Development Archives

Experienced developers are not strangers to controversy and legal spats. Because of the nature of their work, there is often a lot of competition, disagreement in how to make use of limited space, labor disputes, and various other issues that come up.

According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Philadelphia developer PMC Property Group is quickly becoming a leading property owner in downtown Pittsburgh. The developer recently bought a 30,000 square-foot building downtown for $525,000. The purchase pushes PMC very close to the 1 million square feet mark in terms of real estate ownership.

A number of recent changes in Philadelphia have been positive from the perspective of land use planning and development. As we’ve written, a new zoning code promises to make development easier for businesses. To take another example, a new public space outside the city’s train station, named The Porch, has been quite an improvement over what was in its place before.

Development disputes throw off many a project time table, but delays don’t typically last as long as a recent one that was recently resolved. Last Thursday, Upper Merion Township supervisors voted unanimously to settle a dispute involving the former Valley Forge Golf Course. The property is apparently the last undeveloped tract of land in King of Prussia.

On Tuesday, the Philadelphia City Council decided to table–after hours of testimony before the Rules Committee– a proposed zoning change that would have allowed a developer to redevelop acres of green space near the Philadelphia International Airport.

Going up against restrictive ordinances can be a real challenge for developers. Sometimes zoning restrictions are out of date and the community is ready for a change. Other times there is considerable opposition to be faced. Moving forward with a project can quickly become political.

Properties held by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, the Department of Public Property and the Philadelphia Housing Development Corp. will soon be easier to purchase with a new website featuring a map which allows potential buyers to identify the location, price and other information of city-held properties. At present, 9,000 properties are listed on the website, which represents the majority of the city’s holdings.

According to Philadelphia development planners, the six miles along the Schuylkill River, from University City to Philadelphia International Airport, is valuable from a commercial development perspective and represents 68 percent of the city’s underutilized and vacant industrial land. At present, the land is filled with refineries, utilities, scrap yards and freight rail.

Development projects, even those that are years in the making, often face major setbacks. Last month, we wrote about a dispute that arose between Philadelphia Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez and the Norris Square Civic Association over a proposal to allow only single-family housing to be built in one section of the Norris Squire neighborhood.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that landscaping contractors will be replacing roughly 3,400 trees in Norristown and four other Philadelphia suburbs which were lost in development projects. The effort, which will reportedly cost $2.2 million, is being funded by the Pennsylvania Infrastructure and Investment Authority, and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society are partners in the project. The goal is to help manage storm-water runoff, revitalize neighborhoods, and improve air quality.