Temple construction project hit by 7th arson.

Another arson hit the new residential high-rise nearing completion at Temple University, a university spokesman reported Friday. Read more here...

A note of discord as Merion Golf Club gears up to host golf's U.S. Open. Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters claim "That's our work. This is our jurisdiction."

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners lambasted the U.S. Golf Association this week for not hiring local labor to build most of the staging for the event. Read more here…

Pa. Convention Center could wind up in private hands by summer

The Pennsylvania Convention Center is testing the waters to see whether a private management firm might run the facility better and more cheaply than current management.  Read more here...

Family's bet on big-box store pays off for center

Manhattan was crawling with retailers and real estate brokers licking their wounds from the economic collapse when Steve Niggeman, a member of that chastened club, took a seat at a restaurant and floated a proposal that, at its core, screamed, "Spend millions."     Read more here…

33-story Allentown skyscraper gets green light

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - A plan to build a 33-story skyscraper in downtown Allentown has gotten preliminary approval from the city's parking authority. Read more here…

DeMedici II will buy former GlaxoSmithKline building for new String Theory School

D'Anella said plans call for making upgrades of between $10 million and $12 million to the 225,000-square-foot building to create a theater, performing arts studios, science labs, TV and motion-capture studios, and an automotive engineering lab.  Read more here…

Panel should back Fishtown casino

The 300-room casino-hotel for Philadelphia proposed by Steve Wynn would sit about five blocks from my home in Fishtown, and extend up into lower Port Richmond. It should be the only site up for discussion.  Read more here…

Affordable-housing development moves forward in Norristown

The plan calls for 96 one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as 5,000 square feet of retail space, at DeKalb and Airy Streets. Sixty units would be reserved for low- and moderate-income residents.  Read more here…

Council questions handling of contract workers

As City Council heard opening testimony on Monday from Mayor Michael Nutter’s top administration officials regarding details of Nutter’s five-year financial plan and fiscal year 2014 capital budget, it quickly became clear that Council is concerned with the administration’s handling of municipal contracts and pensions.  Read more here...

Furloughs called unnecessary stumbling block in Philly contract fights

One thing was clear from Philadelphia City Council's first day of budget hearings Monday - many of the members regard Mayor Nutter's drive to win the right to furlough nonuniformed workers as an unnecessary impediment to finalizing contracts with the municipal unions. Read more here…

Opening shots fired in budget hearings

In a lightning round of questioning nominally tied to the five-year fiscal plan, top administration officials fielded inquiries over why they are demanding possible furloughs from blue-collar workers, why more money isn’t being reserved for the firefighters, why the city is turning to workers to solve the pension crisis and other questions on labor.  Read more here…

Philly U. security guards rally for better pay

Using a gathering of Philadelphia University at the Franklin Mint as a backdrop, members of the Service Employees International Union 32BJ – with an assist from City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson – staged a rally to speak out about the overall contract standing of its members in general, and that of McGinn Security, which is the security contractor for the university. Read more here...

IATSE/Electric Factory Dispute Ongoing

According to IATSE Local#8’s Facebook page, the Area Standards Dispute with Electric Factory Concerts continues.  IATSE’s membership continues to picket the physical building and is waging a social media campaign against Electric Factory and its Facebook page as well as the Facebook page’s of bands and artists that that are scheduled to play.   

Construction owners charged with extorting employees

Two construction executives conspired to force their employees to pay kickbacks to keep their jobs at a Fort Dix reconstruction project and then also conspired to falsify wage records, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Camden on Tuesday. Read more here…

Casino developer reaches out to potential neighbors

Wynn, one of six investors vying for one casino license in Philadelphia, is sending a letter to 53,000 residents in neighborhoods surrounding his proposed site on the Delaware River north of Penn Treaty Park.  Read more here...

Proposed $480M Penn National casino suggests aid to Philly's schools and pension funds

Philadelphia schools and the municipal pension fund would get at least $2 million a year if Penn National Gaming Inc. succeeds in its bid to build a South Philadelphia casino, Steve Snyder, senior vice president of corporate development, told City Council on Thursday.  Read more here...

Drexel's proposed mixed-use tower raises ire of neighbors

THE FLURRY of construction activity near Drexel University's main campus is primed to continue with the proposal of a 24-story residential tower, but some nearby residents fear that it won't be enough to keep up with the school's booming enrollment. Read more here…

Temple University Health System delays Jeanes Hospital rehab

Temple University Health System is delaying a major renovation at its financially struggling Jeanes Hospital and will close an inpatient rehabilitation unit there in May.  Read more here…

Labor pains: Unions rally against Mayor Nutter as budget battle begins

Organized labor united Wednesday afternoon in an unprecedented show of solidarity against Mayor Michael Nutter’s administration due to what they say is an unprecedented attack on workers’ rights in Philadelphia.

