Franklin Square Capital Moves To Navy Yard

Philly Bizjournal reports on the future move from the Cira Center to the Navy Yard by Franklin Square Capital Partners.  Liberty Property Trust and Synterra Partners will construct a new four-story, 80,050-square-foot building for the firm.

Franklin Square signed a long-term lease for the entire building, located on about 4 acres next to the Courtyard by Marriott that is currently under construction at 201 Rouse Boulevard. "We are excited to keep our headquarters in Philadelphia and to join the growing community at the Navy Yard," said Michael Forman, founder and CEo of Franklin Square.

The new headquarters will have views of both the new park and Philadelphia's skyline, a café-style restaurant, a multi-use exercise facility, conference facilities, and floor plans full of natural light and designed to foster team interaction.  Liberty and Synterra expect to begin construction next month and complete the building in the first quarter of 2015.

Will The Navy Yard Stand on Its Own As Innovation Hub?

The Navy Yard has now reached its 10,000 jobs mark with more people working there than ever before, and appears to be on track to influence more companies to relocate to the neighborhood.  Part of its success is due to a buoyant technology business community, with some of that growth occurring at the expense of Center City.  Now many are asking if the Navy Yard can stand on its own.  Many have faith, but the biggest commitment will need to come in the form of infrastructure, in order to really see its full potential.  Read more at Technically Philly Here.

Navy Yard Builds First Hotel

Photos courtesy of Erdy McHenry Architecture

The Courtyard by Marriott will be the first hotel to be constructed in Philadelphia's progressively emerging new business district, the Navy Yard.  Construction began earlier this week on the $34 million project set to be completed in late 2013.

The 99,000 square-foot five story hotel will offer 172 guest rooms, a restaurant, lounge, fitness center, and 2,000 square feet of meeting space.  The new hotel will dock itself at Rouse Boulevard and Intrepid Avenue, sporting an energy efficient design seeking LEED certification.  The hotel design by Erdy McHenry Architecture is being developed by Ensemble Hotel Partners LLC and Liberty Property Trust/ Synterra LP.

The exterior of the building at the guest rooms will be clad in a Composite Metal Panel rain-screen system, giving the building an ever changing skin that depends upon the time of day and amount of sunlight.  The exterior rain-screen creates a system to reduce the building's overall heat gain by using a series of sub-girts and custom aluminum clips to prevent transfer of heat to the building sub-framing.  The base of the building is comprised of a mix of aluminum storefront and porcelain wall tile that also extends up the vertical circulation towers.

Upcoming October Reveal of Navy Yard Master Plan Update

New GSK building

The Philadelphia Navy Yard will soon reach a 20 year goal to employ 10,000 workers in 2013.  with the help of GlaxoSmithKline, who will be finishing construction on its new Philadelphia facility at Five Crescent Drive, the companies 1,350 current Center City employees will begin moving there in 2013.

This 20 year milestone was the prediction made by the task force then-Mayor Ed Rendell put together in 1992 to forge a plan for the future of the 1,200 acres on the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers at the southern end of Broad Street.  The district is not even halfway to reaching its goal of 25,000 to 30,000 people working in The Navy Yard before the year 2030.  Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Alan Greenberger, said it's likely that in 10 years the Navy Yard will be the city's third-largest job hub, behind Center City and university City.

In October, the Navy Yard is expected to release a new planning document.  The update tmo the current 2004 master plan done by Robert A.M. Stern Architects  will reflect changes in the physical reality of the land available, since a portion of land has gone to port expansion.  It will also update goals related to housing, transit, employment and amenities, such as restaurants, retail and additional green space and trail connections.

Urban Outfitters expansion

The focus will still remain on job creation with emphasis in the worlds of high-tech manufacturing, natural gas and alternative energy, and energy efficient construction.  The new plan will look at ways to better connect the Navy Yard with the city and region.  An environmental impact statement is being worked on concerning extending the subway to the Navy Yard.  Residential development has also been   a topic of discussion.  Companies feel housing will look more attractive to their employees, SEPTA feels an extension of the Broad Street Line is only feasible if people live there, and small businesses need more than just 9-5 customers to survive.  Housing would create a true community that is open for business all day long, seven days a week.

