Friday Five: Halloween Edition
We're dressing up as a real estate blogger as we revisit a familiar format
It’s been a while since we provided you with a tasty fistful of news, but we figured you trick-or-treaters deserved something tasty to toss into your pumpkin-shaped pails. But we’re back at last to give you an end of week sampling of development updates that are sweeter than a Peanut Chew.
HBSE, Comcast Spectacor plan to demo much of the 1000 block of Market St.
Perhaps the biggest news this week is regarding the future of Market East. After we wrote up a tidy little timeline of recent happenings last week, the Inquirer reported on the plans to demolish the 1000 block of Market St. (highlighted above), with no defined plans for next steps. There’s a chance this will be activated into some type of pop-up in time for next summer’s packed event schedule, but a new advisory committee is looking into what the future should hold for the area. Until then, we hope this doesn’t turn into Disney Hole 2.0.
Another round of Roundhouse reimagining, though future remains uncertain
The Roundhouse is one of the more controversial buildings in the city, and for good reason. Last year, we thought we might have seen construction action for the former Police HQ, but that turned out to be nothing more than equipment for a filming session of the show “Task”. There has been years’ worth of discussion on what should happen next, with no plans yet in place. But Docomomo PHL and the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia recently hosted a symposium called “Roundhouse Reimagined”. This brought in several design firms to tour the building’s grounds while offering yet more input into how the building could be adaptively reused, despite its lack of historical protection. No word yet from the city about next steps - the symposium attendees weren’t even granted permission to visit the interiors. Let’s get our act together here, Philly!
232 units across 68 triplexes/quadplexes proposed in Hartranft
A series of old industrial buildings may be coming down near Temple University per a recent submission to Civic Design Review (CDR). The plans, designed by HDO Architecture, call for a whopping 68 buildings instead of one larger building, with a large parking area in the interior of the block-long property. We love the influx of new residences for the area and appreciate the straightforward, brick-heavy approach, but we do wish that the interesting older architecture here could have been incorporated somehow. Look for more details and some potential feedback at next Wednesday’s CDR meeting.
Roxborough apartment project gets upsized, new renderings
Another project heading to CDR next week is 4889 Umbria St., which we first reported on back in August. Originally planned for 297 units, the count has jumped to 380 units, with 384 vehicular spaces (and 128 bike spaces) right across from the Ivy Ridge SEPTA station. We appreciate the density here for this design from Oombra Architects but wish the parking portion was reduced in size. This project will be built around the existing commercial buildings, keeping a big chunk of the character that the previous project will sadly miss.
Philly’s bus terminal to return to a familiar spot at 10th & Filbert
After years of stopgap solutions, the city is looking to return bus operations to…the old bus station! While this seemed to be the most obvious solution possible according to some blogger dude, it took years of shuffling riders around to suboptimal spots before common sense prevailed. The PPA would operate this facility if the mayor’s preferred plan goes through, but it seems as if the local councilmember, Mark Squilla, still has some concerns over this approach. While a more permanent station would be ideal around 30th Street Station, let’s not let perfect get in the way of good here.
It is always exciting and interesting seeing how all of these disparate pieces of the built environment interact, and there are plenty of overlapping issues at play here. We truly hope that things proceed in a coordinated fashion that doesn’t drag on needlessly for years. Now, excuse us as we turn our attention to the NBA Cup as the Sixers once again take on the not-to-be-named team in green. Happy Halloween!