I'd be interested to see what other items we've not supported on this forum. First, people on this forum are hardly a unified front. Second, we've had enough growth in the neighborhood so we don't have to accept anything that comes our way. I've heard 10 years ago any new construction was approved in the neighborhood. Now, there's SO much interest in Fishtown that we can be selective about what we want.

There's a lot of things to consider when talking about growth--whether something will be an improvement or not for the community. There are not just implications of if something "sounds cool" or not but draws on local resources, blocking of views, traffic patterns, parking, if something will be sustainable so that we aren't looking at vacant structures 10 years from now when business ideas fail (for instance, KFC in less than 5 years IMO).

Also, as I mentioned, this may be some lame effort by current property owners (who I don't know at all so this is pure conjecture) to get the property rezoned to "entice Donald Trump" or some other hairbrained idea, basically trying to make the land more profitable...perhaps so it can sit vacant for 10 years until someone buys it or has to get it rezoned...do we want that?

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Resident of Fishtown, Moderator of Fish/No. Libs/Kenzo forum, Real Estate Agent-Prudential Fox & Roach

yes.. i agree with brooke. all development is not created equally. with residences (including mine) so uncomfortably close to the shopping center, there is more to fear than to admire about such an idea. extra dumpsters (unsightly, odorous, rodent harboring), additional traffic congestion, & of course the potential for the business to flop and go abandoned.

this is a separate issue, but i am not a fan of any development involving underground parking. the soils here are not water friendly; many basements off of girard are prone to flooding. i can't handle the prospect of the Berks lot being filled with concrete for parking (as proposed by the current owner of the lot).

anyway... latest word from Matt of FNA is that a zoning meeting WILL be held on March 4th. i suppose it will be on the website soon.

The particular threads escape me at the moment and off the top of my head, possibly Bridgeman's View and obviously Sugar House. I'll try to gather specific examples.

And I agree with what you wrote of course and wouldn't be "for" any project which didn't serve a purpose or because "it sounded cool". Obviously there's more to it than that.

I hope that most residents DO want to see growth and revitalization in the neighborhood and city. We have so much potential.

As Philadelphia matures and the hotel market tightens up, I think there could be room for some clever lower-end hotels in neighborhoods like Fishtown. The hotel market used to be so bad in Philadelphia that you could almost always hotwire a 3- or 4-star in CC for $50/night five years ago. That's just not the case anymore.

A 'hipster' hostel/hotel with $50/night rooms and a cool cafe close to public transport would probably do quite well. Development has to be clever in all segments for a city to grow. There have to be interesting options at both ends of the spectrum--whether it means cool coffee shops along with great five-star restaurants or compelling hostel-style hotels to compliment chic boutique facilities desperately needed in Rittenhouse.

Some of my favorite urban neighborhoods internationally have such hotel facilities that bring a diverse crowd of savvy travelers who support cafes and corner bars.

I don't know anything about the proposal, and these guys probably aren't proposing anything too innovative. So I'm not saying it's a great idea. I just would say that residents shouldn't immediately dismiss the concept.

They'll get rid of Kenso, it's too white trash...

Northeastern Liberties sounds right.

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TAFKATLB(TheArtistFormerlyKnowAsTheLoveBelow)

maybe I could just grab some couch on the days I need to get gas and iced tea.
What about Olde Northeastern Liberties City ?

We need just that sort of hotel in Mayfair.

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"Things are starting to get interesting right about now"

Scoats - publician, writer, artist.

All comments made by me on his board are given freely and probably worth what you paid for them.

Soats, that was a powerful post. But what does it mean?

So the discussion on fishtown.us about this hotel is pretty funny. Apparently the owner isn't too familiar with zoning requirements and Philadelphia city code. They were encouraged to learn a little about it, the limitations of the space, etc. They chose not to do so and present the project formally. (Which is entertaining because it's just the surefire way to get rejected.)

One of the drawings referred to this project as a Days Inn.

I actually think a Bed & Breakfast at the Snoopy-assisted advertising on Marlborough and Girard would be well-attended by hipsters. 'Specially if hipsters ran it. Fishtown IS the homeland after all. If the guy who owned that building EVER became realistic about that building there'd be a chance. I heard rumors of a proposal for such about 4 years ago.

But naw, Philly's first W Hotel ain't going in Fishtown. No. Libs maybe.

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Resident of Fishtown, Moderator of Fish/No. Libs/Kenzo forum, Real Estate Agent-Prudential Fox & Roach

I like the idea, but don't know that the hotel market has "tightened" up just yet. I priceline 3 and 4 stars for $50-$70 all the time.

Unless SugarHouse gets built, I just don't see a market for an 11 story (let alone 17 story) hotel in Fishtown.

But then again, what do I know, I'm a computer geek, not a real estate developer.

As far as doing away with the name Kensington, I doubt it. Kensington in London is high class, so maybe they'll spin it with a faux English connection.

The neighborhood played a huge role in the development of Philly as an industrial powerhouse in the 19th century, so I doubt the "official" name will ever change.