Source: PlanPhilly

Navy Yard Master Plan Revision

Natalie Kostelni of the Philadelphia Business Journal reports that the Navy Yard master plan, the 8-year-old document which has guided the South Philadelphia Business park through $600 million in private investment, is being revised.

When the master plan was first unveiled in 2004 by the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., it had focused on 600 acres of the 1,200-acre site.  The plan built on the property's industrial history but also defined a mix of office, research, commercial and residential development that would eventually result in attracting as many as 30,000 jobs to South Philadelphia.  By the end of this year 10,000 people will report to work in the Navy Yard, a third of the plans goal.

The PIDC feel it is time to take a step back and look at the plan for the future and understand where the next phase of investment should occur.   PIDC wants to make sure that Naval Ships Systems, which has grown over the last decade to have more than 1,800 employees, has reserved space to expand in the future.  PIDC now owns less than half of the 600 acres it did when the master plan was first drawn up.  It conveyed a large swath of land to the state and regional port authority to accommodate port expansion.  As a result the new master plan will concentrate on about 350 acres.  The organization also plans to set aside some of the historic buildings to be converted into residential use rather than create free-standing residential communities.

GlaxoSmithKline Moves to Navy Yard

Liberty property Trust and Synterra Partners create the workplace of the future at five Crescent Drive, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.  GSK has signed a 15.5 year lease for the new building.  The 205,000 square-foot, four story facility design by Robert A.M. Stern Architects will be designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification.  The project represents a $81 million investment by Liberty.  GSK plans to relocate all employes currently based in center city to the new location between fourth quarter 2012 and first quarter 2013, immediately after completion.

Liberty Property Trust senior vice president and regional director John Gattuso, notes that life science firms are looking to locate in communities that are vibrant and offer a high quality of life, because these kinds of communities will allow them to attract the high quality work force they need to succeed in the coming decades.  The city of Philadelphia has designated the historic Navy Yard to support the relocation of large companies and has an intensive master plan in place to revitalize that district into sustainable and functional destination.  Analysis by industry leaders has shown that the most important driver for company location is the proximity of other biotechnology companies and proximity to demand generators and centers of influence such as federal labs, academic institutions and hospitals.

Philadelphia Navy Yard Master Plan rendering

Philadelphia fares well in the game of luring life science companies to head city-bound.  Philadelphia has a concentration of academic and health care institutions that can provide both a skilled, science-oriented work force and opportunities for research collaborations.  Another attribute is the availability of venture capital and tax-incentives to support life science start-ups and early stage firms.

Big Philly Development News; Marriott, 2116 Chestnut, 2400 South

The Marriott Courtyard is expected to open up at the Navy Yard sometime during the second quarter of 2013, if all goes according to plan.   Ensemble Hotel Partners and local developer Louis A. Cicalese will develope and own the 168-room hotel.  Liberty Property and Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. reached an agreement for Ensemble to construct the hotel.  Marriott Corp. will manage the facility.

The Building is designed by Erdy McHenry Architects of Philadelphia.  The fate of the project will depend on Ensemble arranging proper financing.  Construction is set to start soon on the hotel, which would be the first at the Navy Yard and serve the growing corporate population being cultivated in the steadily increasing new business district, home to Urban Outfitters, Tastykake and soon Glaxo SmithKline.

Over at 2116 Chestnut Street, the John Buck Company recently bought the center City property and has plans to construct a $104 million, 34-story apartment building containing 319 units replacing the Sidney Hillman Medical Center.  Sidney Hillman/ The Philadelphia Joint Board, Workers United are allying with John Buck of Chicago on redevelopment of 2116 Chestnut.  Demolition is well underway and the project is expected to produce 900 construction jobs.

Toll Brothers continues to Build in South Philadelphia, showing no fear of the for-sale housing world.  The developers are set to break ground across from its Naval Square project on 66 townhomes.  The $31 million project is called 2400 South and is part of a larger phase of a residential project at the site.  Eventually, Toll Bothers plans to construct 56 condominiums but is still selling condos at Naval Square, so they will hold off until those units are wrapped up.  Apparently townhouses and condos are still selling, just as long as the price is right and the location is perfect.

