Philly has failed to live up to its expectation as a big city (Philadelphia: organic, exemption)

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by lpranger467

Speaking of generalizations that are accurate. Philly (and this is from my visiting friends) is viewed as dirty, much dirtier than cities like NYC & DC which do a better job of keeping tourist areas clean. Also people are pretty rude and actually seem proud of it. You can try to debunk me if you want but I have many workmates who think their rudeness is a Philly right of passage, but outsiders arent going to agree. I do think a better test of our progress is not how many hotels and such that are being built, but the percentage of returning visitors.

The funny thing is, there have been several travel-magazine and travel-website surveys that give Philadelphia high marks for the friendliness, honesty and helpfulness of the locals.

Then, OTOH, there was the "welcome" a couple of locals gave that traveling bot once he made it here - and didn't survive to make it to his next destination.

Guess we're schizophrenic.

[Patmcpsu]

Originally Posted by kyb01

I'm grateful that none of our major cities , except for WTC(9/11), have experienced war like destruction. No, I have not forgotten Civil War destruction.

But I always feel like there's something missing wrt DC and European cities or capitals. It's a subjective feeling of course.

DC feels like a Toll Brothers development because the federal government has grown significantly during that era:


EDIT: I don't want the above chart to start a political debate; regarding budget, who was president is just as important as who was controlling congress.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by kyb01

Hudson Yards does look nice though.

Hudson Yards is sterile and soulless. It is likely to attract a large measure of hyper-wealthy foreign investors who will spend little if any time actually living there. The beehive is much less impressive than in pictures and I’m unclear on the view it might offer, unless one wants to take in the massive train yard.

It is a non-organic swath of the west side one might expect to find in any sunbelt city. Let’s hope Schuylkill Yards takes a lesson on what not to do.

[DavePa]

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

Hudson Yards is sterile and soulless. It is likely to attract a large measure of hyper-wealthy foreign investors who will spend little if any time actually living there. The beehive is much less impressive than in pictures and I’m unclear on the view it might offer, unless one wants to take in the massive train yard.

It is a non-organic swath of the west side one might expect to find in any sunbelt city. Let’s hope Schuylkill Yards takes a lesson on what not to do.

Honestly, most would love to have it in Philly. Or Chicago's much earlier Lakeview East (New East side). Its own neighborhood to. Though lumped into the Loop today. It was a much earlier version ongoing since the late 60s. Finally, every lot filled as slotted after last buildings approved get built.

It was called too dense originally. Its center still is open parks and much more residential or hotel mixed use.

Any ALL NEW FROM SCRATCH area is not going to match fully older long established ones. Schuylkill Yards will be over years to decades too. Hudson Yards was built much much faster. But green-space to plazas serve a purpose too. Not making them more like a Suburban office Park. Many of us older folk. May not see a fully completed Schuylkill Yards even.

Neither NYC's or Chicago's examples over rail beds and more..... are failures in the least. Nor should Schuylkill.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by lpranger467

Speaking of generalizations that are accurate. Philly (and this is from my visiting friends) is viewed as dirty, much dirtier than cities like NYC & DC which do a better job of keeping tourist areas clean. Also people are pretty rude and actually seem proud of it. You can try to debunk me if you want but I have many workmates who think their rudeness is a Philly right of passage, but outsiders arent going to agree. I do think a better test of our progress is not how many hotels and such that are being built, but the percentage of returning visitors.

I don't think there's a hotel that doesn't rely on regular, repeat business. I think we can rest assured that there are, in fact, plenty of people out there who are visiting/enjoying Philadelphia on a regular basis, many of whom are paying some good money while doing so.

Despite your personal reservations, the city must be doing something right. The numbers speak for themselves:

Philadelphia Is Finally Becoming a Great Hotel Town

...

Where hoteliers aren’t building, they’re upgrading — Old City’s Franklin Hotel became a Renaissance in mid-2018, while Braemer Hotels & Resorts transformed the Center City Courtyard by Marriott into the Notary Hotel, Philly’s first Autograph Collection hotel, in July. Where they aren’t upgrading, they’re renovating: the Sofitel, the Loews and the Westin are just a few of the properties undergoing multimillion-dollar face-lifts.

If you’re thinking this is all because everyone seems to be coming to Philadelphia right now, you’d be right. Per data from lodging analytics company STR, published by Visit Philadelphia, last year was a banner one for Philadelphia tourism. Center City saw its fifth record year in a row of hotel occupancy, topping out at 79.6 percent. Saturday-night occupancy, an industry benchmark for a city’s draw as a leisure destination, hit 91 percent — another all-time high. What’s most impressive, though, is that according to the Philadelphia Business Journal, Philly saw a bigger year-over-year rise in room occupancy than any other U.S. city; 45 million visitors poured into the area last year.

The big numbers translate into big business. Per Jeff Guarancino, president of Visit Philadelphia, Center City hotels did $675 million in revenue in 2018, a 9.2 percent leap from 2017. Revenue per available room, a key metric used by the hospitality industry to measure a market’s strength, increased five percent to $152.32, another all-time high for the city.

