Friday, May 26, 2017

Independence Seaport Museum pins redevelopment plans on Penn's Landing Park









As budget proposals from Mayor Jim Kenney and Gov. Tom Wolf began to chip away at the $250 million needed to fund the creation of an 11-acre park capping I-95 near Penn's Landing, another player in the future of the Delaware riverfront has been keeping a close watch on the project.

"We are keeping a sharp eye out for what the timeline will be on the park," said Independence Seaport Museum President and CEO John Brady in an interview with the Business Journal.

A 2014 feasibility study from the Delaware River Waterfront Corp. on the redevelopment of Penn's Landing indicated the Seaport Museum would undergo construction as part of the plans.

List: Kinsley, by far, is midstate's largest general contractor



Kinsley Construction Inc. remains the midstate's largest general contractor by a wide margin, according to a new national list compiled by trade publication Engineering News-Record, or ENR.

The York Township-based company came in at No. 143 in the country on the magazine's latest top 400 contractors list, up from No. 172 on last year's list. The magazine ranks firms based on contracting revenue.

Kinsley reported $563.9 million in revenue last year, an increase from $410.7 million in 2015, according to ENR figures.

Philly Police Department to move into former Inquirer, Daily News building on N. Broad



The Philadelphia Police Department intends to move its headquarters into the white tower at Broad and Callowhill Streets that for decades housed the Inquirer and Daily News, jettisoning plans to move to a site in West Philadelphia that the city spent about $50 million to buy and renovate.

City officials said Wednesday that the former newspaper building at 400 N. Broad St. had been chosen as the new Police Administration Building because of its central location, ample parking, and spacious interior, which can accommodate a greater number of law enforcement functions. Plans call for police to move from the cramped and dated four-story cement building at 750 Race St., popularly known at the Roundhouse, by the spring of 2020, officials said.

Inspira breaks ground on new hospital


Inspira Health Network broke ground Wednesday on a $349 million hospital in Harrison Township to replace Inspira Medical Center-Woodbury, Inspira’s construction company, Skanska USA, said.

The new five-story facility, expected to open in December 2019, will have 204 beds, 101 fewer than the Woodbury facility it is replacing.

Inspira had 2016 operating income of $69.4 million on $743.8 of total revenue, up from $40.2 million in operating income and $700.7 million in total revenue in 2015. The tax-exempt health system plans to borrow about $260 million in the municipal bond market to help pay for the new hospital, as well as other projects, according to Fitch Ratings. At the end of last year, Inspira already had $210 million in long-term debt.

The builder, Skanska, is also constructing the Women and Children’s Health Building for Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Dela.

Source: Philly.com

Crown Holdings sells NE Philly HQ for $9M, with plans to leave city



Crown Holdings Inc. has sold its 238,000-square-foot Northeast Philadelphia headquarters building for $9 million to Lawrenceville, N.J.-based Simone Realty, with plans to remain on the property on a short-term lease while it looks for a new location outside the city.

Simone Realty Inc. president John Simone said in an interview Thursday that the company formerly known as Crown Cork & Seal has an 18-month lease with renewal options for its space at the One Crown Way building on 40 acres of land near Roosevelt Boulevard and Woodhaven Road.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Atlantic County township sets course for new hotel, more on 19 acres



A 62-room hotel, two senior living communities, retail shops and more are in the works for a 19-acre lot in Atlantic County's historic Smithville section of Galloway.

The Press of Atlantic City reports the Galloway Township Planning Board gave the OK to initial steps in the plan to redevelop the property along Route 9 and across from the Smithville Inn.

The senior living communities would include an assisted living facility with 40 one-bedroom units and a cluster of 48 one-bedroom townhomes, according to the Planning Board application.
Community members said the mixed-use development, which they mostly welcomed, would be best if it retained the historic look that makes up much of the South Jersey town.

No construction dates have been scheduled, and the Planning Board still needs to review and approve final plans for the development.

Airlines at PHL agree to $900 million in improvements



Want a French pastry, German beer, or Neapolitan pizza? At the touch of an Apple iPad, you can order those and more at three new restaurants in the gate areas of Terminal B at Philadelphia International Airport.

The $32.8 million terminal redesign, which will bring 1,100 iPads and eight new restaurants and retail offerings inside the security perimeter, is part of a $900 million investment at PHL recently approved by airlines in their lease agreement with the city.

Three of the restaurants – a French pastry cafe, a German beer garden, and an Italian restaurant – opened this month. The remaining restaurants and iPads will get up and running over the next year.

“In my 15 years at the airport, this is the largest investment that the airlines have made at one time,” said Rhett Workman, a managing director at American Airlines, which operates 390 daily flights and a hub in Philadelphia.

After the December 2013 merger of US Airways and American, Philadelphia’s hub carrier, which transports 73 percent of passengers here, paused to focus on integrating the airlines into the world’s largest passenger carrier.

Three years later, American said, it’s time to focus on its long-term strategic vision for Philadelphia. The airlines, led by American, have committed $395.9 million for infrastructure improvements — replacing roofs, elevators, escalators, HVAC units, and security and technology upgrades.

The most visible change will come in several years when American builds a “head house,” a new front entrance at PHL to replace the Terminal B and C ticketing areas, with automated baggage handling and a centralized, spacious, passenger-security checkpoint that has been talked about for a decade.

