Condo Destroying Earth One Trip At A Time

There’s a story in today’s Inquirer about the residents at the new condos at Liberty Two. The cheapest place in the skyscraper is $1 million, but you do get perhaps the best view of the city. There are only about 20 residents in the building, but they already have four concierges doting on them 24/7, a complimentary driver and Mercedes from 7 a.m. - 11 p.m. and probably anything else you could imagine.

Then there’s the story of Michael Beautyman, who used the driver to help him find a couch.

A health-care attorney, world-class athlete and divorced father of two from Flourtown, Beautyman is still decorating. Last week, he asked the Residences’ driver to take him around the city in search of a sofa. No hunting through Macy’s for a floor model. No flipping through Pottery Barn catalogs, or testing the springs on a garage-sale special. The driver took him from store to store. [...]

So, did he find the couch? “No. I found three possibilities. More important, I found an interior decorator at Mitchell Gold who’s helping me.”

Liberty Two: 16th and Chestnut streets. Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams: 13th and Chestnut streets. I would always suggest driving when attempting to hire an interior designer from down the block. Fortunately for Beautyman, even if all the ice caps melt he’ll be about 700 stories up, sitting on his comfy oatmeal-colored couch in peace.

Tip-Top Service [Inquirer]

‘Bonnie & Clyde Of ID Fraud’

The Daily News ‘ Regina Medina has a great story today about a pair of alleged identity thieves. Penn grad Edward K. Anderton, 25, and Drexel student Jocelyn Kirsch, 22, allegedly stole the identities of their neighbors at a $3,000-a-month Center City condo.

They had the newest electronics and traveled around the world. But for some reason they also shopped at Ikea. Do we have a nickname? “Bonnie and Clyde of ID fraud.” Thanks. Kirsch allegedly tried to pass a bad check in order to get hair extensions and threatened the person attempting to contact him.

Also, the pair used Penn’s student newspaper as a resource:

After obtaining a search warrant, cops found three safe lock boxes in their apartment and confiscated $18,000 in cash, a Rolex watch, counterfeit Georgia state driver’s licenses, credit cards in the names of neighbors, and a 2005 article from the Daily Pennsylvanian - Penn’s newspaper - on “How to Spot Fake IDs.”

Come to think of it, it looks like Anderton got a nose job or something. Or maybe he just lost weight.

Living Large [Daily News]

Knocking At Death’s Door (In Center City, At Least)

Today’s Inquirer has a story about empty nester couples moving back to Center City, because they’re sick of living in suburbia and have enough money to afford to live in Center City, unlike you.

And, as such, the Inquirer profiles a couple who has moved from Elkins Park to an unnamed ritzy Center City condo. Oh, and the paper predicts the date of their deaths.

But three of their four children are in Center City. So is the theater. Ballet. Opera. Restaurants. So in the spring of 2005, they moved to Center City. One of the glam condos that are shooting up in Philadelphia like gold-leafed sunflowers. Just the right perch for a couple with another good 10 or 15 years left to get their urban groove on.

Well, at least the paper gave them a range. “You’re going to die by the time you’re 90, but you will live until at least 85!”

Second life as urban hipsters [Inquirer]

Prison To Close; Worse People To Move In?

See the people in the photo at right? That is the America’s new enemy. (Not specifically them, but I was searching for “white affluent-looking couple with no taste” and I think this stock photo fits it perfectly.)

But, anyway, the white suburban family with at least one kid is America’s new enemy not so much for what it it — though its members are usually annoying, natch — but for what it brings: Traffic. And on suburban Philadelphia roads originally designed for plows and the Amish and the one motor coach owned by the Pitcairn family (or whatever), traffic is a major problem with new developments sprout up and suddenly you’re sitting in traffic on Old Goat Road, one lane each way, and it takes you 45 minutes to get to the ACME down the street.

In fact, traffic is such a problem that Skippack residents are ready to rally to keep a jail in their community. The state is contemplating moving decades-old Graterford Prison, and Skippack Township residents are worried about new condos and other houses, and worried about the extra traffic it would bring.

The site is currently only zoned for a prison, farming or open space, but if the state can make a killing off of a nice-sized plot of land if Graterford were to be closed… well… let’s just say if you live in the ‘burbs, you’re going to be stuck in traffic for the remainder of your natural life. Maybe longer.

Worse than jail? Sprawl [Inquirer]

‘Inquirer’ Building To Get Even Whiter?

