Cira Centre in Philadelphia and Amtrak

Hi,

I had another question. The Circa Center that's being built across from 30th Street station; is that an Amtrak funded project or not? I'm just curious because given Amtrak current budget problems, and if it is Amtrak funded, why wasn't the project haulted? I'm assuming there was already a contract signed that pretty much allows the project to continue. The praking lot adjacent to it is a great idea. It allows for more cars and more income per parking space. I see them building another structure which I assume is the office building. The building looks nice but if that is Amtrak's project, it seems as if Amtrak is shooting itself in the foot on that one. (I'm not trying to bash Amtrak, this is strictly out of concern, lol)

Thanks in advance!

From the posters inside the building the project is seeming to be financed by some real estate group. I think that Amtrak is going to be getting some rents or a cut from the building instead of managing or owning it.

That new parking carhole with its glass enclosed stairways looks soooo hot. I can't wait till it opens so I can get over with my camera. While the booth Nazis might have stood a chance keeping railfans off the old parking structure I think this new Circa Center will break their tyranny.

You must mean the "Cira Centre". This is the long-awaited development in the vast open space to the north of 30th St Station. Ever since the station was built in the 1930s, there have been dreams of high-rise developments in that area. This one is being built by Brandywine Realty Trust. It's designed by Cesar Pelli. They already have signed leases for over 50% of the office space.

Amtrak owns the land and Brandywine has a 99-year lease on the site. There may be more buildings in that area in the future, which means more rent income for Amtrak. Historically, real estate development has gone hand-in-hand with railroads.

Personally, I can't wait to see it built.[/url]

Hopefully whatever new development is in the area won't cover over any of the active tracks.

I have seen renderings of that area that show several 'future' high rises that voer all of the track area in the yard and approaches.

That area is the future of Center City Philadelphia and really the only open space left in CC for high rises to 'grow.' I say, if someone wants to cover the tracks with a high rise that will pay Amtrak to use it, so ahead! The only means more money for Amtrak/SEPTA and more people riding the trains between WAS-PHL-NYP-BOS!

Well if its a choice between amtrak's Financial well-being and taking photos, I'm not going to risk Amtrak's existance over photos. One thing I do think is that development will seem pretty tough around that area becase of the proximity of all the tracks. There would have to be a big re-arrangement of the tracks in order to make that work. I say this because I would assume suppport columns are essential and the way they would have to be place seems a bit weird.

A digression, but, after looking at that rendering of the building, I get the distinct impression that the architect is hooked on those new-age "healing crystals." In fact, lots of contemporary architects seem to be. I guess that's what was going around campus 15-20 years ago.

Does ANYONE know what a stone column is anymore?

JFB wrote:Does ANYONE know what a stone column is anymore?

Yes, but an office worker never saw daylight (or Fairmount Park) through one.

If I'm ever in the Cira Centre, and get a hankering for stone columns, I can walk across the walkway over Arch St. to the architectural jewel that is 30th St Station. There's plenty of room for both styles in that part of the city.

Odds are good Amtrak will maintain as much of its yard and approaches open as it can. According to my understanding Cira is being built on land that had almost nothing there. I say this because Amtrak raised a stink when the Boston Redevelopment Authority wanted to cover, build a tower and in essence destroy that stream of sunlight into South Station because it would hurt tracks (preservationists didn't like it either). Also, from an operational standpoint, given that there is a yard there (not just the station approaches) having daylight is an operational necessity. Were it covered and there was a blackout, what could be done? It'd be a nightmare. I know Penn Station is covered, but the tracks there all consolidate into tunnels under the Rivers with one spur up the West Side. Philly seems a bit more complicated than that. I think more development is likely, but Amtrak will lease out land it owns but doesn't really use as opposed to overhead track space.
As a side note, 30th street station isn't technically in Center City and there is space in downtown Philly, its just developers don't really want it. Philly is a city in need, but let me stop there before this turns into a SEPTA conversation.

There are plans for the site next to Suburban Station in Center City Philadelphia, but they're currently mired in political wrangling over tax breaks. The site is currently a surface parking lot and underneath it are the platforms for the station, so that area is already covered. One proposal

As for the Penn yards and station approaches at 30th Street, there's still many acres of land open which isn't directly over tracks. I hope they'll build residential and retail spaces and not just office towers in the future, so that it will be a mixed-used development. There were plans for an entire new city in that area and a baseball stadium that were suggested more than a decade ago, but those plans have been cancelled.

I think they'll want to keep some of the area open for diesel operations, and there are security concerns over the vulnerablity of the support columns for buildings. But if they want to build over the tracks, there's no structural reason why they can't do that.

As for the shape of the buildings, architects have been trying to get clients to accept more unusal shapes for decades, but it wasn't until Gehry's Guggenheim museum in Bilbao was built that bankers and other decision makers could think about approving such a design.

Has the Suburban Station Building, or in P-Roadese, the Broad Street Building, at 1617 JFK Blvd been razed?

Enquiring minds want to know.

1617 JFK Blvd is now called One Penn Center. Here's a one-year-old photo of the 15th Street facade:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/352 ... 9472dSrsrG

Thank you, Mr. Vogel; I think we can lay this to rest as soon as we address what parcel Mr. Kwok has in mind.

"There are plans for the site next to Suburban Station in Center City Philadelphia, but they're currently mired in political wrangling over tax breaks. The site is currently a surface parking lot and underneath it are the platforms for the station, so that area is already covered."

At this time, since I now learned that BSB is quite intact (which I thought was the case since during Nov 02, another Member here drove me right by it), I must presume Mr. Kwok is addressing a parcel immediately to the West.

I always thought that was the venerable Robert Morris Hotel, but then i guess venerable doth not mean eternal.

With regard to the Suburban Station Bldg., it has been beautifully restored to its 1930s glory, complete with murals of PRR locomotives in the lobby. It's worth a visit, along with the former Reading Terminal, which is now the entry lobby for the Convention Center.

The lot in the next block west, along Kennedy (former Pennsylvania) Blvd. (which was created by razing the PRR "Chinese wall" into Broad Street Station) has been a parking lot since I've been living in Philadelphia, 17 years now.

The Cira Center parking structure is now open, but the bridge to connect it to 30th Street Station has not yet been constructed. Amtrak puts a policeman at the crossing during rush hours to prevent crazed auto drivers from committing vehicular homicide on Amtrak passengers (in Philadelphia, the notion of yielding to pedestrians in a crosswalk has never been well accepted).

As a frequent Amtrak traveler, I welcome the additional parking and the pedestrian bridge.

There have been a number of proposals for additional development over Penn Coach Yard, but I've seen nothing recent on the status of any of them.

NellieBly wrote:With regard to the Suburban Station Bldg., it has been beautifully restored to its 1930s glory, complete with murals of PRR locomotives in the lobby. It's worth a visit, along with the former Reading Terminal, which is now the entry lobby for the Convention Center.

Here are a couple shots of the mural at the Market Street end of the Convention Center entrance, former location of Reading Terminal:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/793 ... 7151JcgDBK

http://community.webshots.com/photo/793 ... 7242OHgeoB

And here's a view of the Convention Center as it looked thirty years ago, looking east:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/285 ... WbHCFFpcjK