There is some interesting labor data at the end of the article defining bargaining unit size per industry under the sub-section titled: Contract contention.  Read more here...

Dranoff in apartment sweet spot, this time

Developer Carl Dranoff has a history of going in early -- maybe too early. His Packard Building rehab came more than a decade before the North Broad Street ex-factory district became a popular condo-apartment-restaurant destination. His Left Bank in University City, his conversion of the RCA Victrola factory in Camden, were also ahead of the market. His Locust on the Park was nine years ahead of the Schuylkill park rehab that gave it the name.

Dranoff's South Broad projects, by contrast, have been timely. His Symphony House condos and 777 South Broad apartments are full enough that he's started work on the 85-unit Southstar apartments. "It's not the biggest project we've done, but a crucial project," says Dranoff, as crews pound pilings along Broad Street to protect the subway.  Read more here…

Philly bank building sells for $169/sq ft

Liberty Property Trust, Malvern, says it has sold PNC Bank's 441,000 sq. ft. operations center at 8800 Tinicum Blvd., bordering I-95 near Philadelphia International Airport, for around $74.7 million. Read more here…

Hip-hop to the hippie, Mr. Nutter

I LIKE Mayor Nutter. He's always been nice to me. Our kids go to the same school. We exchange pleasantries when we see each other. That's why I felt so bad watching city union members jeer him as he tried to deliver his budget address last week.

Maybe if he'd reprised his inauguration performance of the Sugarhill Gang classic, "Rapper's Delight," things would've turned out differently. Because, frankly, it's hard to boo a brother when he's delivering lines.  Read more here…

Thomas Fitzgerald: For a Democrat, Nutter facing tough fight with local unions

The big public-employee unions and the modern Democratic Party are woven together like the strands of a sweater.

At many points during last year's Democratic National Convention, the arena floor in Charlotte was a kaleidoscope of AFSCME green, SEIU purple, and NEA blue. Those unions provide loyal election troops for Democrats up and down the ballot. Read more here…

Firefighters Laud Judge For Denying Mayor’s Move

Bill Gault, President, IAFF Local 22, has lauded another court action favoring their contract efforts. He writes:

“Philadelphia’s 4,000 active and retired firefighters appreciate Common Pleas Court Judge Idee Fox’s recently issued Opinion in support of her Nov. 19, 2012 Order denying the Nutter administration’s petition to vacate our most recent Act 111 award. Read more here…

Air Force plans killer drone base in Philly suburbs

"The U.S. Air Force has chosen the Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 111th Fighter Wing, located in Horsham, to take on a new remotely piloted aircraft mission," according to this Guard announcement. Read more here…

Council hearing on Philly labor issues canceled because Nutter administration won't attend

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter's critics say that he's done a poor job communicating with the city unions — the same unions that drowned out his budget address last week.  Read more here...

Canus Corp. wants to build a 311-unit complex in South Kensington

Canus Corp. plans to construct a 311-unit apartment complex at the former Absco Inc. steel site at 2nd and American streets in the South Kensington section of Philadelphia. The three-building complex will be called Soko Lofts. Read more here…

Unions' muffling of mayor: 'Another black eye' for Philly or 'proud' moment?

A strange scene unfolded during a traditional event at a landmark Philadelphia building Thursday. Scores of angry protesters yelled from the balconies, bringing Mayor Michael Nutter's budget address to a halt. Read more here...

Radnor Property Group to move forward with the construction of a $105 million Philadelphia project

Radnor Property Group in partnership with the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral will move forward with the construction of a $105 million project at 38th and Chestnut streets in Philadelphia after settling litigation with the Preservation Alliance.  Read more here...

Philadelphia unions promise to push hard

Will  Philadelphia's labor and activist community be able to draw 1,000 people to the rally scheduled for noon today at City Hall?  Read more here…

Center City News Conference by area trades this afternoon.

For Immediate Release - Philadelphia unions to hold joint news conference calling for fair contracts for city workers.

In a show of union solidarity, a number of labor organizations representing both public and private sector workers will be holding a joint news conference at the

Northeast corner of Philadelphia City Hall
at 12:00 pm tomorrow
Wednesday, March 13, 2013.

The purpose of the joint news conference will be to announce plans for actions to take place on Thursday, March 14 at Mayor Michael Nutter’s budget address before Philadelphia City Council.

