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311 N. 12th Street might not be a flop house for the homeless much longer. If you're unsure which building this is, it's the giant warehouse near 12th and Vine rising above the corn mural. It's covered in graffiti and has almost no windows remaining.
The building was purchased by Post Brothers Apartments, a Philadelphia apartment company that owns and runs several properties in the city. Currently the dilapidated building, known as a favorite of graffiti artists, is being cleaned and the exits are being secured. Yesterday crew could even be seen pulling weeds from the sidewalk. According to Brownstoner, squatters had tunneled into the building to avoid being seen.
The first two floors will receive plywood coverings decorated by local artists. Post Brothers is anticipating occupancy in 18 optimistic months. The building is in the Callowhill Industrial Historic District which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
A rendering from 1979 shows the Rouse Company's planned 20+ story office towers atop the Gallery II at 10th and Market. The office complex would have added 440,000 square feet of office space at the former site of the Harrison Building. The Gallery II opened in 1983 and the plans for the office towers were moth-balled. The structure was built to support two towers and the plans were revisited in 1993 by SEPTA, and even more recently were suggested as a possible location for the Foxwoods Casino's hotel tower.
Brian Goes to Town
Deja Vu.
Again.
The (almost) final draft for the waterfront plan is almost complete. I'm not sure what that means given I can recall dozens of these waterfront plans floating around over the past several years.
I still don't see how this plan is going to generate the money it needs to work. And I don't see where all these phantom mid-rise buildings are coming from. With all the vacant lots and surface parking in Center City, I can't imagine why developers would eye the waterfront or why residents would choose to live here, especially if they are removing the concert venue space which is perhaps the neighborhood's only financial draw.
I feel like we've heard all this before.
A trained monkey can draw up some renderings, but what I want to hear are the financial logistics for this fifity year plan.
"Gee, don't be so negative. Civic plans that span half a century always work out. Especially when the bulk of it relies on private real estate investment."
Why can't we just start small, piece by piece? Keep what is moderately successful: the venue space, the Seaport Museum, the historic ships, The Chart House, etc., and focus on the weed-filled litter boxes that haven't yet been developed.
I don't understand why this has to be one massive, cohesive plan. Why can't it evolve organically like the rest of the city? I don't see anyone developing a "Civic Plan for the Convention Center District" where we have a sea of parking lots, and that is only two blocks from City Hall and actually has an existing street life.
We should tackle what we can when we can. Planning a half century of speculative development for a huge tract of land won't go anywhere. We'll wind up with just another incarnation of the moderately successful waterfront that we have now, 20 years from now. We need to add to what we have, not start over. Then if the additions prove successful, we improve the previously existing infrastructure with the money generated by the additions.
Philly.com
PlanPhilly.com
Light Adrift
For one weekend Meejin Yoon's Light Adrift illuminated the Schuylkill River like an urban Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The interactive lighting installation was soothing, though admittedly was one of those things you look at and think, "huh, that's cool," and move on. As art, it's a stretch to search for meaning. Unfortunately it was only for three nights. It would serve brilliantly as a permanent compliment to the Cira Centre's ever-changing light display and PECO's new crown. Even the IRS renovations to the old postal headquarters dazzled the river's reflection. It was nice to see the Schuylkill Banks after dark weren't littered with vagrants. Hopefully more displays and activities will lead people to the waterfront after hours.
Looks like another NIMBY might save another beloved vacant lot. Since when do Civic Associations form subcommittees? What's worse, since when do developers and politicians listen to them? Come on people, get a job. Right now, any development is good development.
I would love to hear someone explain their opposition? Given the explanation on the OCCA website it sounds like their opposition is simply to be a thorn in the developer's ass. I see a lot of fancy words that don't really state any position.
Maybe the local NIMBYs should be having bake sales to raise the very few thousands of dollars it would cost to update their playground equipment. Dilworth is being updated with grant money and private funds. Local neighborhoods are more than welcome to contribute privately to their own community. Anytime some money gets dumped into, I don't know, an architectural landmark and governmental hub of one of the largest cities in America, every three block "neighborhood" in the surrounding 20 miles starts screaming "I deserve a piece of that." Start baking some brownies.
I'm glad to see this is actually moving forward, and while I don't think it's the best design or the best use of $50M, I don't think it's all bad. I doubt anyone will be regretting this decision 5 or 10 years from now. However architecture and cleanliness won't be the biggest hurdle, tacking the homeless will. I think Love Park and Dilworth Plaza became the dilapidated Hooverville's that they are because they were surrounded by nothing for years, not because they are simply public spaces.
It may be silly to think that buzz words like "cafe" actually mean anything, but an element of street level commerce will excite people. It won't draw the residents from their fortresses at the Ritz or the Phoenix anymore than Barnes and Noble pulls them out of 10 Rittenhouse Square, but it will grab the commuters who'd rather grab a coffee and a muffin street-side instead of in the SEPTA catacombs.
It's true City Hall itself wasn't designed to be a public space but it doesn't mean the surrounding area can never succeed as one. If that were the case we might as well put the Arcade Building and Broad Street Station back on top of Dilworth Plaza because any other project would be doomed from the start.
Many Negadelphians would assume that any public project is inevitably doomed. But the truth of the matter is that this space is surrounded by new development and renovated public spaces. The Convention Center is going to be pulling people north of Market Street, new museums are pulling tourists across Broad Street, and all of them will be passing through the most important piece of Philadelphia's architectural portfolio.
It's stubborn to propose that this space isn't due some attention, and it's naive to assume that no one will enjoy it. We don't all get in our cars and hop on 676 at 5pm to run from urbanity as fast as we can. Some of the less cranky commuters might stick around if our most important public spaces didn't smell so bad.
Dilworth Plaza Makeover to Start - Philly.com
311 N. 12th Street might not be a flop house for the homeless much longer. If you're unsure which building this is, it's the giant warehouse near 12th and Vine rising above the corn mural. It's covered in graffiti and has almost no windows remaining.
