Lighting of the downtown skyline

[phillyTIM]

I'm surprised no one has talked about this yet....


Building Feud Could Keep Skyline Dark

http://kyw.com/news/local_story_162130317.html
Jun 10, 2004 7:06 pm US/Eastern

PHILADELPHIA (KYW 1060) Much of the Philadelphia skyline is dark, and may remain that way through the July 4th "Welcome America" festival because of an ongoing feud between the building owners and the city.

The "lights out" campaign was conceived as a dramatic protest by the owners of some of the most prominent center city office buildings, according to David Campoli, president of the Center City Owners Association.

"They range from the largest buildings in the city, like Liberty One and Mellon Bank Center, Bell Atlantic, and Liberty Two, down to smaller buildings that are on Broad Street," he said.

Campoli says it will be a dark day for Philadelphia if City Council approves the significant tax break legislation now pending to encourage Comcast to build a high rise.

It's a move, he says, that is politically motivated and good for only a few connected people so the lights will stay disconnected until the issue is resolved.

Supporters of the tax break for the skyscraper say the primary tenant, Comcast, has commited to creating at least 2,000 new jobs for the city over the next decade.

[mikeg]

Can't the city force them to put the lights on, saying it is a public safety issue (for lighting up the downtown, or for air traffic visibility).

Maybe they can drum up some eminent domain argument saying the skyline is collective property, not just owned by the building owners, but by the entire city.

[chrissayer]

Of course, they can't . . . nor, should they be able to.

I posted information about these building owners elsewhere (in one of the threads about KOIZ districts in CC. As soon as it appeared that these districts would be granted, the twelve largest building owners filed with BRT to get their assessments lowered, thus cutting millions of dollars out of the city. And, at that time, no tenants had left, etc.

As for it being a public safety issue, it only affects Superman and Spidey. Who else is sailing around the tops of these buildings.

[wanderer34]

Hey, I'm not sure if Philadelphia is planning to build any more new skyscrapers. If so, where are they going to build it at??? I think if they concentrated on building a few more skyscrapers, mostly on Center City West of City Hall, then it'll look like a first-class city. Personally, they should've thought about this idea during the 60's and 70's, but I think our so-called "tradition" pretty much impeded the growth and development of this city. I also would like to see something done to Penn's Landing, like an upscale mall w/ stores like Nordstrom's, Neiman Marcus, FAO Schwartz, The Cheesecake Factory, and other stores and a WTC in Phila. What do you think???

[ACE]

That would be lovely, but FAT chance of anything ever getting done at Penns Landing. I mean how long have they been trying to work that out?

The Seaport Museumn is pretty cool though.

[wilreynolds]

Things at penns landing are on hold right now: http://phillyblog.com/forum/viewtopi...=penns+landing

And there is one skyscraper currently under construction in west philly, and from the sounds of things there may be another one coming breaking ground in the next 5-6 months: http://phillyblog.com/forum/viewtopi...ighlight=trade

[chrissayer]

Can't we move this whole discussion into future where it has been going on on a number of threads for months.

Everytime someone wants to push for something, they just start a new thread . . . and often in the inappropriate forum.

I guess we just like to flog dead horses.

[wilreynolds]

I think what happens is that the oldies like us may consider this old news, but for somsone who is relatively new, they may have yet to weigh in / express their position. It doesn't bother me much.

[chrissayer]

Trouble is that Wanderer has been around longer than I have and has participated on some of these discussions.

I chalk it up to being too lazy to go find the existing thread.

I was just trying to save you some work. :razz:

[teahead215]

Originally Posted by wanderer34

I also would like to see something done to Penn's Landing, like an upscale mall w/ stores like Nordstrom's, Neiman Marcus, FAO Schwartz, The Cheesecake Factory, and other stores and a WTC in Phila. What do you think???

I would also like to see Penns Landing have a complete overhaul, but not in the form of a mall. Heck Philly already has enough places to shop, why not just make something beautiful in a way that will endure the passing of time, sorta like how Kelly(East River) Drive is. Just keep it simple....