AFSCME District Council 33 President Pete Matthews and AFSCME District Council 47 President Cathy Scott, John J. Dougherty Business Manager of IBEW Local 98, Bill Gault President of Firefighters IAFF Local 22, Pat Eiding President of the Philadelphia AFL-CIO, Pat Gillespie President of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, as well as representatives of community groups will be calling for Mayor Nutter to address the settlement of fair contracts with City workers during his budget address.

All media are invited to attend.

Contact: Frank Keel, 484-410-4932
Bob Wolper, 215-896-2970
Sources: AFSCME District Councils 33and 47, IBEW Local 98, IAFF Local 22

From Philadelphia Sheet Metal Worker’s Local Union#19 Facebook age, several area standard’s pickets are currently in operation at this time:

There is a Local 19 Area Standards Picket Line against CMC Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning at the Iron Hill Brewery at The Voorhees Town Center, Southern New Jersey.

There is also a Local 19 Area Standards Picket Line against Cobra Construction at Dunkin Donuts at 938 Market St, Philadelphia, PA.

Inventing the Future: Dynamic public spaces will transform Drexel's campus and the neighborhood

For much of the 20th Century, the terms "urban" and "campus" weren't natural bedfellows. But in the 1990s, a paradigm shift occurred and a new school of thinking emerged on how to best create a modern urban campus in Philadelphia.  Read more about Drexel’s public spaces here…

See Drexel’s Campus Master Plan here…

Rowan to seek state aid for four new buildings

Rowan University will seek state funding for four new buildings that would radically transform its campuses, but acknowledges that the state could provide only a portion of the $350 million the projects will cost. Read more here…

Philly Housing Authority to increase units via partnerships

The landscape of public housing in Philadelphia dramatically changed in the last decade, as decrepit high-rise projects were demolished and replaced with more appealing new homes.

But the rate of replacement housing never kept pace with the number of eliminated units. Read more here...

This week in the War on Workers: 19 protesters arrested as Philadelphia closes 23 schools

Nineteen protesters, including Philadelphia students and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, were arrested in Philadelphia Thursday as they protested the city's school closings plan. The arrests came as the group tried to block members of the city's School Reform Commission from entering a meeting at which the commission approved a plan to close 23 public schools.

This is school "choice" in Philadelphia. Students have the choice of a substandard online school. They have the choice to leave their neighborhoods to go one of the city's notoriously corrupt charter schools. But now, for many, there's no choice to go to a public school in their neighborhoods. Read more here…

Changing Skyline: New Cheesecake Factory at 15th and Walnut: A creamy-rich glass box

What kind of building do you get when you cross the über-cool, urban minimalism of the Apple stores with the indulgent, diet-busting excess of the Cheesecake Factory restaurants?

Would you believe an architectural confection that is as visually sublime as it is intellectually rich?  Read more here…

Construction jobs building, but could get hammered

The construction trades have been hammered throughout the recession, but Friday's U.S. Labor Department report showed great progress for the beleaguered sector. Hiring was up by 48,000 jobs from January to February.  Read more here…

Deal to expand Wilmington port is dead

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners has called off a deal to invest $200.5 million and operate the state-owned Port of Wilmington, citing antagonism from a local longshoreman union leader.  Read more here…

Labor, often split, uniting to protest Nutter budget

An unusual coalition of Philadelphia's diverse unions - bringing together everyone from firefighters and electricians to teachers and longshoremen - is organizing strong protests against the Nutter administration's handling of municipal labor negotiations.  Read more here…

Tensions rising over Philadelphia's lack of municipal union contracts

Philadelphia's labor costs ate up the city budget at a record pace in 2012, with more of the same in the forecast, offering a simple and stark explanation of the nearly four-year standoff between the mayor and the municipal unions.  Read more here…

IATSE/Electric Factory Area Standards Picket Continues

As reported on IATSE, Local Union #8’s Facebook Page today, “IATSE Local 8 Stagehands Area Standards Strike against Electric Factory Concerts continues to pay dividends. The union was informed earlier this week the Stagehands working at the Electric Factory were given upwards to a 70% pay increase as a result of the union’s area standard strike.  Today, IATSE Local 8 and the Drop Kick Murphys reached an agreement for staffing for the shows scheduled at the Electric factory on March 8th and 9th. A press conference is scheduled for Thursday March 7th  to announce details. a result of the union’s area standard strike. Today, IATSE Local 8 and The Dropkick Murphys reached an agreement for staffing for the shows scheduled at the Electric Factory on March 8th and 9th. A press conference is scheduled for Thursday March 7th to announce the detailsa result of the union’s area standard strike. Today, IATSE Local 8 and The Dropkick Murphys reached an agreement for staffing for the shows scheduled at the Electric Factory on March 8th and 9th. A press conference is scheduled for Thursday March 7th to announce the details

Why would anyone build a skyscraper in Philly?

