Philadelphia 2035 (Progress, Tinicum Township, Penn: permits, courses, short term)

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by kidphilly

an alternative link

Philadelphia Navy Yard Liberty Property Trust - Philadelphia Business Journal

I couldn't find if the building will draw new jobs to Philly, or if it will simply be a re-location of CC jobs to the NY, a la GSK.

As for this:

Originally Posted by Summersm343

No. Philly.com is the most sensationalistic, negative publication in the entire country. They will find any way to spin a positive story negatively. Center City is very healthy and it's much better now than it's ever been in it's history and it's only getting better. Don't listen to a thing philly.com says.

It's funny how two people can look at the same set of facts and draw different conclusions. The article does not imply CC is descending into its final death throes. As the headline implies, there are some "signs of weakness." Residential will only go so far in keeping CC as vibrant as it is, particularly until the school challenge is addressed. Tourism is a big contributor to the city's economy, and if there are hints of weakness, this needs to be looked into, as well. As for convention business, I imagine the whole model is in decline everywhere. With folks able to virtually connect anywhere, anytime, no matter where they are in the world, how much sense does it make to fly people in form around the world to eat at the Hard Rock on the company's dime?

All this said, the most interesting statistic is that Philly's office rental rates are below the national average. While this would indicate the market is soft here, this can also work to the city's advantage. In enticing companies to re-locate or otherwise set up shop here, there are only a handful of cities that can provide the mix of work/live/play that CC offers. If this can be offered at "sale prices," we've got a pretty good product to market.

CC is in great shape, but as the article implies, there are areas that should be shorn up to keep it healthy and growing. IMO, to dismiss this simply as the musings of a news source with a negative agenda strikes me putting one's head in the sand. Really: "Philly.com is the most sensationalistic, negative publication in the entire country"?

[kyb01]

The philly.com article regarding the CC health report, and, apparently, the report itself , failed to mention the federal government shutdown last Fall and how that impacted local tourism in 2013.

Likewise there was no mention of the federal drop in funds from, for example, the NIH, which would have an effect on employment with local healthcare education and research.

In other words some current weaknesses in CC have been caused by "outside" forces.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by kyb01

In other words some current weaknesses in CC have been caused by "outside" forces.

That's exactly right, and the fact that Philly.com provided essentially no contextual information like the Federal shutdown and decline in NIH funding in their article is shoddy journalism.

[phillies2011]

Originally Posted by jm02

CC is in great shape, but as the article implies, there are areas that should be shorn up to keep it healthy and growing. IMO, to dismiss this simply as the musings of a news source with a negative agenda strikes me putting one's head in the sand. Really: "Philly.com is the most sensationalistic, negative publication in the entire country"?

I think you and others are missing the point of our complaints with the inquirer and philly.com (this article appeared in both places.)

Clearly center city's long term viability is still far from unimpeachable. There are still legitimate problems, problems that need to be addressed if Center city is going to be able to continue to grow and prosper. The issue is the story in question is not just a general commentary on the state of center city, but rather it is a news article ostensibly reporting the findings of a much larger 75 page report that the Center City District released. The fact that the takeaway from such an upbeat and positive report is to latch on to the few small and explainable negatives about center city shows an incredibly negative bias.

As others have mentioned, to cite declining liberty bell and independence hall's declining attendance as cause for worry without making any mention at all of the government sequester and shutdown is downright irresponsible.

Plus they mention the low price for office space in philly without stating the obvious caveat. Philly has a very small amount of class A office space because it has been so long since the economy and market factors have warranted the construction of new state of the art office construction. Philly apparently only has six buildings that are considered trophy space, that is clearly going to have a negative affect on the average price of office space if so few spaces are of the quality to command the top value the market could bear.

But check this out:


Suddenly that demand for the highest end space has gotten so high that there is absolutely none available. Thus the upcoming construction of FMC and CITC and with more apparently in the pipeline as well. So that average price is obviously about to sharply rise once all of this brand new state of the art space comes onto the market in just a couple of years.

It's not that they're pointing out flaws with center city, it's that they're pointing out flaws with the absolute absence of any context. The fact that the dumb negative article was supposed to be about a positive report released by the CCD just makes the negativity of it even more perplexing.

I really think one of Philadelphia's of biggest impediments to world class status is the sh*tty negative attitude of so many of is residents and i think the negativity about Philadelphia that is displayed in our media is one of the biggest causes of this type of mentality. So no, I don't think it is at all hyperbolic to say those things about the inquirer or philly.com.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by phillies2011

The issue is the story in question is not just a general commentary on the state of center city, but rather it is a news article ostensibly reporting the findings of a much larger 75 page report that the Center City District released. The fact that the takeaway from such an upbeat and positive report is to latch on to the few small and explainable negatives about center city shows an incredibly negative bias.

I took some time to scan the report and if this is the only article on the report, I would agree that the writer was searching for flaws to highlight.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by jm02

I took some time to scan the report and if this is the only article on the report, I would agree that the writer was searching for flaws to highlight.

It wasn't. Here's my story on the report's release:

The state of Center City: Fine, save for that jobs part | Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

Got a nice note from the CCD's director of communications thanking me for writing a balanced report and complimenting me on my writing style.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

It wasn't. Here's my story on the report's release:

The state of Center City: Fine, save for that jobs part | Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

Got a nice note from the CCD's director of communications thanking me for writing a balanced report and complimenting me on my writing style.

+1 This looks like a reasonable and balanced summary of the study. Just to be clear, however, I was inquiring if this was the only Inky/phiily.com article summarizing the release. I'm assuming it was.

[kidphilly]

Philly Bricks: Pearl's 19th and Chestnut

[gwillyfromphilly]

Experts say Penn's Landing makeover would bring $1.8 billion in economic growth to the waterfront.

Study: Penn's Landing makeover would bring $1.8 billion in growth

[phillies2011]

Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly

Experts say Penn's Landing makeover would bring $1.8 billion in economic growth to the waterfront.

Study: Penn's Landing makeover would bring $1.8 billion in growth

A $250 million investment that would bring 1.8 billion in growth... seems like a no brainer to me. Why aren't we starting tomorrow?