Two-prong Kenney plan: revitalizing city while diversifying building trades

At surface level, Mayor Kenney's soon-to-launch Rebuild initiative is about tackling the concrete problems pervasive in Philadelphia's neighborhoods.

Libraries with leaky roofs. Parks with rusted-out swing sets. Recreation centers with few programs and fewer resources.

But the project is also about attacking a less visible, but still corrosive, problem - the historical under-representation of minorities and women on construction sites.

Northeast Fence & Iron Works accused of not making contributions to labor funds

PHILADELPHIA — Labor funds are suing Northeast Fence & Iron Works Inc. and Raymond Longstreath, citing alleged breach of contract.

Trustees and Fiduciaries of the Iron Workers District Council (Philadelphia and Vicinity) Benefit and Pension Plans, Iron Workers District Council (Philadelphia and Vicinity) Pension Plan, and Iron Workers District Council (Philadelphia and vicinity) Benefit Plan filed a complaint on Nov. 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against the defendants, alleging that they failed to make timely contributions to the plaintiff.

Philadelphia prevailing wage law expanded, impact on employers to be determined

PHILADELPHIA — Although it is too soon to tell whether a prevailing wage ordinance signed by Mayor Jim Kenney on Oct. 27 will force any affected employers in the city to resort to layoffs, Fisher & Phillips associate Gregory D. Hanscom told the Pennsylvania Record “it’s possible, of course.” 

Hanscom said the newly expanded law applies to some employers in the city receiving government funding, such as hospitals, universities, stadiums paying concessions workers and the convention center. The ultimate effects of the expanded ordinance will depend on just how many employers and employees are impacted, he said.

New plans for old Pennsauken Mart site - apartments and maybe retail

When the Pennsauken Mart was demolished nearly a decade ago, there were grand plans for the site of the South Jersey shopping landmark.

New plans for old Pennsauken Mart site - apartments and maybe retail

Maybe a minor-league ice hockey rink, or a conference center, or luxurious condos and townhouses.

RACP at it Again: North Broad, Market East and Upper Darby projects get Pa. redevelopment grants

Upper Darby’s 69th Street retail corridor, the East Market mixed-use project in Center City, and a large North Broad Street apartment complex are among the biggest winners in the latest batch of awards from Pennsylvania's redevelopment assistance program.

Other projects on the list of Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grants, posted to the state Budget Office's website Wednesday, include a new headquarters complex for Broomall's fire department and a plastic-to-oil facility in Marcus Hook.

New York investment firm buys section of Strawbridge building offices

Cohen Equities of New York has acquired a seven-floor section of the former Strawbridge & Clothier department store building at 801 Market St., the real estate investment firm said in a statement on its website.

Cohen purchased floors seven though 13 of the 1930s building, encompassing 382,800 square feet of offices, the company said.

Developer eyes Pennsauken site for hotel

PENNSAUKEN - A vacant building on Route 38 could be going from classrooms to hotel rooms.

A developer wants to convert the former Omega Institute facility into a 70-room hotel, according to plans filed with the township.

The five-story building, its white exterior striped by ribbon-like darkened windows, stands on an acre of ground at 38 and Airport Highway. It formerly held Omega Institute, a for-profit school that trained health care workers until closing in 2015.

The planned hotel would include a meeting room, breakfast area and fitness facility, according to Pennsauken's zoning board. The board is to consider the proposal at a Dec. 7 meeting.

The developer, Marlton-based Pennsauken Hospitality LLC, declined to comment in advance of the hearing.

Source: Courier Post Online

Upgraded JATC Reading training center for electricians to reopen

Midway through National Apprentice Week, a Reading training center for electricians will reopen at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the improved facility.

The renovated center at 20 Morgan Drive trains apprentice and journeymen electricians and upgrades the skills of current electricians. It is operated by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 743, and the National Electrical Contractors Association’s Reading division of the Penn-Del-Jersey chapter.

Visitors will have an opportunity to tour the building and watch virtual electrical lab demonstrations and other activities during an open house from 3-6 p.m.

The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee invests more than $400,000 in its training programs every year, according to the IBEW local 743 website.

Founded in 1891, IBEW 743 has more than 700 members and represents construction electricians, communication workers and other employees in Berks, Schuylkill, Montgomery, Lancaster and Chester counties.

To RSVP, call 610-777-8388.

Source: LVB

LVHN to open health center with 130 employees in Northampton County

Lehigh Valley Health Network will open a second medical center in Palmer Township, this time focusing on children's health.

Construction has begun on the Health Center at Palmer Township at 3701 Corriere Road, off Route 248, and it is expected to open next summer, according to the health network.

LVHN officials declined to disclose the cost to build the two-story, 57,000-square-foot center.

Commentary: SEPTA strike shines light on Pa. labor laws

Here is something no Philadelphian wants to hear: New Yorkers have it better.