Class A office space in Philadelphia has fluctuated in the 28-35 dollar range (approximate) per square foot for years with trophy space in the upper 40’s. While we have only a few “Trophy” towers in Center City, there is a large supply of beautiful Class A space.    

“Why would a company or landlord spend the estimated $500/sq. ft. (SF) it would cost to build a new high-rise office tower in Philadelphia, when it could buy serviceable Class A buildings for a quarter or a third of that cost, or lease it for maybe 5% as much per year?”  I don’t know why, but some do and the prestige of the space may be the driving force.  Read Mr. DeStefano’s blog on this subject here…

Apartment building will be first step in City Avenue zoning project

Most of the lot at 335 Righters Ferry Rd. in Bala Cynwyd doesn't look like much, with its tangle of trees and weeds on hilly ground. But to Lower Merion Township officials, it is the beginning of turning the unremarkable and unwalkable area around City Avenue into a pedestrian's paradise. Read more here…

The guys behind West Philly's new high rise

The $158 million, 33-story Grove high-rise, planned for 850 Penn and Drexel students, adjoining the two campuses on a Penn-owned property at 2930 Chestnut St. in Brandywine Realty Trust's Cira South development, will stand out among East Coast college housing projects.  Read more here…..

Confirmed: Brandywine picks N.C. firm to build $158M student high-rise at Penn

Oddly enough, it was my understanding that Keating Building Company/Tutor Perini pulled the permits and was building this project, not campus Campus Crest.  Time will tell Mr. DiStefano.

The joint venture - 40% owned by investor Harrison Street Real Estate, the rest split by Brandywine and Campus Crest - will rise 33 stories (the site is permitted for 36), sleep 850 students (not counting guests), and cost $158.5 million (with $97.8 million lent by banks led b
y, read more here…

Another Fire Strikes Temple Dorm Construction Site

The ATF is investigating a new fire that started inside the same tower where a handful of arsons were set

Morgan Hall, a $216 million residence hall complex, under construction on Temple University's North Philadelphia campus.

Authorities are investigating a fire that broke out at a Temple University dorm complex this morning -- the same site where a handful of arsons are under investigation.  Read more here...

Union Cyber attacks against Electric Factory continue to be effective

As continues to be reported on IATSE Local #8’s Facebook page, their Area Standards Picket continues against Electric Factory Concerts . IATSE is encouraging its Facebook followers to cut and paste their message to the Electric Factory Concerts Facebook page as well as to the pages of upcoming artists.  According to IATSE Local #8, They were recently “informed the Employer increased the non union stagehands rate by upwards to 70%” at the Electric Factory Concerts venue.  The Area Standards picket continues as of today.

Proposed pay cuts enrage PFT members

LONGER WORK HOURS. Draconian paycuts. Elimination of breaks.

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers is looking at a grim future if school-district officials get their way in current negotiations.  Read more here…

Area Standards Allegations & Dispute - The Agnes Irwin School in Bryn Mawr, PA

As reported on the Facebook page of Philadelphia Sheet Metal Workers, Local #19, an ongoing job action continues at The Agnes Irwin School in Bryn Mawr, PA.  The alleged Area Standards Dispute is between the Philadelphia Sheet Metal Workers, Local #19 and D. J. Wagner Heating and Air Conditioning of Westville, NJ. 

“**MEMBER ACTION**”

“Volunteers are still needed for a picket line against DJ Wagner at The Agnes Irwin School, 275 S Ithan Ave in Bryn Mawr PA.”

“For more information, please contact Organizer *************** at *** ***-****.”

Stagehand Union Declares “War” On Electric Factory Concerts

It was just weeks ago when a Philadelphia stagehands union strike caused big problems for Philadelphia Theatre Company and its production of The Mountaintop at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, forcing the company to stage the performance there without much of the crew. Now that the Philadelphia Theatre Company strike has been resolved, the stagehands have moved on to their newest target: legendary Philadelphia concert venue The Electric Factory.  Read more here…

Nutter seeks high court's OK to impose his terms on city workers

CALL IT the Grand Imposition.  I would prefer to call it a potential game changer.

In the last two months, Mayor Nutter's standoff with the city's largest union has gone from a dead-end cold war to a blistering dispute with enormous implications for cities and unions across Pennsylvania.

If Nutter succeeds, the case could change labor negotiations across Pennsylvania by significantly shifting power to mayors and governors, Read more here…