The Granary

The luxury apartments at The Granary in Logan Square are developing quite nicely.  The building will contain 227 luxury apartments, over 20,000 square feet of prime retail space and underground parking. The apartments feature modern finishes with in-unit washer/dryer, and select units will also feature balconies and high ceilings.  The building will have a fitness center, library/music room, club room and outdoor terrace, business center, rooftop deck, and concierge services.

Pennsylvania Mormon Temple Update

Work progresses forward at the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Mormon Temple site.  The new Temple will stand adjacent to the Philadelphia Family Court House on Vine Street.  Extensive excavation is being done to prepare for the underground parking facility that will support the Temple structure above and tree filled gardens surrounding the site.

PHL Family Court Update

The future Family Court Building currently rising at the northwest corner of 15th and Arch Streets will unite the Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division facilities of the Philadelphia Family Court.  The facility was recently topped of earlier this month.  The occasion was celebrated by state and local government officials, project team members from the Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS) and Tishman Construction Corporation, just to name a few.

The 670,000-square-foot 15 floor facility designed by Ewing Cole, will feature space for court queuing and security, court support offices, public waiting areas, staff support areas, holding cells and judges' chambers for court administration.  The facility is expected to open in June 2014.

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PHS Plans for Next Generation Civic Landscapes

The Philadelphia Horticulture Society is currently investigating seven potential sites  to serve as canvases to its next generation of civic landscapes initiative.  In recent decades PHS had developed landscape approaches to improve high-profile places like the Azalea Garden and Logan Square, as well as less show-stopping locations like the medians along Columbus Boulevard.

PlanPhilly reports that the organization also seeks to design impressive Welcome Gateways to the city at the International Airport and in the Northeast Corridor along the Amtrak/Septa rail line running through North Philadelphia. For the last year and a half, PHS worked with PennPraxis and more than 100 key stakeholders to zero in on which sites in Philadelphia are most worthy of their focused attention alongside community and civic partners.

Here are the seven sites currently at the top of their list:

1. North Broad (Diamond St. to Spring Garden St.)
2. Central Broad (Spring Garden St. to South St)
3. South Broad (South St. to Passyunk Ave)
4. Vine street (Benjamin Franklin Bridge/ 5th St. to 20th St.)
5. Northeast Corridor (Amtrak/SEPTA rail corridor through North Philadelphia)
6. West Girard Avenue (29th St. to 41st St)
7. Airport (PHL/I-95)

Each project could include multiple projects at a variety of scales; may focus mor on making a positive impression ("image-makers"), fostering a sense of place ("place-makers"), or improving neighborhood connections and quality of life ("partner-makers").

PHS has several tools in mind to help improve these spaces, including signage, surface textures, land or aquatic forms, furniture, landscape screening techniques, vertical or horizontal plantings, lighting, and artistic installations.

Family Court Redevelopment

The process is finally underway to selecting a developer to convert the historic local landmark at 1801 Vine Street into a hotel. The presence of government institutions on the Parkway will finally be a mistake of the past and we can now envision a more complete future that embodies culture, education, livability, leisure, entertainment, and exploration.

After a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process last year, five development teams were selected to submit proposals for the property's reuse in a process being overseen by the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC).  The five teams are: HRI properties, Dranoff Properties, Peebles, P&A Associates, and Logan Square Holdings.  Proposals are due July 10 and will be evaluated by a selection committee comprised of representatives from city agencies.

The pre-qualified developers are being asked to consider turning the building's upper floors into a hotel, find creative ways to retain public access to areas of the ground floor's historically designated  interiors, and must achieve a minimum sustainability threshold of a LEED Silver rating.

Philadelphia Wins EPA Grant To Plan for the Reuse of Brownfield Properties Along Frankford Creek

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Philadelphia as one of 20 communities to receive a grant to conduct a planning study to guide the cleanup and reactivation of brownfield land.  A $200,000 grant to Philadelphia will fund a study for a four- square- mile- area of the Frankford Creek, including sections of the Bridesburg, Frankford, Port Richmond and Juniata Park neighborhoods.  The Philadelphia City Planning Commission applied for the grant, which was announced April 25th, and will manage the planning process.

The grant is the first step  toward reusing formerly industrial properties along Frankford Creek in new and exciting ways, says Gary Jastrzab, Executive Director of the City Planning Commission.  the revitalization of the area was the focus of the recently adopted Philadelphia 2035: Lower Northeast District plan.

The former Coke and Rohm and Haas site, totaling 126 riverfront acres in the Bridesburg neighborhood, present economic development opportunities for waterfront redevelopment and community revitalization.  Similarly, the former site of Edgewater Dyeing and Finishing presents a unique opportunity for creek-side redevelopment in Frankford.  The rehabilitation of brownfield sites will also enable the development of the Frankford Creek Greenway, a greenway that would connect Tacony Creek Park to the North Delaware Riverfront.