DAG SPACE – NEW WEBSITE FEATURE

To advance DAG's goal of promoting good design by encouraging thoughtful public discussion of design matters, DAG is initiating a monthly opinion piece.  The second in the series by David B. Brownlee, "The Jury's Back", is about design review in Philadelphia during the first half of the 20th Century.  This is a particularly relevant topic given Mayor Nutter's plan to create a Design Review Advisory Board.  Brownlee is a historian of architecture and city planning and author or co-author of books on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Penn campus,Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, and Louis Kahn.  He served on the Philadelphia Historical Commission for fifteen years.  http://www.designadvocacy.org/press/dagspace.asp  

Unisys sign on Two Lib sparks designer ire
July 25, 2008

Philadelphia's zoning board heard testimony from Unisys this week about why the company wants to put two illuminated signs on the Two Liberty Place building. No final decision was made and opponents of the signage are expected to make their case before the board in the fall. Unisys officials have said they'll reconsider moving their global headquarters into the building if they're forbidden from putting up the signs. WHYY's Elizabeth Fiedler tried to find out why some design professionals are so opposed to the 6 red letters. Listen to the mp3 »

Aug. 1


DAG SPACE - NEW WEBSITE FEATURE:

To advance DAG’s goal of promoting good design by encouraging thoughtful public discussion of design matters, DAG is initiating a monthly opinion piece.  The first in the series is Interim Zoning No Small Task by Janice Woodcock, AIA, AICP.  Ms. Woodcock, a member of DAG, is an architect and urban planner in Philadelphia who served as Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission under Mayor John F. Street. DAG SPACE articles are the opinions of their authors.  While DAG hopes they will contribute to constructive public dialogue, the articles do not represent the opinion or position of the Design Advocacy Group.

June 24

Harris Steinberg: Nutter's new planning requirement for developments comes at a crucial time for the central Delaware riverfront

June 25
Daily News Editorial

Take Nutter's lead on the waterfront
 

June 18, 2008 

Letter to the Editor

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your June 3rd article regarding the development of the World Trade Center site, “Signs of a World Trade Center? Not Exactly.”  We would like to address some inaccuracies in the article.
 
The site is owned by Waterfront Renaissance Associates (WRA), which is a Pennsylvania Limited Partnership.  WRA’s vision is to develop a World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia complex and make Philadelphia one of the 100 cities in the 305 city World Trade Centers Association with a major WTC.  Located on Columbus Boulevard at Callowhill Street, the site has been designed to allow for the phased development of nearly 4 million square feet of residential, office, retail and parking. Its close proximity to the Market Frankford line would commercially bind the waterfront to the heart of Center City. 
 
The demolition work described in your article was driven by the business considerations of WRA and the condition of the site.  Contrary to the statements of unidentified neighbors, the partnership has not “promised” Senator Fumo to “clear and fence the site.” The partnership has had no contact with Senator Fumo since 2001.  We noted that, pursuant to the regular inspections we’ve made over the years, a wall was subtly leaning on the east side of the primary building on the site at the corner of Callowhill and Columbus. This, and other considerations, made demolition appropriate at this time.
 
Contrary to Mr. Scorsone’s comments concerning a “rat infestation”, the City has a regimen for inspecting sites prior to demolition, in fact did so in this case, and found no such condition.  
 
We learned of the unfortunate incident concerning Mrs. Scorsone in November, 2007. Upon learning of this, we immediately contacted the police. We then successfully addressed the possibility of transient activity by arranging for a private, professional security service to provide seven-day-a-week observation of the site. The site was, thus, trouble-free to the date of demolition. 
 
Contrary to Mr. Scorsone’s representation that the lawsuit has been dismissed, on March 31, 2008 the Court ruled that WRA could proceed with the lawsuit, including its breach of contract claim against certain Civic Associations, including Rivers Edge Civic Association.
 
We will now address the issue of why development progress has not been made on the project. The World Trade Center effort, made possible and encouraged by nearly twenty years of City and State collaboration with WRA., provides for the phased development of nearly four million square feet of space. This is embodied in an agreement with the DRPA, the lead agency in the effort. The plan consists of a residential tower and three office buildings, at an estimated total cost of over a billion dollars. The design, amongst other things, adheres to the “best practices” of the Urban Land Institute for “place making” and how major mixed use projects accommodate, and not conflict with, important neighborhood needs.  Design controls requested by certain Civic Associations were also incorporated to respect the residential nature of the surrounding area and provide visual and pedestrian access to the Delaware River. These design controls were embodied in a 1989 Zoning Covenant.
  