While those words border on blasphemy in the City of Brotherly Love, when it comes to the recent SEPTA strike, they're true. The strike that left thousands of Philadelphians stranded with no way to work, school, medical appointments, and more would have been illegal in New York, leading to stiff penalties for the unions representing workers from NYC's Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Why? In that state - and in 28 others - state law prohibits any public workers (except those covered by specific federal law) from

DuPont to freeze old pension plan and move to 401(k) matching

DuPont will freeze its defined benefit pension plan, beginning in 2018 and  eliminate post-retirement health benefits for those under 50.

In a letter to employees, the company cited the 2018 date as possibly coinciding with the spin-off of the combination of Dow and DuPont into three separate publicly traded companies. The merger between DuPont and Dow is now expected to take place in the first quarter of next year.

Stephen Buckley, former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor for Transportation and Utilities returns to Philadelphia

Stephen Buckley has been appointed leader of the Northeast planning, environment, and traffic practice at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, a Philadelphia engineering and professional-services organization. He had been general manager for transportation services for the City of Toronto and director of policy and planning for the deputy mayor for transportation and utilities, and deputy commissioner for transportation in Philadelphia.

Source: Philly.com

William Penn Foundation giving $100 million to remake city parks, libraries, and rec centers

Mayor Kenney's bold initiative to revitalize the city's parks, libraries, and recreation centers as a way to fight poverty and strengthen neighborhoods is receiving a major lift - up to $100 million from the William Penn Foundation.

The grant is the largest in the foundation's history, nearly four times bigger than any it has given before. In a single swoop, it covers one-fifth of the overall cost of the program, known as Rebuild.

"We want to provide opportunity for all Philadelphia citizens, from the youngest children all the way to the most senior citizens, to come together, to get to know one another," said Janet Haas, chair of the foundation's board of directors. "Particularly in these times in our country, it's even more important."

The gift, which will be formally announced at a news conference Monday, is a significant vote of confidence from the city's largest philanthropy at a critical time in the launch of Rebuild. City officials are deep in planning the project and are expected to seek City Council approval of the first of three $100 million bonds early next year.

The program will mean improvements ranging from face-lifts to brand-new facilities at scores of parks, recreation centers, and libraries - city assets that have fallen into deep disrepair due to budget constraints.

Some parks haven't seen new equipment or substantial upkeep of the old for more than 20 years. And neighborhood libraries last received new paint, lights, and computers two decades ago. Eight branches remained closed last summer because the air-conditioning did not work.

While at a basic level Rebuild will provide for those infrastructure improvements, city officials and leaders at William Penn see the potential for a broader social and economic impact. They point to the jobs the projects will create, the increased community engagement the process will foster, and the sorely needed services that will be available at the finished facilities.

Rebuild is meant to work in tandem with expanded early childhood education, another Kenney initiative. Officials have said prekindergarten facilities could be housed in the improved facilities.

"It doesn't just rebuild rec centers," Brian Abernathy, the city's first deputy managing director, said of the effort. "It rebuilds communities. It rebuilds neighborhoods. And it rebuilds an economic base that has been lacking in this city for decades."

The six-year program has a $500 million price tag: $300 million in bonds, $120 million from foundations and private donors, $32 million in state and federal funds, and $48 million in city capital funds.

The lion's share of the William Penn grant is contingent on the city taking out bonds for its portion. About $4.8 million has already been given and is being used in the planning phases. An additional $20.2 million of the total is structured to help draw in more philanthropic and public funding, with $1 given for every $2 raised.

Shawn McCaney, the foundation's interim executive director, said the organization would help in the fund-raising. He called Rebuild an "unprecedented and once-in-a-generation opportunity" and said it could become a national model for data-driven community reinvestment, which could spur support from national donors.

Kenney praised the foundation and said Rebuild resonates with some of its core focuses including sustainability, infrastructure, and youth.

"They really believe in what we're doing," Kenney said. "And that's gratifying. And it's also energizing and it makes you want to continue to work harder."

William Penn, with about $2 billion in assets, is among the largest philanthropic organizations in the country. It is the legacy of the Haas family and was started by Otto Haas, the German-born cofounder of the Rohm & Haas chemical company, and his wife, Phoebe, in 1945.

For decades the foundation has been behind the remaking of some of Philadelphia's most significant public spaces - Logan Circle, the Delaware River Waterfront, the Schuylkill River Trail, and Dilworth Park, to name a few.

Haas said the foundation in recent years has broadened its focus outside of Center City. She said Rebuild is a natural extension of that effort.

Still, she said the decision to give such a sizable amount was difficult.

"Although we were excited about the potential, it wasn't an easy sell for the board in that we knew that it was risky and that it was going to be big," Haas said. "If we were going to take a stake in it we knew we wanted to take a big one."

