Monthly Archives: March 2013

The former GlaxoSmithKline North American headquarters in Philadelphia will soon become the site of a new performing arts charter high school. DeMedici Corporation II, a non-profit organization connected with the Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School has agreed to purchase the eight-story building for $29 million to establish the String Theory High School for the Arts and Sciences, the first charter high school in the city to focus on the performing arts. Liberty Property Trust is the current owner and operator of the building.

Real estate developer Bruce Loch has proposed building a 33-story tower at North Ninth and West Walnut streets in Allentown. The building will offer retail space, office space, and restaurant space, as well as catering and conference space. The proposal is reportedly a renewed plan Loch first envisioned in 1985, but which was put off because of unfavorable economic conditions. The plan is being proposed now in hopes that economic improvement will allow the project to go forward

Two historic townhouses on the corner of 38th and Chestnut streets are soon to be replaced by a new high-rise development that will turn the brownstones in modern commercial space. The 25-story tower will reportedly include apartments, church offices and retail space.

An interesting angle has arisen in regard to the recent increase in Property Tax Assessments this year. That angle involves public school teachers and planned cuts to teacher contacts in the City of Philadelphia. Under the plan, the district would cut pay up to 13 percent, require longer work days and put no limit on class sizes. In addition, the district would not provide teachers with copy machines, desks or even enough instructional materials and textbooks. Why is the district proposing the plan now? Because of a budget crisis that could get worse with forced spending cuts. Like most states

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput recently announced plans to consolidate operations at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, close the building currently used for its College Division and lease or sell a large section of the 75-acre campus for development.

After the Philadelphia Office of Property‘s recent release of residential real estate valuations, the City of Philadelphia is encouraging low-income residents to participate in the Department of Revenue’s Real Estate Tax Installment Program. The program allows qualified homeowners to pay their current property tax bills in eight monthly installments without suffering any penalties.

According to a recent publication ranking regions and metropolitan areas annually on how many new companies and jobs they attract, Pittsburgh beat the Philadelphia region. With a total of 126 projects in 2012 compared with the 124 in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area, Pittsburgh was slightly ahead.