Philadelphia 2035 (Washington, Girard, Newtown: apartments, lease, condos)

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by Muinteoir

I guess to me, other than some similarities in built environment, such as the combination of beautiful old architecture along with modern character by virtue of street art + murals, there is a shared sense of vibrancy between the two cities. It's something I can't exactly put my finger on, but part of it lies in the feeling I get when experiencing the nightlife and fun activities in both cities. It is that combination of refined restaurant/bar offerings along with more folksy festivals / block parties (in Philly's case), and truly "lit" nightclubs that does it for me. I guess to put it simply, both cities feel big enough with enough affluent residents to offer elegant / cosmopolitan experiences, all while maintaining their specific local character.

100%. That’s a good way to put it. If you think of Canadian history in a similar way as American history, Montreal being the “first” big city and then being eclipsed by Toronto, you can kind of see a similar vein of “okay, we aren’t the #1 place of commerce any more, so we need to rely more on our own culture and institutions”. I really do think there is something to that.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Interesting article! It's long, but I'll share a few snippets...

New Yorkers keep moving to Philadelphia, and local Realtors say the influx has 'raised the bar'

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...Pos=0#cxrecs_s

Affordability, walkability, more space and easy access to city life is attracting people from more expensive markets to resettle in the Philadelphia area — particularly since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and shift to remote work. New York transplants are leading the way.

Out-of-towners — whether they be from New York, California, Chicago or Florida — often bring with them higher salaries and higher budgets. As they do, home prices and rents are rising in Philadelphia and its suburbs.

A recent study from Seattle-based real estate platform Redfin found that, on average, out-of-town homebuyers in the Philadelphia area had a budget 39% higher than a local buyer — the highest disparity in the country. The average budget of out-of-towners was nearly $588,000 while local buyers had an average budget of just over $422,000.

Lavinia Smerconish, a real estate agent from Compass Real Estate on the Main Line, said people from places like New York, Los Angeles and Florida, where home prices skyrocketed during the pandemic, are armed with budgets inflated by selling their own homes at a premium. Those people are “a little more price indifferent” than people from the area, she said.

The median home value rose by more than 20% in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties between January 2021 and July 2022, reaching at least $440,000 in Bucks, Chester and Montgomery. Home prices increased 14% in Philadelphia over the same time period, according to census data.

“We have all of that,” said Smerconish, who grew up on the Main Line. “We are starting to recognize ourselves as a really major, stellar, suburban market. We’re finally being appreciated across the country.”

“These folks are moving to the city, they’ll be consumers at all of the shops and bars and restaurants,” Somers said. “They’re paying all the taxes that Philadelphia has. In the bigger picture, it’s a catalyst for growth. It’s great for the [housing] market and it’s great for the city.”

Minor note on the excerpt quoted above:

The "Somers" quoted in the last paragraph is Christopher Somers, who, along with his wife Stephanie, founded The Somers Team in the city a little more than 20 years ago. Originally with RE/MAX Access, they're now affiliated with Keller Williams Philadelphia. Chris is also a past president of the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

I think in 2022, it’s fair to say Montreal is a better city than Philadelphia. It’s certainly a more healthier city economically.

This goes for nearly any city I have visited in other countries, you can’t really compare US cities with other cities w/o pointing out the obvious: Americans generally don’t like multifamily living and are relatively adverse to it compared to most of the rest of the world. Standing at the Mont Royal Park overlook, looking at the cityscape, you would never guess that Philadelphia’s metro is ~40% larger. Which is a shame because truly the suburban box store lifestyle is so cultural-less and awful.

But beyond that: Montreal is going through some extreme gentrification in its greater downtown area. Old Montreal and Old City Philadelphia have tons in common, but outside of that area, downtown Montreal is a bit hard to pin down what it felt similar too. The buildings aren’t “on top of you” in a few a lot of Center City is. There are more blocks dedicated to plazas and random spaces but also more pure big condo and apartment towers. To me, it was like almost a mix of downtown Pittsburgh and NYC. Its not like the Loop in Chicago. Chicago’s streets downtown are all real wide and generally have a more polished and sterile feel to it.

Montreal is def a bit more gritty than I expected. Not in like a North Philly society collapsed way, but like hobo graffiti type of way. We walked the entire closed pedestrian part of St. Catherine in The Village back to downtown and it would give Market East a real run for its money. Hobos, trash, junkies slouched, the whole 9 yards. I don’t speak French so all the crazies mumbling stuff in French added to the anxiety level. However, my group was all hardened urbanists who found it more fascinating than anything else. BUT I will say, after I walked the whole thing, the first thing I thought of was: doing it to Chestnut would be a bad idea unless you really try to take care of the vagrancy on the street first. We went through the red light district up St Laurent Blvd yesterday morning and it was dirtier than I have ever seen south street after a weekend night (btw idk if Spread Bagels actually tastes very much like a Montreal bagel). I liked Mile End a lot though and we walked all the way to Mont Royal from there. It was cool.

