Philadelphia 2035 (Pittsburgh, York, California: student loans, cellphone, 2014)

[bridge12]

Originally Posted by Pennsport

Yeah, but what exactly would this be connecting? I mean, this is obviously an agenda-driven opinion piece. However, to humor the idea, north of Vine is basically a hundred or so residences that are still more or less Chinatown (Asian residents, who, I assume, mainly work in Chinatown proper), some random factories, and a few storage units. Otherwise, you have the Loft District. The article in Philly Voice states that this project would "make Chinatown whole again." While that may have been the case in the 1980s, more probable the 1930s, IMO, that time is long gone and won't come back.

I have several friends who have lived in the Loft District for quite a while now, and no one has ever said to me "Man, I wish it was easier to get to Chinatown, I'd be there all the time. And just to the south of Chinatown is the Convention Center, the Hard Rock and that sweet stretch of dangerous and f'ed Marked St." If they want to go to Vietnam or Dim Sum, they just walk across the busy street. It's not really a huge deal. The Loft District residents universally go north to Spring Garden, or northeast to NL, or southeast to Old City, or northwest to Fairmount, or slight northwest to the burgeoning N. Broad street corridor, or due west and catch the Broad St. line into CC. Or, they just stay in their neighborhood which has a handful of cool spots. The fact that our Chinatown has stood strong since the late 19th century and is still considered one of the top Chinatowns in the nation leads me to believe that this is a "nice to have" project for our city.

With this said, I am always in favor of improving walkability; and considering the smallish footprint of the area that could be capped, maybe we're not talking hundreds of millions of dollars. The article doesn't state a project estimate - only that they raised $4M so far. Assuming though that they are looking for tax dollars to chip in tens and tens of millions, I personally can see better ways to use those dollars to improve our city. I mean, we do have two rivers, with huge swaths of underdeveloped and often, completely undeveloped, vacant plots of land...

No offense but you can't be serious. I work in the Loft district and this is like the number one complaint of anyone who has to cross Vine Street/676 on a daily basis. It's a nightmare on foot or bike. A cap would do wonders, IF they reduce the width of Vine Street.

[Pennsport]

Originally Posted by bridge12

No offense but you can't be serious. I work in the Loft district and this is like the number one complaint of anyone who has to cross Vine Street/676 on a daily basis. It's a nightmare on foot or bike. A cap would do wonders, IF they reduce the width of Vine Street.

Really? Ok, well maybe my "n of 5" survey was slightly biased and not truly representative of the neighborhood. I didn't think many people from the Loft District really walked south all that often from feedback I got. Regardless, this pedestrian bridge would be a nice addition for sure if it's not cost-prohibitive.

[Pennsport]

I'm sure many of you have seen this article, but posting here none-the-less... City construction keeps on rolling. I just hope all these new residences get tenants/buyers. In NL alone, there will be basically a doubling of the residential units in the next 3-4 years.

https://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-phil...ct-west-poplar

[JamesJay64]

Originally Posted by Pennsport

I'm sure many of you have seen this article, but posting here none-the-less... City construction keeps on rolling. I just hope all these new residences get tenants/buyers. In NL alone, there will be basically a doubling of the residential units in the next 3-4 years.

https://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-phil...ct-west-poplar

Amazingly, a couple of the $800k-ish townhomes being built at 13th and Wallace, just behind the Broadridge, have sold. They built a row of them facing the West Poplar apartments and are apparently confident that they will sell because they started a second phase of like 8 more behind them.

There is a similar development in deep Point Breeze with homes priced $700k+ and those are selling too. The fact that people in this price range are investing in these areas bodes well for the future IMO.

[Duderino]

Even with the obvious nationwide spike in prices, Philadelphia really continues to stand at an increasingly unique and envious position of having amongst the most affordable "big metro" real estate in the US.

Even though no one would accuse the city of being "cheap," what with $700K+ homes now in unprecedented locations, the key is comparison to other Northeast Corridor metros. I can tell you first-hand how dire the situation has become in the Boston area, for example. For-sale middle-class housing opportunities are literally non-existent within a 30 mile radius of Boston now, and my understanding is that DC and NYC are in a similar boat.

I don't see this trend changing any time soon, especially with interest rates likely remaining high for the foreseeable future. This only bodes well for Philadelphia to continue to attract middle-class East Coasters who have any dream of homeownership.

[JamesJay64]

Permits Issued For Willow Steam Plant Renovation In Callowhill: https://phillyyimby.com/2023/03/perm...allowhill.html

[Flyers Girl]

Awesome that they are going to preserve the stacks! I hope that doesn't change.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by kidphilly

Information related to 25 year plan for Philadelphia


YouTube - ‪Philadelphia2035: The future begins now.‬‏


And the link to the complete plan
http://www.philaplanning.org/plans/final2035vision.pdf (broken link)

Main site
http://phila2035.org/


Thoughts?

Here's the OP^. Please note that this is NOT the City vs. City board. Off topic posts have been deleted.

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by JamesJay64

Permits Issued For Willow Steam Plant Renovation In Callowhill: https://phillyyimby.com/2023/03/perm...allowhill.html

I always imagined one day they would turn the bottom of the factory into an EDM techno venue where they just blast industrial techno and people bang on pipes and stuff haha.

[thedirtypirate]

In an effort to increase transparency there is a new city dashboard that measures a bunch of things: https://controller.phila.gov/philade...progressphl/#/