triangle that would change that picture is residents.

Afterwork activity goes on throughout Pittsburgh neighborhoods. If you google the business districts of Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Garfield, Shadyside, East Liberty, Squirrel Hill, and Regent Square you will have a better understanding. All of the communities listed are connected and offer city life amenities outside of downtown Pittsburgh.

IIRC, the universities are in Oakland, right? That would make Pittsburgh's East End its Chestnut Hill and its University City rolled into one.

No. Chatham University borders Shadyside and Squirrel Hill. CMU borders Squirrel Hill and Oakland. Pitt dominates Oakland with Carlow University on the western edge of Oakland. Duquesne University is located in Uptown with Point Park University and the Art Institute in downtown proper. There are quite a few business schools in downtown as well. CCAC (community college) is located on the Northside but is a 5 minute train ride from downtown. All of the schools form a chain and are in close proximity to one another.



Absolutely! A stat the Center City District loves to repeat is that while Boston, New York and Washington have all returned to their 1975 levels of employment in the years since the Great Recession, Philadelphia remains well below that level. Our recent reversal of fortune in the job-growth department is built on top of that depleted base.



Would it surprise you to know that Inga Saffron (The Philadelphia Inquirer's architecture critic and winner of the paper's 20th Pulitzer Prize in 2015) and I are acquainted?

We've both agreed we need to hang out together once the weather gets better at the Sawtown Tavern - whose owners I know as well. Troy Everwine, who runs the establishment with his life partner Charles Tyson, worked in the same office I did at Penn from 1999 until I left in 2004. Mike "Scoats" Scotese has his hands full with his two other establishments, The Grey Lodge Public House in Mayfair ("giving Northeast haters one less reason to hate the Northeast since 1999") and the Hop Angel Brauhaus in Fox Chase, so he's never at the Sawtown.

Should you ever have the occasion to visit Tacony, you should drop by. It's a cool neighborhood bar.
Responses added above.
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Old 03-19-2017, 12:19 PM
 
Location: Germantown, Philadelphia
13,956 posts, read 8,816,997 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by wpipkins2 View Post
Responses added above.
Thank you, and I'll simply respond by saying that it seems to me that the gradual emergence of an 18-hour Golden Triangle is of relatively recent origin.

The reason why: a visit I made to Pittsburgh in 2010, when I was helping a friend move from Green Tree to Silver Spring, Md. (I had helped the same friend move from Philadelphia to Green Tree earlier that year; that trip was my introduction to that eye-popping entrance to downtown Pittsburgh from the Fort Pitt Tunnel. We Philadelphians get shortchanged by comparison with the entrance to downtown via the Parkway East, where the road emerges from the Squirrel Hill Tunnel then goes around the side of a hill to reveal the Triangle.)

I did take a walk around downtown around 9 p.m., after I'd gotten settled in in Green Tree, and it seemed to me that the streets were fairly deserted around places like Heinz Hall. By contrast, even if there were nothing at the Kimmel Center or the Academy of Music, I'd see people out and about on Broad, Locust, Spruce and Walnut streets at that hour.

Now, maybe I was just in the wrong location, but that was my impression.
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