Spread Bagelry, the popular Montreal-style bagel eatery, is spreading its wings (pun intended) and opening a bakery across the street at 269 S. 20th Street in the former Brown Betty Peitite space. In recent weeks, a ‘Coming Soon’ sign has appeared and the name of the new bakery has been revealed: Spread Bake Shop. The new Spread will specialize in muffins, biscotti, scones, baked pies, and loose bagels for those who don’t want to stumble across the street for their fix. While high-rise projects are exciting, developments such as these should not be taken lightly as they are a sign of a neighborhood’s enduring vitality – small shops such as Spread are entirely dependent on a healthy amount of foot traffic and neighborhood density to exist and they add to the quality of life for nearby residents.
While Spread’s opening is a good sign for Rittenhouse’s current health as a neighborhood, a number of existing regulations threaten its viability long term. According to the most recent State of Center City report, Rittenhouse is one of the slowest-growth neighborhoods in Center City, adding 8.3% to its population between 2000 and 2010. On top of this, the demographic trend of the neighborhood since 1990 shows growth slowing. As Rittenhouse has become more and more in demand, empty lots have been built upon, rents have risen, and the wealthy have converted multi-family townhomes into single family residences. On top of this, overly-restrictive regulations cap new development heights at 45 feet for a large majority of the neighborhood. If these issues are left unfettered and regulations left in place, Rittenhouse will max out in population and eventually dedensify and lose the vibrancy it currently enjoy. Shops like Spread and other will no longer be able to rely on constant foot traffic, close up shop, and the neighborhood will become as homogenous in use as it is in income level.
Is this what Rittenhouse wants or does it want to maintain its appealing mixed-use environment with a number of great, active districts like 20th Street? As demand continues to push rents upward, the 45′ height restriction needs to be lifted and a larger amount of housing (yes, in taller buildings) needs to be supplied to meet the demand. To still maintain the neighborhood’s character, taller buildings should only be allowed in certain places, likely along South Street and at key intersections where mixed-use districts are in full swing. This will allow higher densities to be achieved in Rittenhouse, leading to more Spreads opening up and more vibrancy and diversity created for residents to enjoy.
-By Greg Meckstroth for PhiladelphiaRealEstate.com
I think 45′ is fine, maybe up to a bit over 50′ so you can have 5 story buildings. Much of Amsterdam is less than 6 floors, with 4 kind of being a sweet spot for my taste, and Amsterdam has a great density/vibrancy ratio in my opinion. I live there for only 3 months, but it is by far my favorite of the 4 major US cities and 3 European cities I’ve lived in. They sprinkle some taller buildings outside of the center and it works fine, but many people are attracted to the more human scale neighborhoods of the shorter buildings. You can still have plenty of density and vibrancy with height restrictions.
What you’ve either forgotten, ignored or simply did not think of is that most of the growth along 20th Street the past five-seven years has little or nothing to do with Rittenhouse Square.
I have live at 20th and Christian for nearly 15 years. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the growth below South Street is what is driving that market. Ten years ago, about 1 in 50 people in my neighborhood would have had the disposable income or desire to go buy a specialty bagel, have their hair done at a pricey salon or dined out at a high-end restaurant. Now we’re busting out the seams of Center City South (which some still ignorantly refer to as Graduate Hospital area) with professionals, hipsters and students/recent graduates.
Leave Rittenhouse alone. If you build it higher you won’t attract people, you will turn them away. It is the small building, main street charm that attracts us in the first place.
Thanks for the response Scott. I disagree with you on a number of points. First off, the success of 20th Street between Locust and Spruce is not directly attributed to the success of Graduate Hospital. If that were true, you would have seen the commercial node at 20th and Pine take off before the one in question here. But it hasn’t. It’s succeeding because of an increase in population in Rittenhouse and nearby Market West. South Street West is taking off because of Graduate Hosptials recent improvement. When you’re talking about pedestrian-oriented development, you typically talk about 1/4 mile radii and Graduate Hospital is a bit out of that range to really attribute 20th Streets success to G-Ho alone. I am not saying there isn’t spill over however.
Second, I disagree with your assertion regarding Rittenhouse’s density. Cities need density. It is the keystone to urban success. I am not calling for skyscrapers on every block, or anywhere, in Rittenhouse. But I do see an alarming trend of population growth leveling off, the neighborhood becoming outrageously expensive, density diminishing, resulting in less eyes on the street and less vibrancy. In my opinion, Rittenhouse would do well for itself to allow the neighborhood to be a bit more dynamic (emphasis on the word ‘bit’ here), give some flexibility to development, and stop treating the area like an artifact that can’t change. Like humans, cities must change to be successful long-term. I’d recommend reading ‘Triumph of the City’ by Edward Glaeser – he really touches on the economics behind over-regulating our urban areas which caps supply in a high demand area and causing places like Rittenhouse to only be affordable to the hyper-rich. This is one reason why Manhattan is so expensive. If we want to attract and maintain young people, families, and elderly populations, we could afford to allow a bit more density to match demand and not let housing costs skyrocket.