She said board members asked "countless questions" to vet the project and described herself as a skeptic during the process, wanting to understand how the city would define success and the likelihood of achieving it. After going through those steps, she said, the size of the grant can be viewed as a sign of the foundation's deep confidence in the plan and the people behind it.

In weighing the final figure, Haas said she also considered other large grants the foundation has given in the past, then considered the possibility to make a citywide impact with Rebuild.

"I had a sense this would be about right," she said of the amount. "It's a stretch. You really have to hold your breath to do this. But it's the right thing to do. . . . It's out of the comfort zone. But big things always are."

With the big donation, Haas said the foundation is also anticipating a big impact and plans to remain invested in the process to help see that happen. She said she has toured many of the facilities Rebuild would revitalize and seen how they are lacking. A visit to one South Philly rec center several years ago stands out in her memory.

The facility was locked when her group arrived. After tracking down the key, Haas said, she was struck with the feeling that the building wasn't even worth locking.

"There was no point," she said. "It was vandalized on the outside. There had been a basketball hoop, but there was basically nothing left. There was a puddle on the floor, and buckets. And it hadn't just been raining."

Haas said Rebuild could remake those public spaces into vibrant community hubs. She and McCaney added that the process of doing so is, in their eyes, almost as important as the end result. City officials have said community input will be central in developing specific projects, so the new facilities fit the communities' needs.

"We used to think you use the engagement process to deliver a physical thing," McCaney said. "Now we think that it's actually the reverse. That the park is a platform for engagement. That the process leading to the park is an engagement process. And that, if you . . . do it right, folks feel like they own that space, they respect it, they steward it, and that there's ongoing engagement beyond."

Source: Philly.com

Berks real estate market soars; hundreds of acres prime for development

Berks County real estate and economic development experts are optimistic about the region's residential and industrial market growth in 2016 and expect it to continue next year, according to experts who spoke at the second annual Berks County Real Estate & Development symposium held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading.

The optimism is being driven by a confluence of factors, including an improved economy, low inflation and interest rates at historic lows that lessens the cost to borrow money for housing, said James D. King, chief investment officer, BB&T Investment Advisors and senior vice president, BB&T Retirement & Institutional Service.

Rittenhouse hotel to undergo more renovations

It's already undergone millions of dollars worth of renovations in the past four years, but The Rittenhouse hotel is set to undergo more changes.

The 118-room Rittenhouse Square hotel, which opened in 1989, has undergone $15 million worth of renovations since 2012, when Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE: HT) purchased the hotel.

For the latest round, Hersha will invest $1 million to renovate the hotel's ballroom and pre-function spaces, and to convert two board rooms into private dining rooms.

Despite neighbors' opposition, Fishtown church to become apartments

A Fishtown church will be turned into an apartment building with nearly two dozen units following an approval from the city's Zoning Board of Adjustment.

A Tuesday vote from zoning officials cleared the way for developer Leo Voloshin to convert St. Laurentius Church into the residential property even though many in the neighborhood fought the development.

 

Initially community members were upset that the church would be demoed and a new structure constructed in its place. Now Voloshin plans to keep the exterior of the 135-year-old property, while gutting the interior for the apartments, according to Philly.com.

Why the latest attempt to revamp Market East could actually work

For the last couple of decades the Market East neighborhood has been stuck in Center City purgatory. Rundown stores selling outdated stereos or trading cash for gold dot the streetscape — and those are the businesses that are actually open. Compared to Old City, Washington Square West and even the business-rich area of Market across Broad Street, the neighborhood is a wasteland.   

But now? Now is finally the time to see if meaningful development will work. The final beam to top off the first residential tower of the hyped East Market development will be lifted and placed atop the structure today. Pre-leasing for its apartments will begin early next year, and move-ins will happen in the spring. Sooner, as early as next month, MOM’s Organic Market will open as a retail portion of the project.

The State of University City 2017 Highlights Major Developments

We are proud to release The State of University City 2017. This latest edition of our annual publication illustrates University City’s status as an engine of remarkable prosperity, innovation and vibrancy, boasting world-class public spaces and amenities. The State of University City report provides a guide to the developments – academic, commercial, public, residential and more – that are driving 22 million square feet of planned growth and expansion in the neighborhood. The report’s 76 pages of charts, statistics, photographs, and stories illustrate how University City and its concentration of economic activity are setting a national pace for innovation and progress, and serve as a critical resource for anyone seeking to do business in the neighborhood.

More jobs, more real estate development in University City: Report

University City continues to be a focus of development activity and has 22 million square feet of proposed projects planned for the Philadelphia neighborhood that is already undergoing a building boom.

In its annual analysis of the how the neighborhood is faring, University City District's latest report paints a portrait of an area of Philadelphia that is not only thriving on an array of fronts but facing five significant “economy-altering bets” that will forever change it and have repercussions for the region.