Philadelphia 2035 (Harrisburg, York, Chester: accidents, apartment complex, rental)

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by Redddog

100% the most bizarre approach to investment and development that you can imagine.

It's a joke.

IMO, when I put my sociologist cap on, this originates from the flattening out of regional culture and society in general due to the availability of instant communication. Ideas spread like wildfire. and the lowest common denominator ideas are the ones that get the most traction. I think it helps explain why the extremes of political parties have been able to gain more power in recent years.


There's really no better example than Elizabeth Warren coming to Philadelphia and being joined by the whackys to push for a "Philadelphia County Wealth Tax". The absolute most nonsense thing to ever exist.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

There's really no better example than Elizabeth Warren coming to Philadelphia and being joined by the whackys to push for a "Philadelphia County Wealth Tax". The absolute most nonsense thing to ever exist.

There's a lot of things that politicians like Warren push for that make complete sense on national level to help level the economic playing field.

But I'd agree that a wealth tax impacting Philadelphia alone is about the last thing the city needs right now. That's just common sense.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Duderino

There's a lot of things that politicians like Warren push for that make complete sense on national level to help level the economic playing field.

But I'd agree that a wealth tax impacting Philadelphia alone is about the last thing the city needs right now. That's just common sense.

Agreed on both. A local wealth tax would be shooting ourselves in the foot.

I also think the crowd trying to slow down development fail to understand that the law of supply and demand works in housing markets just as it does in all other markets.

I met a fellow last night at Cockatoo (the bartender on Wednesdays) who was born in Florida and had lived in Nashville for several years before moving here about four months ago. He told me he moved here because he had gotten tired of living in the South and also wanted to find somewhere more affordable than Nashville.

Let that soak in for a minute. Philadelphia more affordable than Nashville?

Yet he told me that one-bedroom apartments there go for $1700/month and up. I'm pretty sure you can find 1BRs renting for less than that in most of the city, and some probably even remain in Center City in older buildings. He currently shares a 2BR just below Cedar Park (~50th and Springfield) with a roommate. They split its rent of $1800/month.

Apartments are going up like crazy here in part because demand for rental units is outstripping supply in city and suburbs. Those new apartments help keep the older ones cheaper because they add to the total supply. I guess they still make financial sense to developers even with the tax abatement worth half what it was worth before last year.

[Muinteoir]

Originally Posted by Duderino

There's a lot of things that politicians like Warren push for that make complete sense on national level to help level the economic playing field.

But I'd agree that a wealth tax impacting Philadelphia alone is about the last thing the city needs right now. That's just common sense.

I could finally rep ya again! As we enter the year of the mayoral election, I will be convincing my friends that good national policy is not congruent with good city policy.

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

I also think the crowd trying to slow down development fail to understand that the law of supply and demand works in housing markets just as it does in all other markets.

See, IMO, a lot of these people are a lot more malicious in their nature. You probably know Faye Anderson, and I mean when you read what she writes, you would think Templetown/Yorktown/North Central were strawberry fields of gold and not highly impoverished crime ridden communities with bad schools and poor sanitation due to the bottom falling out of the community.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Yet he told me that one-bedroom apartments there go for $1700/month and up. I'm pretty sure you can find 1BRs renting for less than that in most of the city, and some probably even remain in Center City in older buildings. He currently shares a 2BR just below Cedar Park (~50th and Springfield) with a roommate. They split its rent of $1800/month.

Apartments are going up like crazy here in part because demand for rental units is outstripping supply in city and suburbs. Those new apartments help keep the older ones cheaper because they add to the total supply. I guess they still make financial sense to developers even with the tax abatement worth half what it was worth before last year.

