In Market East

The Market East neighborhood was a hub of commerce in Philadelphia from the late 1800s through the middle of the 20th century, with the Strawbridge & Clothier, Lit Bros., and Gimbels department stores at 8th & Market in the center of it all. By the later part of the 20th

Remember, just a few years ago, it seemed like Wawa didn't love us anymore? The iconic local convenience store/spiritual experience closed multiple downtown locations, and it seemed like Wawa was focused on growing their presence in the 'burbs with supersized locations that included gas stations. The last few years we've seen a

The 1100 block of Chestnut Street was pretty awful for a long time, an extension of the blah retail experience on nearby blocks of Market Street. While the north side of the block remains mostly mired in crapitude, the south side has seen a major transformation, thanks to a significant

The south side of the 1100 block of Market Street has undergone major changes of late, and more are on the way. Dating back to the 1960s, an ugly two-story edifice stood here, the tattered remains of what was once the Snellenburg's department store. In recent decades, a collection of

Among Philadelphia development enthusiasts such as ourselves, the empty lots of Center City, which are often used for surface parking, are notorious and well-known. Most of us walk by them frequently shaking our heads at the sight of their untapped potential. So it's with great joy and exuberance that we

For at least the last decade, the streetscape of the north side of the 1200 block of Walnut Street was interrupted by a surface parking lot which stretched all the way to Sansom Street and wrapped around the fabulous Fergie's Pub. Several years ago, developers came up with a plan to

We had jury duty last week. We got called in the first group, spent a couple of hours waiting for selection, and then the case was settled and we got to go to lunch. Since we were in Center City, we opted for some tasty Double Knot, and during the

We've been dreaming of a Center City Target for many years and we're not alone. This makes sense- for many people, it's been a shlep to go to the Target locations in and around town, in South Philly, the Northeast, and on City Line Avenue. Five years ago, we were

The 1100 block of Chestnut Street has transformed in the last couple of years, mostly because of a large project from Brickstone on the south side of the block. This project got moving in earnest a couple of years ago, and has made quite a bit of progress in the year since

The expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center wrapped up in 2011 and cost almost $800M; it's the largest public-works project in the history of the state. This effort stretched the Convention Center to North Broad Street and increased the size of the building by about 50%, ostensibly attracting larger conventions that