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Kenz0Cree t1_iwuovo3 wrote

Reply to comment by hdhcnsnd in Developer restoring 'Boner 4ever' building in North Philly wants to construct an 8-story addition by redeyeblink

The thought is that philly is gonna go through a resurgence and gentifry like NYC and boston has over the last 20 years. Guess we have to wait and see if it actually happens.

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LFKhael t1_iwuqood wrote

I buy it. Philly is still pretty cheap for an east coast city. Money goes a lot further here, and people from other low income cities or suburbs can afford to get off the ground.

People talk about how bad SEPTA is, but SEPTA makes it possible to participate in the economy without owning a car. That's a huge modifier given how much money a car sucks up and the random fluctuations in gas prices.

I'm overly optimistic, but I think the El and BSL make things inevitable.

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hdhcnsnd t1_iwv03m5 wrote

I agree that the El and BSL will continue to drive development.

I gotta admit though, the disjunction of development in Philly is weird. For example, there are still parking lots and other underuses of land on broad between vine and girard. Even downtown in general.

I assumed infill would precede expansion.

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donttouchthirdrail t1_iwv2uab wrote

I assume most of the thought process behind the parking lots is

  1. I have a successful business, why would I change anything
  2. I'll be able to sell it for more in 5 years

They'll get bought eventually. Hopefully city council raises the parking tax.

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LFKhael t1_iwv2dl3 wrote

I never expect real estate to make any sense. I also assume the old parking lots are money printers, like the one at 13th and Locust.

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Dryheavemorning t1_iwviykt wrote

After paying $37 to park in the surface lot by Walnut Street Theater for an hour and a half recently I believe that.

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RoughRhinos t1_iwvz9vk wrote

Oof why not take transit in?

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Dryheavemorning t1_iww45e9 wrote

Had to get to work out in the burbs asap after a Drs appointment and the regional rail schedule sucks now.

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RoughRhinos t1_iwwcmc0 wrote

Dang yeah RR scheduling is a travesty. I get annoyed when I visit my fam in jersey and have to wait 10 minutes for a Patco train. Never even check the schedules unless it's past 9pm or a weekend.

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DayJob93 t1_iwuqj8r wrote

Meh..it has been happening along with national urbanization trends in the cities you mentioned and others over the past decade. However, this is a new level of scope/ambition for an investment in a Philly project that is not based on a area that is trending towards gentrification but planting a flag and hoping similar developments will flow downstream. It’s a bold strategy cotton…

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wolfvonbeowulf t1_iwuxkoi wrote

If you look at Shift Capital's other projects, you'll see that planting flags is their M.O. Until recently, they have been basically the sole source of outside investment in the Harrowgate neighborhood in the last 10 years. Things seem to be slowly turning but it will still be a long while before Harrowgate is even seen as up and coming.

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hdhcnsnd t1_iwv0vx3 wrote

I hope that happens, but tbh Boston and NYC are miles ahead in terms of their tech/business/professional economy which I think drove their resurgence.

It’s nice to see small wins in Philly like the biotech industry growing and big tech names setting up small offices, but i don’t see Philly catching up in its current trajectory.

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Raecino t1_iww1pjx wrote

Yeah they’ve been saying that since 20 years ago

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