Philadelphia 2035 (York, Industry, Riverside: tower, annually, developments)

[RightonWalnut]

Lower Schuylkill Master Plan

Philly Shark: Lower Schuylkill Master Plan

[RightonWalnut]

Changing Skyline: Apartment towers growing toward Phila.'s west

Inga Saffron, Inquirer Architecture Critic
Posted: Friday, June 21, 2013, 3:01 AM

High-rise construction in Philadelphia comes in waves. The last big crest a decade ago brought in a handful of pricey condo towers, mainly clustered in established neighborhoods around Rittenhouse and Washington Squares. This time, the tide is rolling westward, from Center City out toward the universities, and it's looking like a tsunami.

Five apartment towers are or will be going up along Market and Chestnut Streets, between 20th and 38th, one glassy slab after another. The total grows to seven if you count two clever retrofits where developers have piled extra floors on top of existing buildings, turning height-challenged mid-rises into full-fledged high-rises.

This stretch - from the tattered western edge of Center City to the University City Science Center - has long been an ill-defined territory, not uniformly academic, commercial, or residential. The arrival of a couple thousand residents can't help but make these blocks feel more lived-in, and the bustle should advance the goal of knitting together the two sides of the Schuylkill.

Although this isn't the only place in the city where high-rises are planned, the cluster tells us a lot about how Philadelphia is being reshaped by the new economy, with its focus on health care, university research, and higher ed. The seven projects are being positioned as adjuncts to the Drexel, Penn, and Science Center campuses, which are expanding with more employees, grad students, and researchers.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/home/20...sl2K24AXQ2S.99

[RightonWalnut]

Ridge Flats in East Falls. Looking good


PlanPhilly | In East Falls, Ridge Flats plan moving forward as former DVHS property goes up for sale June 21, 2013

[RightonWalnut]

Soko Lofts. Kinda looks like a shorter version of the Granary


Everybody Wants in On Placemaking: Is Kensington Due for a Piazza-esque Mixed-Use Megadevelopment? - Coming Attractions - Curbed Philly

[RightonWalnut]

Dranoff Properties is proposing a 21 story 167 unit building to be known as "One Riverside" on the space occupied by the public parking lot west of 25th Street between Locust and Manning Streets (north of the community garden). The ground floor will contain, in addition to a lobby, approximately 1,000 square feet devoted to an active use - a café or other commercial operation located adjacent to railroad crossing entrance to the Schuylkill Trail. 86 parking spaces are planned for the basement and ground floor. Studios and one and two bedroom units will occupy floors 3 through 20 with five penthouse units on the 21st floor. The above ground parking spaces are not wrapped with an active use such as residential or commercial, though the developer is in the design stage of contributing greenery and other enhancements to improve the pedestrian experience. Cars will enter and exit on 25th Street near Locust Street, while all loading and unloading will occur in an enclosed area on the south side of the project. The building features a terrace, fitness center, game room and club room. Because the property is zoned industrial, the project may not require any zoning variances but will be subject to advisory only Civic Design Review.

[RightonWalnut]

CHOP's Ambulatory Care Center under construction has been renamed the CHOP Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care. Still 14 floors at 292 feet.

Here are the new renders:






The Children

Children's Hospital gets $50 million gift for advanced care center

[RightonWalnut]

Renderings of the new Eakin's Oval redevelopment in front of the Art Museum

http://www.phila.gov/ParksandRecreat...Renderings.pdf

[phillies2011]

Originally Posted by Summersm343

Renderings of the new Eakin's Oval redevelopment in front of the Art Museum

http://www.phila.gov/ParksandRecreat...Renderings.pdf

Doesn't look like they're changing much. Repaving the parking lot with a more suitable material for it's new purpose, adding some tables and chairs.... that seems to be about it. Looks like they also have plans to "activate it" like the porch at 30st. Good idea but a lot less foot traffic here than in front of 30st.

Don't get me wrong, I think this is great plan to make some seemingly simple change that will make a huge improvement over the ugly parking lot that currently exists.

Disappointed however that they didn't take this time to get rid of the 4 lanes of traffic that exist at the bottom of this oval. I understand it's convenient for people heading north after getting off of 76 and the spring garden bridge, but this is the type of convenience we're going to have to be willing to give up if we truly want the parkway a more walkable and pedestrian area.

As it currently stands if you coming up the parkway on the southern side there is no direct access to eakins oval. You have to go roughly 250 yards or past the start of the oval and travel over no less than 4 cross walks, and over a dozen total lanes of traffic.

If you're coming up the parkway on the Northern side you have it easier but you still have to cross first to an odd triangle of land in the middle of the parkway, then cross over the aforementioned 4 lanes of traffic to then reach the oval.

It's not exactly climbing the alps, but it's not easy nor intuitive to get to eakins oval coming from the south and even if it makes traffic worse, if you really want this to be an active pedestrian plaza you need to take steps to make that happen. The triangle beneath eakins oval should be connected right to the actual oval this way no matter what side of the street you're on you don't have dodge cars to get to eakins oval, you go over one crosswalk and you're there.

At least this is a good first step, a lot more work needs to be done to the parkway though.

[Cnote11]

Seems way too thrown together. I can't say I like it.

[kidphilly]

GAO report: Phila. could lose role as air hub