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/...delphia-hotel/

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by Duderino

I don't think there's a hotel that doesn't rely on regular, repeat business. I think we can rest assured that there are, in fact, plenty of people out there who are visiting/enjoying Philadelphia on a regular basis, many of which who are paying some serious money while doing so.

Despite your personal reservations, the city must be doing something right. The numbers speak for themselves:



https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/...delphia-hotel/

Dropped by the Pod hotel this weekend just to take a look. Sharp and inviting. The rooftop bar is fantastic, and the security guard told us it’s doing great business. Unlike the Attico at the Cambria, the bar offers sweeping views. Currently serving a few small plates with a Mexican leaning. I’d like to see them expand their menu with a few more items.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by DavePa

A lot of what makes a city is its built environment. It's what sets NYC aside in its own tier.

Always a lot of DC bashing here...... but just because the city's original grid and pattern was after Paris. The city is in North America and centuries of American standards. Its height restrictions add to its uniqueness and of course, as the center of US government and its monuments to top to pier free museums.

Cores of cities still play big rolls in defining cites, tiers and character. But again, THE BUILT ENVONMENT, street-grids of if a city more without one. Then you have VISUAL PERCEPTIONS of more f a city in its neighborhoods.

Saying the US never having war destruction in cities. I think of DECAY AND DECLINE OF NEIGHBRHOODS OVER DECADES. Some cities experienced race and Vietnam mixed in riots where blocks were burned and buildings destroyed and vandalized. DECAY BLEMISHES OUR CITIES STILL TODAY.

These with most still visible ..... have that effect outsiders views yet today. Locals see all the good, changes, improvements, gentrification etc. Visitors see EVERYTHING in the mix.

Philadelphia and other cities. Are a product of mainly the growth and downfalls thru the 20th century. The Earliest American areas of our Eastern cities ..... are a fraction of them. DC and mighty NYC saw huge strides in gentrification. Though NYC maintains its grittiness with it far more then other cities. Philly too. But each city is in its own levels of renewal. More haphazard renewals where decay mixes between blocks with renewal. Still have that blemish locals do not understand why outsiders then don't get the positive openings more......

But to lessen DC does not help Philly in perceptions. At the end of the day ...... APPEARENCES RULE.

Least judge of DC is a Train station. Most of our major Northern cities have one. None are Paris or London's. So no points there to use to lessen DC.

Its getting to look more and more like some jealousy here ...... while NYC gets none and Boston much much less. PHILADELPHIA STILL IS ITS OWN CITY. Rising more from decay ..... but a process that takes a decade here. While some cities clear out blight ...... long before gentrification comes. So they look good sooner, or on a faster track sooner that helped them more. DC seems like one. A HUGE factor was getting its extensive subway in the 70s to.

Sure Philly is a REAL CITY. Some see DC as not? But plenty to still have DC and its growth as if a Sunbelt city with plenty of Prestige to start with.

Dave, you keep bringing up Union Station in DC. I don't know why. It's the changeover from the Northeast rail corridor to the Southeast rail corridor. In the relatively near future, Obama's faster diesel rail service will start running between DC and Charlotte. Much further down the line the faster service will extend from Charlotte to Atlanta. This will result in more people from Virginia and North Carolina arriving in Philadelphia by train.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

Dropped by the Pod hotel this weekend just to take a look. Sharp and inviting. The rooftop bar is fantastic, and the security guard told us it’s doing great business. Unlike the Attico at the Cambria, the bar offers sweeping views. Currently serving a few small plates with a Mexican leaning. I’d like to see them expand their menu with a few more items.

The manager tells me El Techo - the rooftop space - is a taquería. That, by definition, offers a more limited range of dishes than a full-blown Mexican restaurant.

That role is being played at this hotel by Condesa, the ground-floor restaurant. It takes its name from a city somewhere in Mexico.

The same company that has given us Suraya, the reconstituted Pizzeria Beddia, and R&D Cocktail Bar runs all the foodservice establishments at the Pod Philly Hotel.

Maybe I'll see some of you at this evening's official grand opening. In the meantime, I've got a writeup of it on Phillymag.com.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

The manager tells me El Techo - the rooftop space - is a taquería. That, by definition, offers a more limited range of dishes than a full-blown Mexican restaurant.

That role is being played at this hotel by Condesa, the ground-floor restaurant. It takes its name from a city somewhere in Mexico.

The same company that has given us Suraya, the reconstituted Pizzeria Beddia, and R&D Cocktail Bar runs all the foodservice establishments at the Pod Philly Hotel.

Maybe I'll see some of you at this evening's official grand opening. In the meantime, I've got a writeup of it on Phillymag.com.

Won’t be there tonight, but great article. Good pix too.

Have fun tonight!

[KoNgFooCj]

Originally Posted by kyb01

No other large American city has the "problem" we do of having such a behemoth right next door yet we have maintained an identity that is truly ours.

The funny thing is, except in parts of the boroughs, NYC is losing what made New York City...well New York City not too long ago.
I often just skip Manhattan nowadays.

San Diego has the same problem.