Have I got a new condo for you. It’s big, white (and sometimes green) and it’s located at Broad and Callowhill, the greatest intersection in the city. Yep, that’s it: The Inquirer Building might be for sale.

The Inky Building was completed in 1925. It was actually the union who suggested the paper sell the building originally — although clearly it was already in management’s plans. Byko & Co. thought it’d be a good way to lay off fewer people, but the company said it had already earmarked building sale funds for other uses.

The Associated Press reports the company is doing a review of all its real estate holdings, and while Brian Tierney says there’s a “very small chance” the building would be sold… damn! Could you imagine the money suburbanites would pay to live in that kick-ass building? A one bedroom would be like half a mil. Think how many Phillycars.com ad spots that could buy!

Inquirer Owner Reviewing Real Estate Holdings [AP/6 ABC]
Jan. 2: Phillycars.com Ignites City With New Anthem
Photo by Brad Maule of Phillyskyline.

Just Wait ‘Til The Trouble When Symphony House Opens

Police busted a marijuana-growing operation yesterday, seizing 30 pounds of marijuana plants worth around $70,000. Neighbors tipped off the officers to the operation. Police also confiscated heat lamps and related equipment and charged Saji Ravindran with conspiracy, recklessly endangering another person, risking a catastrophe, drug possession and possession with intent to deliver. (Hmm, will some news organization bring up the firefighters who died while fighting a marijuana growing operation blaze in 2004? KYW 1060’s Tony Hanson, there we go.)

What makes this bust notable is that it happened at the Dockside, the condos on the Delaware River waterfront just south of Bainbridge. Ravindran was leasing a condo on the 10th floor of the building, and he probably won’t be getting his security deposit back. Units in Dockside sell for about $600,000.

In related news, police broke up a meth lab at The Victory.

Law enforcers sack pot-growing biz [Daily News]
Phila. Police Bust Marijuana Operation [KYW 1060]

Philly: A City That Can’t Even Fix Its Most Famous Bell

Julia Vitullo-Martin can’t just stop bashing Philly. The Manhattan Institute fellow who wrote a strange piece in the Wall Street Journal about how Boston is better than Philadelphia recently continued her screed against the city in an email newsletter from the Manhattan Institute. (If you’re one of the Philadelphians who hasn’t heard of the Manhattan Institute except when it’s talking about Boston or Philadelphia, raise your hand. Thank you.)

In it, she picks up on the designation of America’s Next Great City bestowed upon our 135-square miles by National Geographic Traveler. (Way to get that one while it’s still hot.) She also writes about how the murder rate is high. And then she goes in this direction:

As Captain Jesse G of South Philly’s Italian Market said recently while selling crabs, “This place was 95 percent Italian. Then the entire neighborhood moved en bloc across the river to Washington Township, New Jersey. People. Businesses. Everything. Now it’s 5 percent Italian.” Vacant property, perhaps waiting for development, mars the local cityscape. Down the block from Captain Jesse, a dilapidated former market stall carries a for-sale sign. Across the street, a huge Chinese restaurant has opened, signaling at least one ethnic group ready to bring new capital to the neighborhood. Right behind a sign announcing The Italian Market, a small Vietnamese restaurant does a good business, attracting customers from the Korean and Vietnamese shopping centers.

The townhouses are in part a product of the 10-year abatement of real estate taxes on any improvement—a program former Mayor Rendell started to jumpstart development. … The city’s bet—and it may pay off—is that the tax breaks will attract so many new residents and businesses that by the time the abatements expire, the value of the property will have increased sufficiently to placate property owners about the steep taxes they will have to pay. But what about current property owners, who now shoulder the entire tax burden? “Last year the city of Philadelphia raised real estate taxes for the building in which I live, while granting abatements to many new or to-be buildings,” says business consultant Arthur Cohen, who lives in rural Pennsylvania while maintaining a condo in Philadelphia. “This tends to lower the market value of our building, and of course asks us to pay more than our share of the city’s burden. The city of Philadelphia has become a desirable place to live and developers can make money without the abatement, which is a give-away.”

If you were too busy to read that, here’s the problems with Philadelphia, aside from the post-war population decrease: The Italian Market has Asian businesses, and business consultants with a house in rural Pennsylvania are paying more taxes on their second house (a condo) in Philly.

