Has Philadelphia turned around? (Franklin Park, Franklin: real estate, condominium, crime)

[jawny08]

It looks like after years of pop loss Philly has gained people over the past year. I was watching GMA last week and they had a segment that showed plans for a huge riverfront revitalization w/ condos and parks.

I live in NY but would probably consider Philly to my 2nd city of choice to live. I have thoughts of moving there once I have money to buy a condo in order to save money.

Has Philly turned a corner? Are people now moving back within city limits? Are there a lot of downtown living choices? How does Philly living compare to NY living?

Any input would be appreciated.

[orrmobl]

Yes to most of your questions. But the crime is still really bad in the bad sections and you definitely can encounter random acts of violence. The schools are generally atrocious but the hipsters are buying up the rundown areas with good proximity (Northern Liberties, Fishtown) and the baby boomers are selling their large suburan homes and moving back to Rittenhouse Square and the like to live the life they've been missing out on.

There are also plenty of young families in the middle areas, but I know a lot of people go private or parochial school or get into the lottery hell to get their kids into a good public school. But honestly that effort isn't worth it.

NYC operates 24 hours a day; Philly mostly closes at midnight during the week and 2 AM on the weekends. Other than that, the proximity to the beach, country, mountains, and the I-95 corridor make Philly a pretty great place to live.

[jawny08]

I thought more people would be eager to claim that Philly has turned around.

Anyway, I don't want kids so schools aren't an issue. I guess I was wondering if anyone knew more about the river front project that would build a lot of condos, parks, etc... along the river?

[gfspeople]

Yes, Philadelphia has turned around very well in the past years. There are in fact many new projects on the river front despite the recession. This is because Philadelphia has not suffered from the recession as most large cities have, because the houses and condos are under priced for a city of such size. Some projects that are happening on the river front like the five water front square buildings being built right now (Waterfront Square Condominium and Spa | Philadelphia Condos | Center City Real Estate). There might be a trump tower that will be very high end and on the river. Along with the buildings there is going to be a very long bike trail and a few new parks on the river front as well. As for casinos, I do not think that casinos will be built there, but most likely near the airport or in the downtown mall, the Gallery. Here are some more listings of river front projects that might be built and are all ready being built:
Trump Tower (Trump Tower Philadelphia)
Pier 40 north
101 sky
1101 north delaware (still in philadelphia)
Bridgepoint
Three different cira centres
Marina view towers
Water front squares
World Trade Squares
Penn Treaty Tower
Liberty Landing (3-5 buildings)
Pier 34 South (http://www.ensemblehealthcare.com/up...erspective.JPG)

[gfspeople]

Move to Philadelphia, it is a great city! Have you heard of the American Commerce Center? It will be bigger than the empire state building and the world trade centers (when they were still up). It will be built, and it will be in Philadelphia. It will be 1510' tall!

[rickford]

jawny,

I am new to the city, but my impression is that Philly has certainly turned a corner. As another member has already stated- I have talked to quite a few suburan families that have recently relocated to the city. Although Philly's over all population may be relatively stagnant, I think center city's population has grown over the past 10 years. Most long term residents would agree, I think, that center city has become more 'glitzy' and fashionable as more and more wealth has come in. As far as crime goes, Center city is probably in line with Manhattan.

I'm sure other Philly residents know more about the water-front properties than me... but I'll give it a shot.

The Delaware River watefront:

Interstate 95 pretty much isolates the condos on the Delaware waterfront from the rest of the city. (Damn shame!) There are some there, however, but nothing amazing in my opnion. The Society Hill towers are very nice and may have good views of the city but are not actually on the waterfront. There is one complex on the river that resembles a large boat. Many of the units appear to have balconies. Again, its seperated by 95 form the rest of the city.

Up river a bit, there is a new development called Waterfront Square. Waterfront Square Condominium and Spa | Philadelphia Condos | Center City Real Estate 2 of the 5 structures are finished- a third is nearing completion. There is climbing gym at the base of the towers as well as the recently relocated Yards Brewery. The Spring Garden SEPTA station is a 5- 10 minute walk away.

This area is still rustic but there are some nice places near by. I once saw plans for a massive condo/community project for this area. It even included a 1200 foot mixed use skyscaper! It has since fallen through but will likely be revived at some point in the future (minus the skyscraper perhaps).

The Skukhill River:

This river is more narrow- but has far better condo opportunities, in my opnion. There are some really nice places there- and more to come.

The Murano is close by: Murano Philadelphia Condominium!

This building is coming soon and is amazing!: Mandeville Place: Philadelphia, Richard Meier: Home It reminds me of the new 'Epic' condo in Mid town Manhatten.

At one time, there were big plans for this area- but I think they have pretty much fallen through. phillyskyline.com | yo

Nevertheless, there is no doubt that individual developers will continue to build remarkable buildings along the Skukhill. Unlike the Delaware waterfront, the Skukhill (east side) is not divided from Center City by a giant interstate. The west side has the Skukhill expressway though... Although many of the places along the Skukhill aren't cheap- if you're selling property in NYC- they should be quite affordable (and perhaps good investment opportunities)!

[gfspeople]

rick ford got it all right, I said mostly the same things too

[MichaelinMaryland]

Originally Posted by jawny08

It looks like after years of pop loss Philly has gained people over the past year. I was watching GMA last week and they had a segment that showed plans for a huge riverfront revitalization w/ condos and parks.

I live in NY but would probably consider Philly to my 2nd city of choice to live. I have thoughts of moving there once I have money to buy a condo in order to save money.

Has Philly turned a corner? Are people now moving back within city limits? Are there a lot of downtown living choices? How does Philly living compare to NY living?

Any input would be appreciated.

I met these really nice people who live on South and 4th. The nighttime population is really awesome! Pat's and Geno's is always populated

[frankgn87]

not in the NE. Its getting worse..

[kyle19125]

Apparently the "outside world" hasn't figured out that Center City has turned a corner. We're the 5th largest city in the US and have the 3rd most populated downtown, behind only NYC and Chicago.
We have one department store (Macy's), which finally buckled after a year long blitz of public pressure to install a Housewares Department because prior it was only clothing/shoes. We have just one unified high end shopping area (a whole 4 blocks), Walnut Street between Broad and 18th Street. Otherwise low-to-mid end "urban" choices along Market and Chestnut. Our waterfronts are a joke. Overgrown weeds, chainlink/concrete/barbed wire on both rivers. Blowhard activists are blocking/trying to block development of an empty brownfield into a casino which will bring jobs/tax revenue to the city. The argument is that'll bring crime and a gambling problem. Umm, isn't that already an issue?
Lastly, name a supermarket in CC that has opened within the past few years? Trader Joe's begrudgingly opened at 22nd and Market in a teeny space a few years back. It's in their top 10 revenue-producing stores and it doesn't sell beer/wine like their others do. Otherwise we have 2 Wholefoods on the periphery of CC, a gross SuperFresh a black away from one of the WholeFoods at 11th and South, and a very small, less gross SuperFresh at 5th and Spruce. Otherwise from the Ben Franklin Parkway to Delaware Avenue, and from Spruce to Spring Garden you have ZERO grocery stores. So with all of the "new development", we're as empty now as we were before because apparently corporate site developers find us as uninviting now as they did 10 years ago. In summary, we have less now then when all of the new growth started....more people sharing the same few pathetic choices. All in all, pretty messed up.