By 2006, WRA was prepared to commence development of the first two towers to be built on the site in the following sequence: 1) a twenty eight story high-rise rental residential building along Callowhill Street (approximately 400,000 square feet), and 2) an eighteen story office building, Tower One of the Greater Philadelphia World Trade Center (approximately 400,000 square feet) which would sit atop a nine-level parking garage to service the parking needs of the two buildings. These buildings would be physically and operationally linked together.

(A rendering of the two buildings and the garage is attached.) All of the planned space is in strict compliance with the site’s FAR controls and with the design controls embodied in the 1989 Zoning Covenant.  However, the design was predicated on the absence of height restrictions, a factor which caused the City Planning Commission to recommend and support rezoning the site to C-4.  

The site’s C-4 zoning was absolutely critical to the orderly development of the site because: 1) it provides the design flexibility to phase the project and build each building with infrastructure to support future buildings; 2) it allows for the design flexibility of the future buildings which is critical in responding to the needs of commercial tenants, and 3) it provides for the design flexibility in responding to considerations in an emerging market like the Central Delaware. 
 
The Project was in the midst of construction permitting for its first phase when, in April of 2006, the City imposed a 65’ height restriction on the area without appropriate examination of its effect on sites on the waterfront.  In encouraging the expansion of the height limitation the Civic Associations may have breached the 1989 Zoning Covenant.
 
WRA brought suit only after attempting to resolve the matter amicably with the City.
 
The height restriction has had the effect of destroying this $300 million, three building “first phase” of the project, because WRA is confronted with two conditions which are currently irreconcilable: 1) the first building is incorrectly designed if the adjoining office tower and parking garage cannot be built, and 2) the first building cannot be redesigned without losing its permit and subjecting it to the 65’ height limit.
 
We have a great deal of sorrow and disappointment over the way this matter has evolved over the past couple of years. WRA has been dedicated to bringing the World Trade Center concept to Greater Philadelphia for nearly twenty years, and co-founded the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia (“WTCGP”) with State and City agencies and officials.  Since its inception in 2002, WTCGP has been responsible for the development of $228 million in exports and the creation of over 2400 permanent jobs. In an article dated June 6th, 2008 which appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Moody’s Economy.com concluded:  “The key for Philadelphia is to make itself even more of a center for global commerce than it is today.”  The success of World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia to date is evidence that Philadelphia would benefit from and deserves a world-class World Trade Center complex. 
 
Sincerely yours, 
 
Vince Powers
Partner
Devine + Powers
vpowers@devinepowers.com

for Waterfront Renaissance Associates
 
 

May 9

Inquirer Architecture critic Inga Saffron:

How to make City Hall a true civic space

May 1

Inquirer

Inga Saffron

New way, new day for Philadelphia planners

March 14

Read Inga Saffron's Skyline Online. See second entry.

Feb. 8
By Kellie Patrick Gates
For PlanPhilly
The developers of Philadelphia's two proposed casinos should not take for granted any agreements reached with the former mayor's administration.

"I didn't agree to them," Mayor Michael Nutter said during a Friday interview with PlanPhilly. "As far as I'm concerned, we're back at Square One."

Nutter, who is no fan of the possibility of slots in Philadelphia, said he can't block the casinos from coming to the city. But he has ordered a complete review of all casino-related decisions made by the previous administration, which is now underway. And Friday, he said he intends for his team to have a say on everything about them, from location to design.

Planning and zoning issues were big in Nutter's campaign, and he began making changes shortly after taking office. He appointed a nearly entirely new Planning Commission and is searching for a new Executive Director.

Nutter said he wants his Philadelphia City Planning Commission and its yet-to-be-named executive director to have more say in which projects gets built or scrapped.

"The City Planning Commission used to be considered one of the best in the country. I want to return us to that level," Nutter said.

He also made sweeping changes to the Zoning Code Commission and Zoning Board of Adjustment, and created a new post - Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. Andrew Altman will also serve as Commerce Director.

"I think that the development of Philadelphia has to be done in a planned, manageable, transparent and easily understood fashion," he said.

