Large Ugly Building planned on 205 Race (2nd and Race)

[phillyaggie]

^ yep, that would've been awesome....and totally unPhiladelphian. Don't think it's in the blood of Philly's moneyed class to actually like a design like that and buy a unit there. too staid.

[John Goodman]

yes looks cool

any chance the zba decides to ignore the old city naysayers?

[OffenseTaken]

jawn is bad ass.

Too bad OCCA voted 11-1 against it as Old City slips further into irrelevancy as both a residential and commercial neighborhood.

Ohmigosh, but where are the working shutters? Are all the units equipped with dumbwaiters and chamber pots?

Plus, it would block the magnificent views of all our historic asphalt deserts from the bridge.

[eldondre]

^ yep, that would've been awesome....and totally unPhiladelphian. Don't think it's in the blood of Philly's moneyed class to actually like a design like that and buy a unit there. too staid.

Its actually your attitude that is typical of Philadelphia. While this isn't la I do think there's a niche market for this.product. Philadelphia is a big place with people of all tastes. Its more likely nimbys would oppose it than would be buyers.

[BarryG]

So is this doubling in height some sort of gambit by the developer? The render looks amazing but surely he didn't expect a surprise 200' tower to be received well by the OCCA.

[Scoats]

jawn is bad ass.

I agree.

And this is the sort of building we should have in Center City. If I lived in Old City, I would expect buildings like that. Good density is why we live in the city and not the burbs. This looks like good density to me.

[Cro Burnham]

Going back to that Planning Commission video . . .

Does anyone know why Richard Thom has a voice in Old City? doesn't the dude live in Yardley or Fort Washington or some remote place like that?

And I think I saw a photo of John Gallery next to the definition of "milquetoast" in Webster's. His design and urban planning views, to be charitable, are about as interesting and contemporary as those of Robert Venturi, the octogenarian prince of flat brown cut-out boxes.

How is it that the ideas of these self-inflated antiquated relics from the 80s, 70s and even earlier are still afforded respect in this town? Ed Bacon was another good example: the man whose only genuine achievement was the rebirth of Society Hill (significant, I grant you, but one of the few positive achievements in a portfolio otherwise marked by wholesale urban destruction) continued to be heard 40 years after his ideas proved utterly repugnant and irrelevant. But at least Bacon achieved something. Gallery and Thom are wind-up drones of pontification and obstruction of anything new.

It's as if New Yorkers still heeded the ideas of Robert Moses.

Please let go and accept your irrelevance, you boring old bags of hot air, stupidity, blandness, and self-importance. Your time passed 30+ years ago.

[Burholme06]

Apparently there is a really ugly and massive building coming up at 2nd and Race at the empty lot there.

It will block the view of the bridge, block the city view from the bridge and will look nothing close to historical. The developers are Brown Hill development and they own the lot. They don't seem to care much about Old City and have not adapted the style to fit.

This is still the best part of the thread. The first sentence is gold.

[phillyaggie]

Its actually your attitude that is typical of Philadelphia. While this isn't la I do think there's a niche market for this.product. Philadelphia is a big place with people of all tastes. Its more likely nimbys would oppose it than would be buyers.

haha ok. i expected that from you. supposedly far lesser style conscious cities have buildings that mix things up, so it's not just LA or the dumps... besides, when did LA become a gold standard of stylish urban highrise living?

Philly's market for such products is indeed a small niche...small enough likely that most developers don't want to deal with the headache of the nimby's and dealing with uncertain price points after that. The two ritziest condo towers built in the last boom are of fairly staid design, you might have noticed (I'm talking about Residences at Ritz and 1706 Rittenhouse). and one of them still isn't fully occupied.

The

[elfreth]

As someone who lives in old city, all i can say is: wow, that would have been such a cool building

[John Goodman]

yes looks cool

any chance the zba decides to ignore the old city naysayers?

^ what's everyone think?

how much power do old city nimby's actually have? if you had to guess... do you think this building happens?

[phillyaggie]

not happening. we'll all be relieved that something else did actually happen in its place and that the lot didn't sit empty for another decade.

[bluecuracao]

yes looks cool

any chance the zba decides to ignore the old city naysayers?

It does happen. The ZBA does what the ZBA does...then it would be up to the developer to actually come up with the money and follow through.

I love this design. It's by far the best one they've presented for this lot.

[eldondre]

It'd go a long way to enlivening the race st connector as well

[billy ross]

^ yep, that would've been awesome....and totally unPhiladelphian. Don't think it's in the blood of Philly's moneyed class to actually like a design like that and buy a unit there. too staid.

? Are you saying the design is too staid for Philadelphians? Or are you saying that Philadelphians are too staid for the design? I don't agree with either sentiment. In case you haven't noticed, Texas isn't known for its architecture. Philadelphia is. Our architectural heritage here is world class. Not so in Texas, which is known for cartoonish architecture and gaudiness, so I don't get what I perceive to be your disparaging Philadelphians' architectural taste/savvy. The same Philadelphians who have produced the architecural patrimony we possess now will continue to produce similar architectural patrimony going forward. Would you like me to name some really sharp buildings Philadelphians have supported over the years, both during my lifetime and before it? The great buildings in any city, by the way, are always in the minority of those built. Do you think that every song from the 50's or that every musical piece from the Classical era was a classic? Of course not - any fool should understand that. You certainly seem to have that myopic attitude, though.

[JakeL]

There's now a website with new renderings, building description, and a petition if you support the project:

205 Race | Project Development

[Jayfar]

There's now a website with new renderings, building description, and a petition if you support the project:

205 Race | Project Development

Odd, the four renderings on the front page don't agree as to the actual color. Will it be dark grey (which I like best for this design) or red brick colored?

The massing slides show a thoughtful approach to the site: 205 Race | Project Development - concept

[3rd&Brown]

jawn is bad ass.

Too bad OCCA voted 11-1 against it as Old City slips further into irrelevancy as both a residential and commercial neighborhood.

This.

Send it to Northern Liberties.

We'll take it.

By the way. The reason why places like London and Paris are so dynamic is because this sort of juxtaposition exists all over their downtown cores.

I love it.

Let's not talk about how the OCCA has its meetings during the day so that the only people who can attend are self-important unemployed or self-employed old people.

I'm so glad I left that neighborhood instead of buying there back in 2003 when I did. Had I bought the condo in the Wireworks I was considering at the time instead of my house, my condo would be worth exactly what it was worth 10 years ago. Since then, my house has doubled in value, if not more.

Whew. Old City Relevance -1.

[carloss]

Inga officially approves:

Changing Skyline: Old City plan deserves praise, not opposition

At first I found the design a bit too bombastic, but in the overhead renderings it looks pretty awesome--doesn't take away from the bridge at all.

[JakeL]

Just received approval from the Planning Commission: Planning Commission supports zoning relief for 205 Race proposal | PlanPhilly: Planning Philadelphia's Future

Zoning hearing to be held on November 7th.