Philadelphia 2035 (Penn, Atlantic: crime, lawyers, promotional)

[asiandudeyo]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Author of the Brian Emmons interview here, and no fan of Toll Brothers' development style.

The thing is, while the article is indeed Toll Brothers' apologia pro vita sua, I've seen enough of the things Emmons cites as reasons for Toll developing as it does take place to give the company a little benefit of the doubt.

Interesting, architecturally distinctive mid-rise mixed-use projects still draw sharp objections from near neighbors, while neighbors further away often support them. This dynamic delayed Stamper Square in Society Hill to the point where, once the project had all the needed approvals and had cleared all appeals, financing for new housing construction had dried up. Toll's 410 S. Front St., a safe, low-rise, mostly residential development on that site, sailed through the SHCA and ZBA by comparison.

Something similar is going on with 205 Race in Old City, which currently is stalled somewhere in the pipeline as its ZBA day of reckoning keeps getting postponed.

I will allow that other factors probably contributed to the failure of the various high-rise projects cited in the interview: timing in the case of the Murano and 10 Rittenhouse, location in the case of the Murano and Waterfront Square. But perhaps to underscore Emmons' point, consider that a few residential projects along the Delaware waterfront did succeed in the years after Waterfront Square was completed, including that hokey cruise-ship apartment building at Pier 34, while that project continued to languish sales-wise. Now that the market is recovering, the big high-rise projects that had been proposed for the north central Delaware riverfront all seem to be either still dead or gestating very slowly.

Toll's business model - build lots of 'em and sell 'em fast - is not conducive to the type of development I suspect most of us here would like to see. But it makes their stockholders happy, and they're the first people the company has to answer to.

This!
Thank you Mr. / Ms. Reporter Man / Woman.

[kidphilly]

FORT WORTH: American Airlines-US Airways merger may be announced soon - Business - MiamiHerald.com

[kidphilly]

The Daily Pennsylvanian :: New upscale housing option targets grad students

More images for the new Cira tower

[SirGreenDown]

Originally Posted by kidphilly

The Daily Pennsylvanian :: New upscale housing option targets grad students

More images for the new Cira tower

Yikes.

[asiandudeyo]

Originally Posted by kidphilly

The Daily Pennsylvanian :: New upscale housing option targets grad students

More images for the new Cira tower

Which building is it again in the rendering? Is it the one in front of the 30th Station building?
Sounds promising!

[phillies2011]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Author of the Brian Emmons interview here, and no fan of Toll Brothers' development style.

The thing is, while the article is indeed Toll Brothers' apologia pro vita sua, I've seen enough of the things Emmons cites as reasons for Toll developing as it does take place to give the company a little benefit of the doubt.

Interesting, architecturally distinctive mid-rise mixed-use projects still draw sharp objections from near neighbors, while neighbors further away often support them. This dynamic delayed Stamper Square in Society Hill to the point where, once the project had all the needed approvals and had cleared all appeals, financing for new housing construction had dried up. Toll's 410 S. Front St., a safe, low-rise, mostly residential development on that site, sailed through the SHCA and ZBA by comparison.

Something similar is going on with 205 Race in Old City, which currently is stalled somewhere in the pipeline as its ZBA day of reckoning keeps getting postponed.

I will allow that other factors probably contributed to the failure of the various high-rise projects cited in the interview: timing in the case of the Murano and 10 Rittenhouse, location in the case of the Murano and Waterfront Square. But perhaps to underscore Emmons' point, consider that a few residential projects along the Delaware waterfront did succeed in the years after Waterfront Square was completed, including that hokey cruise-ship apartment building at Pier 34, while that project continued to languish sales-wise. Now that the market is recovering, the big high-rise projects that had been proposed for the north central Delaware riverfront all seem to be either still dead or gestating very slowly.

Toll's business model - build lots of 'em and sell 'em fast - is not conducive to the type of development I suspect most of us here would like to see. But it makes their stockholders happy, and they're the first people the company has to answer to.

ugh i hate that line/excuse

[phillies2011]

Originally Posted by kidphilly

The Daily Pennsylvanian :: New upscale housing option targets grad students

More images for the new Cira tower

why??????? what happened to the old design? this looks terrible.

[taha-nj]

Originally Posted by phillies2011

ugh i hate that line/excuse

Why? These companies aren't charities, and they -are- responsible to their shareholders first and foremost. You are free to start a construction company yourself and try to erect buildings to your liking...

[phillies2011]

Originally Posted by taha-nj

Why? These companies aren't charities, and they -are- responsible to their shareholders first and foremost. You are free to start a construction company yourself and try to erect buildings to your liking...

I hate that line because it implies that somehow non publicly traded companies are not also beholden to turning a profit. Every company from the largest to the smallest is trying to make money. It's a bs excuse. It doesn't matter what the product is.

[taha-nj]

Originally Posted by phillies2011

I hate that line because it implies that somehow non publicly traded companies are not also beholden to turning a profit. Every company from the largest to the smallest is trying to make money. It's a bs excuse. It doesn't matter what the product is.