Iroko Pharmaceuticals Expands in Navy Yard

Iroko Pharmaceutical leases space in a new building to be constructed by Liberty Property Trust at the Navy Yard Corporate Center.  The new 56,000 square foot headquarters will allow Iroko to increase the size of its work force from about 50 people to more than 200.  The company currently occupies about 19,000 square feet of office space in the Navy Yard.

Liberty Property Trust and Synterra Partners, both of Philadelphia, will break ground on the new four-story headquarters building.  Liberty is investing $15.4 million in the project, which is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of next year.  It will represent the seventh commercial property Liberty has developed at the Navy Yard Corporate Center with Synterra.

Philadelphia To Bid For 2026 World Expo; The Conversation Begins!

Back in December, the Ed Bacon Student Design Competition  challenged students on a subject that event organizers say Philadelphia must soon tackle if the place of our nation's birth is to be the epicenter of the country's 250th Birthday Party.  University-level students from all disciplines were asked to imagine an international World's Fair style celebration in Philadelphia, with activity centered in South Philadelphia, near the airport, stadiums, Fort Mifflin and FDR Park.  A team from Cornell University won first place with their design, called Confluence Philadelphia 2026, a venue that will reflect not only a positive effect for the city in 2026, but also a lasting legacy.  Considering, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States was held in Philadelphia back in 1876 to celebrate the nation's 100th birthday (1876 Centennial Exposition), it only seems right to bring the expo back to the place where it all began, Philadelphia.

The student competition assignment was suggested by Andrew Hohns, a finance guy who ten years ago founded Young Involved Philadelphia and has more recently founded USA250, a non-profit organization aimed at not only bringing a year's worth of exhibitions in technology, sports, culture, history and the lively arts to the city, but using the celebration as a mechanism for attracting investment in the city's infrastructure from corporations, foundations, and other nations.

"I don't really see on the horizon many events that have the transformative capacity in terms of renewing infrastructure apart from USA 250," Hohns said.  "We have an opportunity to seize it."  This recorded by PlanPhilly at the award ceremony.

Hohns and his group are in the beginning stages, talking to movers and shakers in government, industry and philanthropy.  As things move forward, he will share the students' work with those who may be planning for the 250th exhibitions and their long-range impact.  The USA250 non-profit will soon be a 501(c)3 corporation, Hohn said.  It will then need a board of directors and some full-time, paid staff to define a vision and reach out to the corporations, foundations, government leaders and citizens who can make it happen.  One of the first goals will be raising seed money of between $500,000 and $1 million.

Hohns also talked about a few other big ideas, like General Electric being the electricity sponsor and in honor of the 250th anniversary presenting a Philadelphia neighborhood as the neighborhood of the future.   The homes could be outfitted with solar rooftops, fiber optic cables, and top-of-the-line energy-saving insulation possibly taking the neighborhood completely off the grid.  Other nations could build pavilions and other infrastructure showcasing the contribution they had in the development of America and Philadelphia.  Poland, for example, could build an exhibition in Port Richmond that could become a Polish-American Community Center.  China could make a gift of a Chinese Garden, a public green space built in decks over I-676 that would unite the north and south portions of Philadelphia's Chinatown with a beautiful public green space. The city could also use 2026 as a deadline to meet goals like lessening poverty and increasing literacy.

The 2026 event, Hohns believes, would do much more for the city than the Olympics.  The Olympics is only a couple of weeks in the summer, he said.  This could be a whole year of events- and, if done right, a huge boost in infrastructure and commerce.  Honestly, if Philadelphia can win the 2024 Olympics and the 2026 World Expo, the city would surely be in the perfect position to secure funding that will support both events.  The city's location is also key, smack dab in the middle of the North East Corridor, the expo and games would surely bring revenues to neighboring hubs like New York, Washington, and Boston.

The Cornell team contemplated "worlds fair" buildings and exhibition spaces becoming permanent structures, including residential housing.  They have developed an ecologically friendly plan, of not just temporary spaces that will be torn down at the exhibitions end.  they imagined the fair to be a catalyst for development, fostering national pride and establishing the USA as a leader in sustainable industry and development.  By fostering a Public-Private vision for successful development and clearly defined programming and goals, the fair would have a much greater chance at producing a successful and sustainable economic turn around for the city.  The team addressed energy and waste distribution, expansion of park land and wet land reclamation, and improved connections through trails and transit.

Images courtesy of Winning Cornell Team