Planners to meet re supertall American Commerce Center
The Philadelphia planning commission will meet at Friends Select, 17th and the Parkway, on Tues. Nov. 18, 1 pm, to review proposals for the 1500-foot American Commerce Center, among other projects.
Expecting an overflow crowd, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission has moved next Tuesday's meeting to the Friends Select School auditorium, 17th and the Parkway, says deputy director Gary Jastrzab.
The commission's expecting to review proposals by developer Garrett Miller and investor Hill International of Marlton for the 1,500-foot American Commerce Center tower, said Gray Smith, a Philadelphia architect retained by the Kennedy House Residents Association, whose members have said the building is way too big for current Parkway neighborhood zoning (which runs to homes and institutions), would choke traffic, and would block residents' views.
It's bold to talk about building skyscrapers that have no known tenants or debt financiers, in the middle of a credit market meltdown. But we're glad to see the city, and the building promoters, are taking a long view.