Category roxborough

More positive news for North Broad Street

Image courtesy of KiraWeinstein.com

 

If you have ever tried to drive from Northern Liberties to Fairmount in Philadelphia, you know that the streets just north of City Hall can be busy. What’s up, Spring Garden! When I have to make that particular journey, I take Callowhill St from N 2nd St to N 20th St.

It’s an easy cut-through, you should try it sometime.

On my way to Fairmount, I always get caught at the traffic light at N Broad St & Callowhill St; it’s almost inevitable. If you know this intersection, then you already know that there are 2 parking lots on the southeast and southwest corners. Not parking garages, surface parking lots. This puts you about 1/2 mile north of City Hall in Center City, Philadelphia.

In 2015, those 2 lots are prime real estate. Believe it.

North Broad St has come into its own over the past few years, meaning that developers are finally starting to consider large anchor projects along the northern stretch of this famed Philadelphia boulevard. This is in part due to the resurgence of neighborhoods like Fairmount and Northern Liberties, as well as all of the new development now surrounding Temple University.

I’ve blogged about other North Broad developments over the past few years. Here, here, here, and here. Today, I am sharing another exciting article about North Broad development … here.

There is a lot going on in Philadelphia these days. Some say it’s just the start of something great (I typically fall within that crowd), and others believe it’s the beginning of the next real estate bubble (I can see some logic on that side as well).

As for me, I tend to look at real estate in 2 very simple ways: 1) Renting, and 2) Buying. If you do not buy real estate, you are a renter; unless you happen to have a super-cool family that supports your housing needs, and you in turn are okay with that arrangement for the rest of your life. But if you do not rent real estate, you are a buyer.

“Renting” and “Buying” both relate to the theory of supply/demand in real estate. When renting is up, buying is down; and vice versa.

That’s why renting has become so expensive over the past few years. Buying was slow following 2008, and remained slow for the years that followed. Rentals have been performing well since 2008, and this is what has caused rental rates to rise in Philadelphia. But buying has become a more viable opportunity today, and the momentum is now shifting.

Because I personally look at all markets as “Rent vs. Buy,” it’s easy to make correlations on how a certain city and/or metro area is performing.

In 2015, many markets offer buying opportunities that are less expensive than their rental counterparts. But now that most US metro areas are considered “Sellers’ Markets,” with some metro areas already being sellers’ markets for some time now, that may be changing sooner than we all want to believe.

In Philadelphia, renting is not cheap in 2015. Especially if you want to rent a home/apartment that is brand new. Popular neighborhoods in Center City and University City still remain expensive (think Rittenhouse, Old City, UPenn/Drexel area, etc), and popular neighborhoods in other parts of Philadelphia are not cheap either (think No Libs/Fishtown, Fairmount, Manayunk/Roxborough, etc).

But … while Philadelphia currently has many expensive homes for sale, there are still many reasonably priced opportunities to be had as well; and they might just be right down the street from where you want to live!

North Broad is having a moment, and good things are happening around projects like this one.

“Workshop of the World, Part II?” Philadelphia looks to become an energy hub.

 
If you are from the Philadelphia area, you have probably heard the moniker “Workshop of the World” before. Whether it was from your grandparents, your parents, or from a local textbook or historian.

WOTW was how Philadelphia was referenced “back in the day” (as we say around here), and it was largely driven by our region’s abundance of coal; a cheap source of energy back then. Coal powered Philadelphia’s factories, homes, you name it.

Post-Civil War, from about 1880-1920, Philadelphia represented the world’s greatest collection of skill and diversity in manufacturing. So much so, that our industrial workforce was about 250,000 people strong … and that was almost 150 years ago! But what really made Philadelphia unique in comparison to similar cities of its time (e.g. Boston, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, etc), was that we didn’t just rely on a few large companies to drive our local manufacturing economy. Philadelphia became an incubator for smaller/medium-sized workshops, where those who maybe once worked for large companies broke off and started making specialized products of their own; let’s call it “entrepreneurial manufacturing.”

Is it just me, or is this back-story beginning to sound a bit like where Philadelphia is going today; but replace “manufacturing” with “education/medicine/technology.”

Now, back to my title: Workshop of the World, Part II.

Phil Rinaldi, the CEO of Philadelphia Energy Solutions (the old Sunoco operation in Southwest Philadelphia), is the man responsible for turning the local refinery around and looking toward Philadelphia’s energy future. Natural gas from the Marcellus Shale reserve is currently been “fracked” in PA and being shipped all over the world. But as it stands today, Philadelphia could be seeing more local job action from the current boom.

If the natural gas boom comes to Philadelphia, it could potentially reinvent our local economy.

