Sun blockage is rarely a problem anyways, it's just something people use to block any sort of new building.

We are not talking about the skyscraper canyons of Lower Manhattan folks

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Midtown Mahattan, where it's main skyscraper core is, is just like any other place on the planet, at some points in the day you get sun, at others points you dont. even with 900foot tall buildings, you still get sun on the streetscape. i guarantee you in that awful place we like to call Merion (or any other place on our mainline) that is basically buried underneath 60foot tall trees, you;ll get far less sunlight. and God knows what an awful place that Main Line is to live in, quality of life there is horrible ive heard.

should we stop planting those awful leafy things because they may grow up and block the sun someday? exactly, so why oppose construction of a (gasp) 60Foot high home using that as an excuse? have any of you ever been out of philly? Soho in NYC is a lovely place lined with 7 story buildings. Where i currently live, London, is completely dominated by 8-10 story buildings creating wonderful boulevards of vibrance and vitality. city's are dynamic, changing places, stop trying to FORCE yours into staying the same. it's just not healthy.

If you live in London why are you so concerned about the development in Philly?

So what do we say to those owners of 2-story homes in Philly who have a legitimate point when they say "hey - that 3-story town home they're building across the way could block my light and roof-deck view?". Maybe all new houses in Philly ought to be limited to 2 stories. Then everyone's god-given right to an unblocked view and shadowless days will be protected. In fact, they should never even have built Center City. All it's doing is blocking everyone's views (and causing congestion)!

And what about all those horrible 4-story brownstones on Spruce and Pine? The streets are so cavernous and inhuman. The streets of 2-story rowhouses in S. Philly are so much nicer with their delightful human scale. Law of nature: 2 stories are better than 3, which are better than 4, 5, or 6, and so on. Think about it: in Back Bay and Beacon Hill in Boston, all those 5 and 6 story brownstones are monstrosities!!!!! People live like ants among monoliths! Totally dehumanizing, that Beacon Hill. No one could ever say Back Bay and Beacon Hill are as nice and beautiful as our QV or Bella Vista with a straight face.

I say, going forward, all new houses in Philly should be one story, low enough to preserve all the light and views, but just enough for a first floor garage to assure those wealthy enough their god-given right to a parking space for the car they are entitled to toodle around in along a congestion-free Columbus Blvd.

You know what happen when you guess (assume) - you sound like an ass. What I was doing was commenting on an earlier thread. I like community gardens. I looks a lot better than the vacant lot that sat there for as long as I can remember. I think one of the things that is great about this city is the public squares and Fairmount Park. However you and Go Birds (btw I am a die hard fan) just read and assumed you knew what I was thinking not saying. Or do you really think an 8 story building would not have an affect on sunlight on the other side of the street? If you live in Center City as I do and ever walk around on days where it is not warm (which is most days) you appreciate the sunny side of the street. Did I imply that I think all building should cease to protect a little sun on a community garden? No. I am glad to see the revitilization of my neighborhood and city. Not only should the parking lot become something else even though my brother is going to have to find somewhere else to park his car, but the community garden should someday give way to something else. Broad and South is too valuable a corner to be used in that way. I would love nothing more than to see the vacant lots that abound my neighborhood and neighborhoods all over the city get turned into housing. It is certainly better that seeing more farmland turned into subdivisions. But at the same time many people beside myself understand there has to be some constraints. So putting up a six or eight story building in a neighborhood where everything else is two or three stories should be thought out. Some of the considerations besides the rest of the neighborhood should be the width of the street, setbacks and impermeable surfaces. I could go on but I have things to do. And one other thing - my family has lived in this city for at least 150 years but I am willing to move to Phoenix if you move back to London.

The height according to zoning is measured from the average grade of the elevation of the street to the top of the buildings parapet wall. The height max is 35'. Anything taller (i.e. 4-story or a roof deck) and you need a variance......actually anything residential over 3-stories in R10 needs a variance no matter the height.

What I don't get is how this developer will make a penny. Let's see six stories: You will need an elevator ($50K per unit), you will need sprinklers (any home over 4-stories needs sprinklers), etc. These units 'seem' to sound (uneducated guess right now) around 4,000 sq.....that is roughly, at the bare minimum, a $450K unit in construction costs. Factor in your other costs, and these homes will have to fetch HUGE dollars. This is what happens when everyone thinks they are a 'high-end' developer in a hot market, but actually are clueless.....paying too much for ground and trying to recoup = 6-story homes.

Northwods said:
"I say, going forward, all new houses in Philly should be one story, low enough to preserve all the light and views, but just enough for a first floor garage to assure those wealthy enough their god-given right to a parking space for the car they are entitled to toodle around in along a congestion-free Columbus Blvd.----"


Obviously you have not heard about underground houses with sod roofs---Eric the Red perfected them in Iceland around 930AD. We could THEN add community garden atop your house.

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Obviously you have not heard about underground houses with sod roofs---Eric the Red perfected them in Iceland around 930AD. We could THEN add community garden atop your house.[/quote]

There was some kind of article on someone who added a full on garden on top of their house around 21st and Kater. I just thought that was funny you mentioned it.

T.O i compeltely agree with you. Londoner when you move back to Philly then talk

Those are my neighbors at 20th & Kater. I don't think the garden construction is done yet.

http://citypaper.net/articles/2005-01-13/canon.shtml

excerpt:

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