The mid-century parking garage at 1620 Sansom Street in Rittenhouse Square, Center City, is being prepared for demolition, with the site closed to the public and machinery at the site. The garage will make way for a 27-story, 340-foot-tall tower, designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and developed by Southern Land Company, with Hunter Roberts Construction Group as the general contractor. The three companies are also behind The Laurel Rittenhouse Square, which is rising a few blocks to to the west. Hunter Roberts Construction Group is the general contractor. The building will feature 298 residential units, 19,600 square feet of restaurant space, 5,200 square feet of retail, and 67 underground parking spaces.
1620 Sansom Street looking southeast. Photo by Thomas Koloski
1620 Sansom Street looking south. Photo by Thomas Koloski
The previous update from February showed that the garage stood partially empty, with limited parking activity. Our recent walk around the site revealed fences blocking the garage at Moravian Street and Sansom Street, with the facility unavailable for public use. Along Sansom Street, machinery appears poised to start the demolition. The fence features signs for the Hunter Roberts Construction Group, who is also building Cathedral Place Phase 1. If demolition starts this month, the entire structure may come down by summer.
The top floor of the garage provides a fantastic view of the Liberty Place towers, a view that the new high-rise will also offer in an even more dramatic form.
1620 Sansom Street entrance looking southwest. Photo by Thomas Koloski
1620 Sansom Street garage. Photo by Thomas Koloski
1620 Sansom Street garage looking southwest. Photo by Thomas Koloski
1620 Sansom Street looking southwest. Photo by Thomas Koloski
No completion date has been announced, though construction may be finished by 2023 or 2024.
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Such a great improvement to this location. Fingers crossed that this continues forward. I suffer symptoms of PTSD from the Jewelers’ Row debacle, and I am unable to relax until I see something start to rise.
I’m disappointed that there will be parking, mainly bc I can’t see them using Moravian for it. Having no parking, or having the entrance/exit on Moravian could let the 1600 block of Sansom become a pedestrian-only street much like the 1500 block.
Thank God. I hated seeing this eye sore everyday when I commuted to work.