Here's what else he said during a short interview squeezed into a busy day:

PlanPhilly: Previously, the Planning Commission seemed to have very little power. For example, former Executive Director Janice Woodcock had publicly said that she thought the casinos were poorly located, but her commission gave them the green light. She told Councilman Frank DiCicco that it was not her job to judge projects. Will the Planning Commission and its director have more power in your administration?
Mayor Nutter: "If you're going to have the best planning commission in the country, the planning commission director has to be top notch. We're still interviewing for that post. We've been very fortunate that some of the best people in the country have been willing to come work for us.
"Under the Home Rule Charter, the Planning Commission is an independent Commission. I expect Commissioners to exercise good judgment and say if a project is not a good project. If it's a good project, I want to know it, and why. If it's a bad project, I want to know it, and why."

PlanPhilly: Casinos are one of the biggest planning and zoning issues in the city right now. During your campaign for mayor, you said that you would prefer the casinos to be built somewhere other than the waterfront. What will you do to try to relocate the casinos? If it were up to you, would there be any casinos in Philadelphia?
Nutter: "I got elected mayor, not monarch. The General Assembly approved gaming in Pennsylvania, and two licenses in Philadelphia. I don't have the ability as mayor to overturn that decision. But I do want to exercise good judgment in where they are located. I'd like that to be looked at in the zoning and planning realm.
"If we were to have gaming in Philadelphia - and I said 'were' - I also want to make sure it's done properly - well designed, well thought out, and does not contribute to infrastructure costs as a result of its existence.
"If they are on the waterfront, they should not impair future development on the waterfront."
Only the gaming board can approve casino locations, Nutter said. "But it's my responsibility to make sure they don't negatively damage the city, and I will use every power and authority I have to make sure that doesn't happen."
Nutter said his administration has already taken steps in that direction.
(At a recent City Council meeting, legislation was introduced on behalf of Councilman Frank DiCicco - a proponent of casino relocation - that would give Foxwoods Casino the zoning it needs to operate at its chosen site.
Casino opponents felt betrayed, but DiCicco's staff said the legislation was necessary to keep the state supreme court from doing for Foxwoods what it did for SugarHouse: The court gave SugarHouse its zoning after ruling that the city had intentionally stalled.
DiCicco's proposal contains provisions that require Foxwoods to reach a community benefits agreement, make improvements to public safety and traffic congestion, complete an economic impact study for the surrounding area, and other requirements before construction can begin.)
"I strongly encouraged Councilman DiCicco to introduce the CED legislation in order to prevent what happened in the SugarHouse case" so that the City could retain control and make demands, Nutter said. "Inaction is not an option."
Nutter has more action in mind.
"The previous agreements regarding casinos - I didn't agree to them. As far as I'm concerned, we're back at Square One. Everything is back on the table, from where they are, what they look like, and all the agreements with the city."

Media Credit: Daniel Schwartz DP Staff Photographer

PlanPhilly: But the casinos' plans have already been approved by the Planning Commission. Can you force them to change at this point?
Nutter: "There's not a shovel in the ground yet. I haven't seen the designs of either casino. I want to see them. It is not unusual for projects of the magnitude to go through several" revisions.
(Look for the casinos to say he has no right to revoke anything agreed to under the last administration. Nutter recently withdrew a permit issued before he took office that gave SugarHouse the right to build on submerged lands of the Delaware River. SugarHouse can appeal and have another Commerce Department hearing. The casino responded with a court filing stating that a new administration cannot simply undo what a previous administration did.)

PlanPhilly: You revoked a permit granted to SugarHouse by the previous Commerce Department that would have allowed them to build on the submerged lands of the Delaware River. Several state legislators have filed a lawsuit claiming only the legislature can grant these rights. But your administration agrees with the previous one that the Commerce Department has the right to issue such a permit. Is this something you're willing to fight over in court?
Nutter: The casinos do not agree with the legislators and this issue will be determined in court. "We are willing to go to the court and defend our rights."

PlanPhilly: So in the future, when developers want to build something on the waterfront that requires riparian rights, do you want the city to be the entity they come to for a permit?
Nutter: "Yes."

PlanPhilly: In his recent budget proposal, Gov. Ed Rendell includes a large amount of money for Philadelphia. Rendell wants the casinos to be built as soon as possible, as he has plans for revenue they would generate for the state, including property tax relief. Are you concerned that your position on the casinos has or will put a strain on your relationship?
Nutter: "The Governor and I talk on a fairly regular basis. I respect him and his perspective. This was his idea, and so he feels one way. As mayor of Philadelphia, I see things differently. He invited me to his budget address on Tuesday. We have to be mature enough in this city to at least respect differences of opinion. And actually, we get along very well."

Contact the reporter at kelliespatrick@gmail.com

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