If it sounds too good to be true, there is always the possibility that it may be. Not only would a gas boom create thousands of jobs, for both blue and white collar workers, but it also has the potential to impact our area environmentally (and not in a positive way). That is where the lines are drawn.

Fracking is sometimes viewed as an environmentally hazardous industry; but when the word “jobs” comes rolling around, politicians and business leaders start to dream big.

As it stands today, most of the Marcellus Shale gas is being sent to Louisiana, where it is refined and shipped. But if the shale reserve is in PA (not LA), why aren’t we sending the natural gas to Philadelphia for refinement? It’s closer, it’s a big city, and it keeps everything local.

That’s the question local experts are starting to ask. Can we set up the proper infrastructure (namely, new/larger pipelines) to handle the amount of gas refinement, shipping, and exporting needed; and can we also create the amount of new jobs necessary in order to become a refining destination?

The answer is, yes. We have the workforce, we have the rail lines, we have the ports, and we have the leaders to put all of that together.

But … here are some concerns to think about:

Under what “conditions” would/should Philadelphia take on this challenge?

Would this endeavor take away from our green/sustainable efforts over the past decade?

Since natural gas is a finite resource, does a push to create a natural-gas-based economy hurt the next few generations of Philadelphians?

Are we trying to plan for the short-term, or the long-term?

These are the concerns that many people have, and with good reason. Creating the pipelines necessary to run natural gas from the Marcellus Shale directly to Philadelphia is very similar to gambling.

If we win, we’ll win big. If we lose, we’ll lose big. Those results will also play a large role in Philadelphia’s local real estate market.

Unfortunately, there are almost too many details to discuss in this blog post, but the possibilities for Philadelphia to embrace this opportunity are basically endless. At the end of the day, it will take a lot of planning, discussion, and forward-thinking to do it right.

Here is a link to “Energy Boomtown PhillyStyle,” from WHYY. You will get a lot of great information if you listen to the hour-long segment.

Philadelphia is a “Top 10 US Destination City”

Photo courtesy of HuffPost Travel

 
Not quite sure what my title means exactly? I felt the same way … until I read this entire article.

When we think of “destination cities,” we think of places we would like to visit and/or potentially move to. That’s really what makes these places destinations. There are lots of things to see/do, the population is increasing, there are job opportunities, and the culture is cool.

That’s why I would want to visit/move-to a new city, wouldn’t you?

Well, Philadelphia just cracked the Top 10, and for very valid reasons. Here is a breakdown of why we made the list:

– “Philadelphia is a multi-faceted destination:” As stated in the report, “Philadelphia fuses colonial American history with contemporary charm.” For those who have never been, 2014 Philadelphia is a healthy mix of both “old” and “new.” When referring to the “old,” our city has tons of history, established businesses, eclectic neighborhoods, and generations of locals. It’s what separates Philadelphia from a majority of other US cities. When referring to the “new,” our city is experiencing a real estate development boom, population increases, new city residents from all over the world, and a culinary scene that can only be matched by a few other US cities. That is what makes Philadelphia multi-faceted, and keeps us competitive with other US cities. That is also why we had 39 million visitors in 2013, with a sizable increase in international travel.

– “Philadelphia is compact and easy to navigate:” I don’t think anyone would argue with this one. As for overall city population, Philadelphia currently ranks 5th (behind NYC, LA, Chicago, and Houston). As for city population density, Philadelphia also ranks 5th (behind NYC, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago). The fact that we fall in the same spot for both means that we have a large, dense, and urban city; not to mention that our public transportation infrastructure is expansive and far-reaching. In other words, the average Philadelphian can get from Point A to Point B fairly easily, and at a reasonable cost. This not only adds to Philadelphia’s overall quality of life, but it makes our city an attractive place to live. As many have said before, including myself, Philadelphia is a very manageable big city.

– “Center City is packed with museums of all stripes, as well as historic monuments:” Every city has its focus area. This is a city’s lifeblood, and it feeds into other aspects of the surrounding metro area (e.g. jobs, tourism, etc). For Philadelphia, this area is Center City. Not only is CC the cultural and entertainment hub of Philadelphia, it’s also the most popular place to live in the city. Neighborhoods like Rittenhouse Square and Old City offer Philadelphians the option to live in a low-rise, historic neighborhood, but still be within walking/biking distance to jobs, restaurants, shopping, and public transportation. On top of that, Philadelphia’s best museums and historic sites are located within the Center City area as well. This means that both visitors and residents interact on a daily basis, which adds to our city’s charm and appeal.

From someone who’s job involves working with clients from all over the world, Philadelphia’s current reputation far surpasses what some locals recall from years past. We are a city on the rise, and the future is bright.