Another thing that I think is really worth mentioning:
With multifamily living being more popular, at least on the surface, it certainly seems poverty is not hyper concentrated in specific places like in the US. It definitely feels like there’s much more of a mix of people in every neighborhood and it’s reflected in their retail corridors offering a pretty wide range of things everywhere. It’s a lot harder to be like “oh this is where the rich people hangout” or “this is a poor neighborhood”. You can just tell that the economics of rent and urban living are a bit different. Big chains and small mom and pops seemed much more intertwined. I have been very surprised to see so many random retailers staying open to 9-10 o’clock at night in old Montreal. It really makes me feel that old city Philly could really use a kick in the pants and probably ground zero for where the new “Night Mayor” Raheem Manning should focus his time. Basically connecting old city and Spruce Harbor/Penns Landing better.

All in All, Montreal is an interesting place that reminds me of Philadelphia in a lot of ways and gave me some ideas of how Philly could be better. It also has a legit restaurant scene which is always a big boon in my book.

Great recap. I haven't been to Montreal in 5 years, I definitely need to make a trip back there, likely next year at this rate.

[cpomp]

On another note, some great development news! 416 Vine Street and 2204 Walnut were finally approved by the HC.

For reference...

https://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-phil...tment-building

https://www.phila.gov/media/20220902...revision-1.pdf

[cpomp]

Overall good news.

Center City is seeing more foot traffic and spending, but also more office vacancies

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...Pos=0#cxrecs_s

One of the more promising trends from the report Levy pointed to is an increasing number of people in Center City on a daily basis, whether it be for work, to visit or to live. Overall foot traffic in the district rose 8% in August compared to last year, boosted by a 32% increase in non-resident workers and an 11% increase in residents. Still, non-resident workers in Center City are only at 56% of pre-pandemic levels. Center City District uses Placer.ai data to track movement in the neighborhood. According to that data, the number of residents walking Center City's streets has eclipsed pre-pandemic numbers, 17% higher than August 2019.

The increase in foot traffic means that the city is pulling in higher tax revenue than before the pandemic. The wage tax has brought in 109% of what it did in quarter two of 2019, according to the Center City District report, and sales tax brought in 111% of 2019 quarter two numbers. That includes tax collections from retailers in the extended Center City area that are 122% of their pre-pandemic levels in quarter two. Rising prices and salaries induced by inflation factor into that increase, though.

Although visitors are coming back to Philadelphia's downtown, one potential cause for concern for city officials is a slight uptick in office vacancy rates. As employers figure out their balance of remote and in-person work, vacancy rates in Center City have grown from 16.2% in the first quarter of 2021 to 18.3% in quarter two of 2022. It was 13% in 2019, but the office vacancy rate has been above 18% since the third quarter of 2021. Asking prices have dropped slightly as well, from $34.44 per square foot to $33.47 over the same time period, the report shows.

"Some employers have renewed leases with less space. At the same time the life sciences engine is strong," Levy said. "That activity was largely in University City but has grown significantly in Center City. While some people are downsizing, clearly some new firms are coming in. And a lot of people are marking this time, waiting to see how things are this fall before deciding."

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Overall good news.

"Big Red Skyscraper! Big Red Skyscraper! Big Red Skyscraper!" lol. It's almost time for it. Philly has a bunch of blue glass buildings, a couple white ones, and we need a big red one to complete the trifecta.

[Tweb66]

Hey, don't forget 3 Logan! I think it a timeless beauty but keeps getting buried. And heck, had some cards been shuffled a little differently, we could have had the Comcast and Verizon HQs right across from each other. I bet they would have had some great after work softball games.

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by Tweb66

Hey, don't forget 3 Logan! I think it a timeless beauty but keeps getting buried. And heck, had some cards been shuffled a little differently, we could have had the Comcast and Verizon HQs right across from each other. I bet they would have had some great after work softball games.

Yes, good point. 3 Logan has always supplied a bit of color to the skyline. Idk if you lived in Philly during this period, but the Skygarten at the top of 3 Logan was the best beer garden. You could go outside on both sides of the building. Such a cool building and view.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

Yes, good point. 3 Logan has always supplied a bit of color to the skyline. Idk if you lived in Philly during this period, but the Skygarten at the top of 3 Logan was the best beer garden. You could go outside on both sides of the building. Such a cool building and view.

Why did that close?

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Why did that close?

I guess they could make more money as a wedding/private event venue, it's called the Vue on 50 now: https://www.vueon50.com/