Developers are seeking allowances to gut the historic Boyd Theatre in Philadelphia to build an eight-screen movie complex.
Ashley Hahn provides comprehensive coverage of the ongoing question about the fate of the historic Boyd Theatre, described as the Philadelphia’s “last movie palace.”
The current development plan by R Investment Nine gets at key questions about what designates historic preservation versus a version of preservation more aptly described as façadism. “The most recent plan…involves demolishing most of the historic theater to make way for the construction of a boutique, eight-screen movie house. The only part of the original Boyd Theatre proposed for reuse under the current plan would be the Chestnut Street façade and the exterior entrance area where tickets were sold (known as the headhouse),” reports Hahn.
Like many buildings deemed historic, only the façade is protected: “The Boyd was listed in the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 2008. That same year City Council enabled the Historical Commission to designate exceptional interior spaces as historic, but designation of the Boyd's deteriorating but remarkable Art Deco interiors was never pursued.”
At an upcoming hearing with the Philadelphia Historical Commission, the development team will attempt “to persuade the Historical Commission that there is a ‘financial hardship’ so burdensome that no owner can reasonably reuse or adapt the property for any purpose.”
FULL STORY: Hardship hearing for Boyd Theatre next week, consultants say reuse requires subsidy
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.