Opinion Eyes on the Street

Dilworth House stands | Clarke wants another casino | Tower Place construction starts | Reading Viaduct as neighborhood park | ‘Barnes Totem’ install delayed

PlanPhilly staff

April 10, 2012

Tower Investments will start its conversion of the former state office building at North Broad into Tower Place.

Dilworth House was spared a partial demolition by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania yesterday, reports PlanPhilly. The current owners, John and Mary Turchi, had gotten approval from the Historical Commission to remove the rear of the Dilworth House in order to construct a 17-story residential tower designed by Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates on the property. An L&I review board decision took away that approval, a move that has now been upheld twice in court.

Darrell Clarke wants another Philly casino. Council President Clarke has an opinion piece in today’s Inquirer arguing that some folks have been dancing on Foxwoods’ grave a bit too gleefully, and instead we should be welcoming another casino here because of the revenue-generating possibilities. He makes a pitch to casino operators and nay-sayers: “Philadelphia is on the upswing. We should reinforce the city’s momentum by encouraging proven job creators and economy boosters to consider locating here. For the largest payout, the wisest bet for the state’s next casino is right here.”

Tower Investments’ conversion of the former state office building at North Broad and Spring Garden will begin Tuesday, the Business Journal reports. Developer Bart Blatstein’s company plans to create Tower Place: The first phase will transform the former office building into 204 luxury residential units, and the next phase will be ground-up construct of an 18-story residential tower and smaller retail building on the property.

Paul Levy makes the case for the Reading Viaduct as a neighborhood park on the Hidden City Daily. Levy explains the planning process, why demolition is costlier than building a linear park, and the timeline for the SEPTA spur’s transformation into a park. The hunt is on for construction financing as well as a dedicated funding stream for upkeep.

Yesterday’s high winds prevented the installation of Ellsworth Kelly’s Barnes Totem yesterday, the Inquirer reports.

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