Wow, interesting anecdote. Nashville is a really neat smaller city, but I'll never quite get how it got so expensive so quickly. The fact that it's now more expensive than a large, East Coast city really speaks volumes about how well Philadelphia has maintained its income/COL ratio. That really isn't acknowledged enough.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

See, IMO, a lot of these people are a lot more malicious in their nature. You probably know Faye Anderson, and I mean when you read what she writes, you would think Templetown/Yorktown/North Central were strawberry fields of gold and not highly impoverished crime ridden communities with bad schools and poor sanitation due to the bottom falling out of the community.

In addition, I've seen a lot of ill-intentioned (and ill-informed) behavior from young white college educated people newer to Philadelphia, which confuses me.

Somewhere along the line development, re-birth, gentrification, (whatever you want to call it) got a bad rep in Philadelphia. I drove through parts of the city last month and was blown away (in a good way) at the transformation of Center City adjacent neighborhoods compared to 2009 when I moved to Philadelphia. I guess fear of change is a driver, or fear of becoming NYC or DC, and the fact that supply and demand was stagnant for until relatively recently.

Also doesn't help when City Council is largely made up of nincompoops that don't promote and elevate the city and a local newspaper (The Inquirer) that twists positives into negatives.

Originally Posted by Duderino

Wow, interesting anecdote. Nashville is a really neat smaller city, but I'll never quite get how it got so expensive so quickly. The fact that it's now more expensive than a large, East Coast city really speaks volumes about how well Philadelphia has maintained its income/COL ratio. That really isn't acknowledged enough.

Nashville has blown up. I just got back from a visit. My partners sister-in-law is a big time real estate agent in Nashville. She said there is a major flow of expats from California, New York, Texas and now Seattle, and the prices as a result have dramatically risen since 2019.

But agree, the extremists and critics are either ignorant or knowingly deny Philadelphia's well maintained COL. See Nashville for what to avoid...

And I think the real focus should be on raising resident incomes and making the city more economically competitive. But that crazy idea would never fly in city council...

[PHL10]

I biked Washington Ave from the Delaware to Grays Ferry Ave for the first time since repaving/striping. I have to say that while the bike lane is certainly protected, the east side is visually very busy, hectic, and cluttered – between the bike lane weaving in and out of the curb bump outs, all those poles, and complex striping, etc. I felt more at ease riding west of Broad which really surprised me. I’m sure other people may have a better experience.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by PHL10

I biked Washington Ave from the Delaware to Grays Ferry Ave for the first time since repaving/striping. I have to say that while the bike lane is certainly protected, the east side is visually very busy, hectic, and cluttered – between the bike lane weaving in and out of the curb bump outs, all those poles, and complex striping, etc. I felt more at ease riding west of Broad which really surprised me. I’m sure other people may have a better experience.

Related to Washington Avenue, are there trees or new sidewalks? I hope the plans include more than just paving and bike lanes.

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by PHL10

I biked Washington Ave from the Delaware to Grays Ferry Ave for the first time since repaving/striping. I have to say that while the bike lane is certainly protected, the east side is visually very busy, hectic, and cluttered – between the bike lane weaving in and out of the curb bump outs, all those poles, and complex striping, etc. I felt more at ease riding west of Broad which really surprised me. I’m sure other people may have a better experience.

Now, I am by no way an expert or at all qualified to say this: but IMO, urban engineering / street design / whatever you want to call it, is completely broken in the United States. In an attempt to please everyone all the time, we often end up with results that satisfy no one at any time. I'm not surprised Washington is still bad to bike across. Until the businesses on the east side of the street decide to abide by the law, it won't make a difference with people indiscriminately parking pulling out of certain lots, the car repairs parking vehicles on the sidewalk, etc.

From a driving perspective, I do think the curb cutouts are helpful with people coming out of the shopping plazas. People use to just like inch out as traffic was coming down both lanes.

Truly, as more time goes on, the less useful I find bike lanes that aren't completely separated. The Pine Street and Spruce Bike lanes are nearly worthless due to all the double parking. The Delaware Avenue bike path should be the model for all of them going forward. I'm glad the proposed bike lane on Spring Garden is completely separated the whole way across until Pennsylvania Ave.