Gasp! This is a problem. Perhaps the Manhattan Institute can import some Boston politicians for us to fix this mess. Hey, we already have a toilet from Beantown.

Will Philly Be The Next Great City? [Manhattan Institute]
Oct. 31: Erie Canal Takes Center Stage In Boston-Philly Debate
Nov. 2: Flushing Philly’s Troubles Away

Giant Drink Tumbler Just What Wildwood Needed

In case you were wondering if Wildwood could get even more condo-fied, well, you’re in luck. The answer’s yes, and the results are… well… that thing at right (click to enlarge).

The monstrosity at right is none other than the Wildwood Beach Hotel & Resort, slated for completion in 2009. It’ll sit directly across from the Wildwood Convention Center, which puts it at around Ocean & Montgomery. It’s not the only new high rise going in on the tiny island. The Atlantic City Press reports that Wildwood recently raised its height maximum — 12 stories — allowing this 25-story resort as well as a bunch of other high rises that already have city approval. (There may be an issue clearing some of the high rises with the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, because of bird migration patterns or something.)

But back to the Wildwood Beach Hotel & Resort. It’s clearly positioning itself as a year-round destination, since it will feature a spa, indoor shopping, an indoor beach and wave pool (!) and a convenient hop, skip and jump to the Convention Center. (The website also calls Wildwood’s sand “finer than any you’ll find in the Caribbean.” There’s more kids’ urine in it, too.)

The design is pretty good up top, with the yellow and oldish motel look. But, uh, giant drink tumbler? Giant lava lamp? Guhwha? It’d look nice and even appropriate without the giant tumbler and lava lamps, but with them, it’s… uh… is there a stronger word than kitschy?

Of course, the $225 million, 190-condo, 150-hotel room resort isn’t just about making money. No, it’s about helping families victimized by 9/11, according to Christian Nickerson (the head of developer Princeton Junction Development Partners):

“As a survivor of the 9/11 attack on Tower One of the World Trade Center, I believe people think differently about travel,” Nickerson says. “Many families would like to have a taste of the Caribbean without the hassles of airport security, passports and a long plane ride. Even in winter, visitors would be able to relax at our indoor beach.”

Oh. Well. God bless your resort, then, Christian. But if your indoor shopping forces the Boardwalk Mall to close, well, there will be hell to pay. There’s a bunch of links below if you want further info on the de-Wildwoodification of Wildwood.

Wildwood Beach Hotel & Resort
Holy Cow, Batman, Wildwood’s Never Gonna be the Same! [Phillyblog]
Coming 2009: Wildwood Condos! Plus Waterpark! And 9/11 Exploitation! [New York Observer Real Estate Blog]
Wildwood developers look to sky [Press of Atlantic City]
Developers Unveil $225M Hotel/Condo Project [Globe St.]

Leftovers: The Place That Loves You Back (Unless You Overdosed On Heroin)

• If you read PW regularly, you probably already know about the state of the city’s ambulances. (Hint: Not good.) But now, an Inquirer investigation has revealed that not only is the city failing to revive heroin victims with the drug Narcan, but the city’s chief paramedic didn’t know it worked as a treatment for fentanyl, which has been tainting heroin up and down the East Coast. Sigh. [Inquirer]

• The Divine Tracy Hotel in West Philly has been sold. But where will we go to dress modestly? The story doesn’t say who the buyer is, but I think we all know what’s being done with it: Condos. [KYW 1060]

• Dr. Dean Richardson, who last operated on Barbaro, is now going to perform surgery on a polar bear with a broken leg. But of course. [AP/CNN.com]

• Matt Ciotto, Chad B. Archer and Wilbert S. Kollie. Name three people not likely to win their fantasy football league this year. [Metro]

• Geeze. We need to get a union job. [Blinq]

Blogicized: Tremendous Upside

• Hey, the NBA draft is tonight! Get ready to watch the 76ers pick the player who will disappoint fans at least 41 times next season. That is, if he shows up. [Philly-Sports.Net]

• Alert! You can buy FireCharlieManuel.com if you really, really think that firing him will solve all the problems of the Phillies. Or if you have a lot of time on your hands. (Incidentally, the Phillies are losing 6-0 today.) [The 700 Level]

• The body of this blog entry about the housing bubble in Philadelphia is essentially just C&P’ed from the Inky’s story the other day, but the comments are somewhat interesting. Yes, it’s a slow day. [The Housing Bubble Blog via Phillyist]