Gregory Management & Consulting Services Industry Blog.
Monday, November 28, 2016
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.
Saturday, November 26, 2016
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.
Thursday, November 24, 2016
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.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
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.
Monday, November 21, 2016
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
Sunday, November 20, 2016
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.
Saturday, November 19, 2016
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.
New spec warehouse slated for western Cumberland County
Hoping
to capitalize on continued demand for distribution facilities, a Chicago-based
developer is planning to build 2.2 million square feet of warehouse space on
160 acres in Penn Township, Cumberland County.
Ridge Development, the
industrial development arm of Transwestern Development Co., today said it
expects to close on a deal for the land in September 2017. Construction would
begin immediately on a 1.4 million-square-foot warehouse.
A
second warehouse would follow at what is being called the Penn Commerce
Logistics Center, located off exit 37 on I-81. The first building is expected
to be completed in 2018, with full completion of the project slated for 2020,
officials said.
Cost
of the project was not immediately available. A contractor has not yet been
selected.
"As
a severely underserved market, Central Pennsylvania is an ideal location for
Ridge to develop state-of-the-art warehouse space and establish a permanent
presence in the Northeast," said Steve Kros, executive vice
president at Ridge Development.
The
Penn Commerce project, not far from an Office Depot distribution hub,
kicks off Ridge Development's foray into the Northeast. Newly hired Paul Pontius,
a senior vice president, will lead the local project from a new Ridge office in
Harrisburg.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)