Symphony House

City Council yesterday approved a zoning change that would permit two 31-story towers to be built at Broad Street and Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia as part of a $500 million residential and retail complex. The towers have been envisioned by proponents as a gateway to the Avenue of the Arts and Center City. However, the project already faces resistance from neighbors who have objected to any building higher than eight stories. "We had three meetings to address this issue, and in each instance, we were against these mega-towers," said Albert J. Hicks Jr., president of the Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition, a neighbors group opposed to the towers.

More than a decade ago, Newark celebrated the opening of the $187 million New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), the anchor for a much-anticipated downtown revitalization. The project was followed a year ago by plans for the $225 million Two Center Street, a 40-story tower to include stores, 300 apartments, indoor parking, and a pool and spa. The transformation of Newark's downtown seemed well under way - then came the economic downturn, leaving questions about whether the dream is still viable.

Clark Gilbert, whose culinary background includes Taquet, Fountain at the Four Seasons, the Saloon, and La Terrasse, has gone homey at his first solo spot, Gemelli (232 Woodbine Ave., Narberth, 610-660-0160). The space previously was Margot. It's a BYOB, open Mondays through Saturdays for dinner only. Gilbert describes his bistro-style menu as "Italian, with a few nods to France. " (See it at http://go.philly.com/gemelli .) He's keeping at least half of the entree prices, including that of the namesake dish, gemelli pasta with Bolognese sauce, in the teens.

Talks between the carpenters' union and two contractors' associations broke off yesterday, meaning thousands of construction workers at dozens of job sites will remain idle today. "I'm very disappointed," said Edward J. Coryell, chief negotiator and executive secretary for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, Metropolitan Regional Council of Philadelphia and Vicinity. Coryell said negotiators from the contractors' side "did not have the authority to make decisions.

New Year's Day in Philadelphia - a great time to sleep in, eat those fat pretzels, wear funny 2008 glasses, and then go watch the Mummers strut their stuff. Sleep in? Thanks to a rain delay of three hours, many paradegoers were able to do just that. "It was supposed to go off at 8:50 a.m. They just decided to delay it a couple of hours to get away from the rain," said Randy Giancaterino, spokesman for the parade. The call to hold off the start until noon was made about 5 a.m. yesterday before morning showers hit the region.

Friday's announcement that a new high-rise apartment building on South Broad Street will include a theater for the Philadelphia Theatre Company marks the culmination of a decade-long search for a permanent home by one of the city's oldest producing theater companies. What is more, said Sara Garonzik, the company's producing artistic director, the new theater is on the Avenue of the Arts, where, halfway into the search, the company had decided it wanted to build. "It's just the most exciting thing that has happened to us. It's been [the fulfillment]

Heaps of garbage and household flotsam - two busted TVs, a faded sofa, random shoes - clog the alley next to a big, empty lot on the Avenue of the Arts at Catharine Street. Behind a tall, chain-link fence, a frayed sign touts a new office complex and "positive community change. " Neighbors have been waiting for that change since 2000. Universal Community Homes, a nonprofit started by R&B legend Kenny Gamble, promised to build a commercial center that would employ hundreds of poor neighbors.

Kenny Gamble, the Philadelphia music legend who dreams of creating a rhythm-and-blues hall of fame on the Avenue of the Arts, is singing a happy tune these days. An economic-impact study for Gamble's nonprofit Universal Cos. has concluded that the region's music industry can be leveraged to increase tourism and create a new nightlife district, anchored by a "national R&B center," or hall of fame. Philadelphia could in a few years be known as "the home of rhythm-and-blues," Gamble said, in the same way that Nashville has branded itself "Music City" and Austin, Texas, calls itself the "Live Music Capital of the World.

When labor and employment lawyer Mike Curley noticed several years ago that the world of Big Law was focusing more on scale and profits and less on client relationships, his first thought was that wasn't the reason he had gone to law school. But then Curley, one of the nation's most prominent employment lawyers, decided maybe it was time to create his own, smaller firm, where clients would get more attention. And maybe even be friends. "I just wanted to get all of the baggage out of the way," Curley said.

Avi Golen and Jon Wybar have won accolades from the green building community for their work at Revolution Recovery L.L.C., a Northeast Philadelphia company that recycles construction waste. But the two entrepreneurs, who have built Revolution Recovery from six employees to 47 since 2008, are aiming for more than environmentally conscious customers. "Our goal," Golen said, "was never to be a green product," in the sense of charging a premium over traditional waste haulers or only attracting builders needing credits for environmental and energy certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.