Ridge Flats Gets "Green Light"

Ridge Flats finally received a green light by the Zoning Board of Adjustments last Wednesday Afternoon.  The 146-unit apartment complex at 4300 Ridge Avenue in East falls will contain some retail space on the ground floor, as well as 120 above-grade parking spaces.  parking is kept  above ground due to the property's location in the 100 year floodplain.

Although under the East falls zoning overlay, the project requires 695 parking spaces – four spots for every 1,000 feet of commercial space, no one, including the East Falls Development Corporation thinks that amount is necessary.  The developer said the retail uses will be community-based and geared toward pedestrians.

The building will be the largest "passive house" in the country.  Onion Flats' Tim McDonald explains that in passive houses, energy usage can be reduced by as much as 90 percent just by the way the "thermal envelope' is designed.

The one- and two- bedroom apartments at Ridge Flats will likely range in price from $1,300 to $2,000 a month.  The developers plan to pull permits and begin construction next spring.

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.

The Parkway; How Should We Plan For Its Future?

An ongoing discussion continues on in an article in The Wall Street Journal, "Rethinking Philadelphia's Boulevard of Broken Dreams".  The article addresses past, present, and future dreams, plans and changes to the parkway and questions "What is the best way to move forward?".

Paul Levy, president and CEO of Philadelphia's Center City District reflects on his past attempt to re-imagine the city's grand diagonal boulevard as a higher-density urban space.  An unsuccessful attempt, however from that, the re-pedestrianizing of the parkway caught on.  The current plan by Harris Steinberg, founding executive director of PennPraxis, considers how to connect the boulevard into the life of the city.  Dubbed "More Park, Less Way",  the plan focuses on turning four parcels of underutilized open space into lively neighborhood parks with amenities such as yoga, volleyball, chess boards, food kiosks and cultural programming.  The aim is to make the parkway as enticing a destination for city residents and tourists.

The formerly inhospitable roadway now has bike lanes and crosswalks, renovated sidewalks and benches, nighttime illumination, new parks and cafés, better signage, a restored Rodin Museum and Logan Circle, Sister Cities Park, and the move of the Barnes Foundation's gallery to the parkway.  Soon there will be a Mormon Temple at 17th and Vive streets and a hotel to occupy the Family Court building.

The question that remains now after its been cleaned up is "What do we want it to be?" says Michael DiBerardinis, the city's deputy mayor for environmental and community resources and commissioner of the Department of Parks and Recreation.  As Philadelphia continues to work toward being America's Next Great City, it's grandest boulevard for sure must stand well against any of its counterparts around the world.  Read more at WSJ.com

Renaissance Plaza

The new plan for Renaissance plaza on Delaware Avenue involves a residential and retail complex developed by Carl Marks Real Estate.  The project will take the place of the former World Trade Center site proposed years ago.  The new proposal calls for shorter towers, more retail, and more green public space.  The complex is half the height of the 430 foot-tall proposal presented last summer. Architect Bill Alesker of Alesker & Dundon said the height changes and dramatically altered plan was due in part to feedback from civic organizations and the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. In my personal opinion, the design could be more innovative and blend more seamlessly with the surrounding neighborhoods.  The architects are extremely bland and lazy when it comes to design, evident of all their previous work.  Short buildings can still be beautiful..... Always a let down Philadelphia.

Old proposal

Continuing on....... under this years proposal, the tallest of five towers is 240 feet.  The 1,411 units are mostly two bedrooms with two equal-sized master suites and one-bedroom units.  Rents are estimated to be about $1,800 to $3,300 per month.

The project would seek LEED Gold status, and would be built in five phases.  The developer is committed to building the first two buildings along with parking and public green space, and the other phases would follow, depending on demand.  Construction should start in Spring 2014, with a following 16 month timeline for the first phase.

Designers added a swath of landscaped public space to run through the property with hopes that it will draw people from the neighborhoods through the property, and down to the river.  Some roofs would offer additional green space.  The developers also hope that the early phases of the development will not only create demand for later phases, but would also spur other development along the Central Delaware.

Ridge Flats Receives Design Approval

Ridge Flats received an endorsement last Tuesday July 2, by the Civic Design Review Committee, which is charged with evaluating the public realm impacts of large development projects.  The  five-story, 146 unit, mixed use apartment complex, proposed for the former Rivage site at 4300-4326 Ridge Avenue, will be built to "passive house" standards: a hyper-efficient building standard intended to produce a "net zero" energy impact.

According to PlanPhilly, Tim McDonald of Onion Flats told the CDR Committee that the project will include 9,300 square feet of retail space, most of which is intended to be frequented by pedestrians in the neighborhood, not destination outlets that people would want to drive to.  A "cafe and lookout" are planned for the corner of Kelly Drive and Calumet Street.  The building will also have green roofs and a rain garden.

Chinatown's Eastern Tower Project Moves Forward

The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation disclosed at a meeting Tuesday Night to Chinatown residents that it will pull building permits and begin construction on the Eastern Tower in the next six to nine months.  Easter Tower will be a 23-story mixed-use apartment complex and community center at 10th and Vine streets.

The building, designed by KlingStubbins and Lisa Armstrong of A K Architecture,  will contain 143 residential units, 31 of which will be affordable for "moderate income" households earning up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income. The market-rate apartments will rent for around $1,700 for a one-bedroom and $2,500 for a two-bedroom. The developers are still rounding up funding for the project, estimated to cost $71 million.

The project will include 10,000 square feet of retail space, plus banquet and recreational space to be available to the community.  the cost to operate the community center is estimated at $255,000 yearly, and John Chin, PCDC Director, promised that recreational space and community services will always be available to community members.

Drexel Rail Yard Study & Transit-Oriented Development

Drexel university has big plans for the Most Eastern fringes of University City North of Chestnut Street.  The university also is exploring a possible future neighborhood built over the SEPTA and AMTRAK rail yards near 30th Street Station.  Drexel approached AMTRAK and SEPTA with the idea of doing an engineering and air rights study, which Drexel will pay for.  in addition to the railroads, PennDOT, PIDC, the University of Pennsylvania, Brandywine Realty Trust, and Philadelphia Deputy Mayor for Transportation and Utilities Rina Cutler are involved in the discussions.

University President John Anderson Fry estimates the study will cost between $2 million and $3 million, and take about three years.  Putting some sort of cap over the rail yards could create 80 to 90 acres of development space, he said.

Drexel initiated the rail yard possibility because it is in the construction and planning stages of a list of projects around 30th Street Station, in hopes of transforming the neighborhood into a transit-oriented "Innovation Neighborhood" for education, research, technology and commercial entities.  the university is adding commercial space, a hotel, student housing and classroom space.  it hopes to bring some of the companies its students do cooperative study with into the neighborhood for both student work experiences and joint research.  It is also opening space up to other universities in the city and around the world.  Drexel will act as a Master planner for this project, but will have many other public and private partners.

30th and Chestnut Before

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30th and JFK Before

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31st and Market Before

After