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Tag: Center City

Bright Lights, Big Issues

Posted on by Solo Team

Philadelphians are rightfully proud of our city’s historic streetscape. But will a slew of proposed digital billboards add new life and energy to our city’s architectural heritage or serve as Las Vegas-style eyesores?

 

The Lit Brothers building on Market Street is the latest historic Center City building that may soon host a large digital billboard. Located just a stone’s throw from Independence Hall, this new billboard proposal is once again adding heat to a simmering dispute between business interests and preservationists.

 

Most will freely admit that the Lit Brothers building needs some investment. Once the city’s most successful commercial spaces, tenants in the ornate historic building have struggled financially in the past few decades. Developers are then seeking to breathe new life into this 19th treasure by (in part) adding a huge and eye-catching digital billboard.

 

Day and night renderings of the Lit Brothers Building’s digital billboard. (Image courtesy Hidden City.org.)

 

Indeed, the potential new Lit Brothers billboard is just one of many similarly controversial proposals. While the digital billboards on the Kimmel Center have proved a success, other proposals at the Gallery for instance have received more mixed reviews. For its part, City Hall is still grappling with how to regulate this type of outdoor advertising.

 

Practically though, it’s important to remember that progress and preservation are not mutually exclusive. Smart growth can breathe new life into places like the struggling Lit Brothers Building. In addition, these new digital billboards are planned for commercial districts – that’s not to suggest that those areas don’t also deserve protection, but Times Square is not about to appear in your leafy residential block keeping you up at night.

 

We need to recognize then that digital billboards will affect different spaces in different ways. There’s really no use in trying to create a one-size-fits-all approach to these displays in a city as diverse as Philadelphia. But if we demand smart, site-specific planning for these billboards we can hopefully ensure businesses, residents and preservationists will all be reasonably satisfied.

 

Besides, if Philadelphians can come to love the digital sign atop the PECO Building, surely we can learn to live with them other places, too.

 

Opening image courtesy of barco.com.

Center City’s 2013 Retail Renaissance

Posted on by Solo Team

A new report from the Center City District reveals that downtown Philadelphia, long caught between the King of Prussia Mall and New York City, has emerged as a major upscale shopping destination, as retailers use the area’s population density to their advantage.

 

The Center City District’s annual retail report (seen in full here) features some truly impressive numbers: retail rents along the high-end Walnut Street shopping district have increased by 33.8% from 2012 to 2013, the strongest growth of any major urban retail corridor in the country.

 

Michelle Shannon, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Center City District, recently discussed this growth with Philly.com, saying that many now “feel like the rubber’s really hitting the road” for Center City retail investments and that “people we wouldn’t see four years ago, or signing leases in Philadelphia, are now open.”

 

So what’s driving this growth? The report concludes Center City’s amazing density of jobs and residents is a key part of this success story. With over 100,000 residents in walking distance of major shopping streets, plus nearly nine times the office workers of King of Prussia, Center City retailers have easy access to customers.

 

In addition, this report reveals that district’s workers and residents are among the highest earning in the Philadelphia area as well, making Center City even more attractive to retailers.

 

Areas outside the Walnut Street shopping district are growing too, like here in Washington Square West.

 

Of course, as a city famous for its independent spirit, Philadelphians are sometimes wary of embracing the big national brands driving this retail renaissance. Boutiques and independent stores play a critical role in Center City’s retail market and still represent the majority of stores. Encouraging continued big developments, while also helping the city’s small businesses to share in that growth, is critical to ensuring a high quality of life (and sense of style) for Center City’s residents and workers.

Conversion Project To Densify Problem Block

Posted on by Solo Team

Marked by low occupancy, graffiti and poor foot traffic, the 1100 Block of Chestnut Street is a rare remaining example of Center City’s bad old days. Developers however have just received approval to transform a large part of this neglected street for the better.

 

At a recent Zoning Board meeting, an affiliate of Brickstone Realty won approval from the City to construct a mixed use residential/commercial conversion project on Chestnut Street near its intersection with 12th Street. When completed this three building project will feature two floors of dedicated retail and commercial spaces with 80 rental apartments above.

 

The project, located on 1118-28 Chestnut Street, comes as a major boost for one of Center City’s least desirable blocks, whose mix of vacant store fronts, low-end retail and handful of municipal service centers form an unpleasant atmosphere for pedestrians between the dynamic Washington Square West and Independence Mall neighborhoods.

 

A rendering of the future retail and residential spaces at 1118-28 Chestnut.  Image courtesty of Plan Philly.
A rendering of the future retail and residential spaces at 1118-28 Chestnut.  Image courtesy of Plan Philly.

 

Despite its current state though, 1100 block of Chestnut Street has natural assets, as it is strategically situated between the booming Jefferson Hospital campus and the commercial and retail spaces along 13th Street. Developers likely believe new construction will allow them to take advantage of this prime yet under-developed location.

 

Indeed, over the past several decades numerous Philadelphia neighborhoods have experienced sustained growth thanks to projects (like 1118-28 Chestnut) which increase local population density. Philadelphia’s pedestrian-friendly scale also plays a role, as new residents are able to support businesses on their very own block. The successful rehabilitation of Northern Liberties and University City are great examples of this development strategy.

 

Nearly three decades on then, it’s good to see that private businesses and the City still recognize that increased population density is the key to Philadelphia’s continued structural and economic redevelopment.