A New Season for Philadelphia?
It sure feels like we have entered a new era of development in the city
As brat summer officially ends and we tumble towards the pumpkin-spiced future, we have found ourselves at something of a crossroads. Not that this is unusual for a certain development blogger at this time of year, but every time we sit down to begin to write up the next hard-hitting, perfectly nuanced piece on what’s happening in The World’s Best City™ we felt…different. Is it because darkness is beginning to set in sooner (literally), or is it because it feels that the sun is also setting on this recent round of development across TWBC™?
Whoa, that’s pretty deep, bro. I know, right?
So, are we just being dramatic or is there anything real behind this overly-emo sentiment? We would say that there has absolutely been a real vibe shift over the last several years during this recent round of development. Let’s crawl inside the Dali painting that is the surreal world of Philadelphia real estate to see what the hell we’re talking about.
I mean, where do we even begin? Let’s start big and get smaller as we go. First, and most prominent recently, is the mess with 76 Place/the Sports Complex/Fashion District. After teasing a riverfront location back in 2020 (more on that in a bit), the Sixers ownership group pitched plans for a new arena for Market East, taking up the western third of the mall. You likely know the drama and details, but the recently-released impact study did little to shine any light on whether a Market St. arena was more or less likely, despite the existential threat to Chinatown. And just for fun, it seems that our neighbors across the river may be trying to lure the Sixers to Camden with a little $400-millon carrot.
To further complicate matters, a Comcast Spectacor-led team is now proposing a bio-medical innovation hub at the Fashion District. This would supposedly be in addition to a multi-billion-dollar reimagining of the Sports Complex. But after all of these years of talk, we now still have the Sixers sharing a space with the Flyers, surrounded by what seems like endless parking. At least we have Paul George.
Let’s scoot a bit northwest from the Sports Complex to a place that is seeing perhaps the greatest positive change in the city: the Bellwether District. After the pollution-emitting refinery literally exploded several years ago, HRP came in to remediate the site and begin a transformation to a massive industrial/innovation campus. This is all happening across the river from what will be a revamped Bartram Village, along with new trail connections from Southwest Philly to Center City. Additionally, there’s maybe even more development ahead, if PIDC’s Lower Schuylkill Biotech Campus plans find a suitor.
You may have noticed the prefix bio- come up a few times in those previous paragraphs. And that’s because the greater biotech/lab/life sciences/medical space is yet another area that is seeing changes. In addition to the proposals already mentioned, 2300 Market St., 3001 Chestnut St., 3151 Market St. and 3201 Cuthbert St. are all making major progress already. However, after what seemed like a limitless demand for exactly this type of in-person space, the market here has seen something of a slowdown. Is this a blip, or a sign of things to come? It’s tough to tell, but things certainly feel different today than just a few years back for this real estate class, especially as proposals slow to a trickle from a deluge.
And while it is indeed awesome to see construction progress at some sky-high residential proposals (caveat: except for the additional demo that was not part of the original plans), along with some additional density where rowhomes were planned, it sure feels as if the pipeline of multifamily projects is slowing down to some degree. Again: this is a vibes-based read of the situation for the most part, but we may see soon see more delays from other proposals before we see anything big and shiny pop up on the radar.
Infrastructure is also changing rapidly, especially as one gets closer to the Delaware River. The Penn’s Landing Park is now moving at full bore, adding 11+ acres of landscaped, activated park space. The Chinatown Stitch will soon remove the gash of the Vine Street Expressway (at least somewhat) as one moves along towards a newly funded Rail Park expansion. Less excitingly, it seems as if a widened I-95 may still be in the works in South Philly, despite public pushback.
Will we see bike lanes? Will we ever actually see a bus revolution? Will a mixed-use project rise next to the new park? Will we see more office-to-residential conversions as the work-from-home reality solidifies. Will we see single-family home prices begin to surge if/when interest rates begin to creep back down? If we had all of these answers, we would likely be on a beach in Puerto Vallarta, eating farm-to-table meals while figuring out how many monthly vacations we could take on the interest earnings of incredible real estate wealth. Or perhaps we would still be right here, asking these hard questions on America’s Favorite Philadelphia Real Estate Blog, as the city shifts towards its new real estate reality.
So much happening with Philly RE right now - especially with the 76ers arena!