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PHILADELPHIA - A massive 2026 in Philadelphia is getting even more exciting as Norwegian Cruise Line announced Wednesday it will launch from the Port of Philadelphia. The port has not been a homeport for cruises in nearly 15 years, and the nearest stops since for cruise goers have been Baltimore and New York City. The Norwegian Jewel, with the capacity to accommodate over 2,300 guests, will homeport in Philadelphia starting in April 2026 through October. The ships will make two dozen stops in the city during that time, and will offer seven-to-nine-day voyages to Bermuda. The cruise line says from September to October, the Norwegian Jewel will embark on 10 and 11-day voyages to Canada and New England. "With all eyes on Philadelphia as we prepare to host our country’s 250th birthday in 2026, the Port will continue to help support and grow Philadelphia tourism to create economic opportunity for our region, workers, and businesses," Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said. https://www.fox29.com/news/port-philadelphia-will-serve-norwegian-cruise-line-homeport-2026

Big bummer..... The developers pulled out of this one....citing financing.😐 https://www.inquirer.com/news/philad...-20240415.html National Real Estate Advisors told The Inquirer on Monday that the difficult construction financing environment partly led the company to decide against taking part in the plan to turn the historic building at 18th and Vine Streets into a hotel and a new African American Museum. The developer, one of two involved in the project, had also planned a parking garage and 30-story residential building at a neighboring site.

AN ODE TO AMTRAK'S NORTHEAST CORRIDOR LINE The new book The Northeast Corridor traces the history of passenger trains from Boston to DC and explains why the current service is so essential — and so frustrating. After seeing ridership collapse during the Covid pandemic, Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor is now roaring back to life. Passenger counts on the high-end Acela service soared 38% in its last fiscal year (which ended in September), and overall ridership along the coastal line is above pre-pandemic levels. In November, US President Joe Biden announced more than $16 billion in much-needed infrastructure improvements; in the coming months, Amtrak is slated to introduce modernized trains, with plans to add 50% more service on the Northeast Corridor by 2038. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-12/how-the-northeast-corridor-became-amtrak-s-essential-rail-line?embedded-checkout=true

Whooooaaa... Looks like they're finally giving us something akin to STL''s BALLPARK VILLAGE 😳 ---------------------------------------- Courtesy of poster BROAD&MARKET over at Sky Scraperpage.com (PHILADELPHIA Low-rise General Development ) https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2024/02/12/comcast-spectacor-sports-complex-development-plan.html https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2024/02/12/comcast-spectacor-sports-complex-development-plan.html Comcast Spectacor has presented plans in recent weeks for a massive mixed-use development at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, the latest effort to maximize the land where sprawling parking lots sit. The proposal comes as the Comcast Spectacor-owned Wells Fargo Center risks losing the Philadelphia 76ers as a major tenant and searches for additional ways to keep the team at the sports complex. The master plan calls for 500,000 square feet of office space, 460,000 square feet of retail, a 5,500-seat concert venue, 2,000 multifamily residential units and 500 rooms across multiple hotels, according to materials from the presentation with a neighborhood group reviewed by the Business Journal. The development also calls for 10,000 garage parking spaces. Renderings viewed by the Business Journal show the new development taking up a portion of the 22,000 parking spots sitting adjacent to the Wells Fargo Center, Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field. Comcast Spectacor, owner of the Wells Fargo Center and the Philadelphia Flyers, has a contract with the city to lease the 47 acres around the Wells Fargo Center and serve as the master developer of the land off Broad Street, Interstate 95 and the Walt Whitman Bridge.

https://youtu.be/LQSJV3x-h-8?si=pEgg_TBfvZ-92JSk

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/11/25/business/why-doesnt-the-us-have-more-passenger-trains/index.html

https://youtu.be/w5HbGiBdRGw?si=v28qrvx0HFpUnknM

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2023/10/16/philly-fastest-rising-life-sciences-cities.html

https://www.youtube.com/live/QkwlBhVnLiI?feature=share

https://youtu.be/6lXWYkzVx7E