In 2007, airlines approved $40 million for the B-C Terminal design, and in 2013 authorized $200 million to begin construction. It didn’t happen. Now, that money will be used to design a new B-C arrivals building to be located between Terminal A-East and Terminal B, on what is currently mostly open space.

The airlines have authorized $96.5 million to remove and relocate a concessions warehouse and loading dock in that area to make way for a new central entrance for all American flights, and an automated checked-bag screening system with explosives-detection equipment and a conveyor system that goes from the ticket counter to the planes.

The project will be completed in five to seven years, Workman said. The current baggage system in Terminals B and C has a life span of only six to eight more years, he said.

“We are looking at what is our 10- to 20-year investment here,” said Suzanne Boda, senior vice president, who until recently was in charge of American’s nine hubs. “Philadelphia is part of our very long-term plan for the airline. It’s a very, very important hub for us, and we need to make these investments in order to sustain ourselves and have a great place for all of us to work and for our customers to have a great experience here.”

Airlines — not city taxpayers — will foot the bill for most of the improvements through their rates and charges and debt service on bonds. The iPads and eateries in Terminal B will be bankrolled by New York-based food and beverage provider OTG Management.

Passengers also help pay for airport capital projects through a $4.50 “passenger facility” fee assessed to every ticket. The user fee generates about $61 million annually for PHL.

Still in the works is a multistory, consolidated rental-car building to replace current rental-car surface lots. Initial cost estimates to build where the car companies are currently were high, so the airport looked at sites nearby. However, the car companies said they want to stay where they are, and will present design and construction plans in coming months, said Philadelphia airport CEO Chellie Cameron.

An automated “people mover” to transport passengers between terminals is on hold. In the interim, American has rerouted connector buses to reduce the transit time between terminals to five to seven minutes and has purchased 12 new buses. “For the time being, we have a very reliable and consistent connector bus service that works,” Workman said. “The people-mover system is being looked at, but as a longer-term investment as we start to expand the terminal complex.”

“We have to make Philadelphia an affordable and convenient airport,” Workman said. “We can’t simply say we want to build everything we want at the airport — it’s $20 billion, and then we have to pay the debt service and try to pass it on to our customers. You know what happens if you raise fares $50 or $100 here? Newark becomes more attractive. Baltimore becomes more attractive. Our customers have other options.”

Building for the Future

Here’s a breakdown of what the airlines support:


  • Build a $197.5 million FAA air traffic control tower to replace the 1983 tower on Hog Island Road.
  • Spend $94.6 million to modernize fuel pumping and storage at a 1970s facility to increase the airport fuel supply to five to 10 days from the current three to four day supply.
  • Invest $43.2 million in aircraft deicing equipment.
  • Acquire land parcels for $27.1 million around PHL for future development.
  • Purchase airfield snow removal equipment and an aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle for $6.2 million.

Source: Philly.com

Hotel mulled for historic Girard Building at East Market development site



 

The developer of Center City’s East Market commercial and residential complex is considering plans for a hotel at the historic Stephen Girard Building on the 12th Street side of the project site, between Market and Chestnut Streets.

Dan Killinger, a managing director with Washington-based National Real Estate Development, said in an interview that his team is in discussions with hospitality companies aimed at selecting a brand for what would be an approximately 185-room hotel at the 120-year-old-plus office building.

Killinger, who declined to specify which brands are under consideration, said a hotel would complement the residential, office and retail uses already planned for the East Market complex rising on Market Street between 11th and 12th Streets.

The development currently consists of two apartment buildings being built from the ground up and offices in a heavily refurbished former industrial building. All have retail tenants — including WawaIron Hill Brewery & Restaurant and Mom’s Organic Market —planned for their lower floors.

Renovations at the Stephen Girard Building, which is on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, would retain the structure’s current appearance, according to project renderings.

Source: Philly.com

It’s a new day at the Regional Council of Carpenters



I’ve read articles in local newspapers over the last two years about the Philadelphia Convention Center’s lawsuit with the carpenters union and wanted to tell you more about the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters and to set the record straight.

We are your brothers.

We are your sisters.

We are hardworking, middle-class Americans seeking what all Americans seek: a good-paying job that puts food on the table; a chance to get ahead and make a good, secure life for our families; health care that’s there for us and our families when we need it; and a secure future, so we can retire comfortably when we reach retirement age.

Monday, May 22, 2017

Union: Up to 40K walk off the job at AT&T this weekend



NEW YORK (AP) - The Communications Workers of America union says that up to 40,000 AT&T workers have started walking off the job over contract fights with the phone company. They'll return to work Monday.

That includes 21,000 workers on the wireless side of the company, which the union says raises the prospect that some cellphone stores could be closed this weekend in Washington, D.C., or one of the 36 states affected. Wireless workers want wage increases that cover higher health care costs, better scheduling and promises from the company to not cut jobs.

Some 17,000 other potential protesters come from AT&T's home phone, internet and cable division in California, Nevada and Connecticut. Another 2,000 are DirecTV workers in California and Nevada.

Dallas-based AT&T says it has a contingency workforce" ready in preparation for the walkouts.

Source: Philly.com