Garage Demolished at 1620 Sansom Street in Rittenhouse Square, Center City

A parking garage that stood at 1620 Sansom Street in Rittenhouse Square, Center City, has been demolished, paving the way for the construction of the roughly 340-foot-tall, 27-story skyscraper. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, the building will feature 298 units, along with retail space on the ground floor, and will be decorated with eye-catching cladding. The tower is being developed by Southern Land Company, which also behind The Laurel Rittenhouse, which is preparing to top out some time next month or the month after. The tower is proposed two blocks to the south of the Liberty Place towers, near the core of the main Philadelphia skyline.

1620 Sansom Street looking southwest. Photo by Thomas Koloski

In the last update on the project, the parking garage was being prepared for its fate. The structure had been gutted, with no vehicles present inside. Machines, lifts, and dumpsters were situated around the aged building, and the start of the demolition seemed imminent. The demolition had started nearly a month later, and was finished by the beginning of this month.

1620 Sansom Street looking south. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Today, the site sits empty. The same dumpster seen in the previous update was still present, used to transport rubble off the site. There are currently two small excavators at the site that are clearing the small amounts of rubble that still remain. Twisted rebar and chunks of concrete still lay in a few piles around the site, as the building has just come down over a week ago. Foundation work may begin this summer, and the building may be rising by the end of the year.

1620 Sansom Street site. Photo by Thomas Koloski

No completion date has been announced, though construction may be finished by 2023 or 2024.

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