Topping-Out Nears at 244-foot-tall, 23-story One Cathedral Square Condo at 1701 Race Street in Logan Square, Center City

The 30th Place on YIMBY’s December 2021 Development Countdown goes to One Cathedral Square, a 244-foot-tall, 23-story residential structure that currently stands nearly topped out at 1701 Race Street in Logan Square, Center City. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and developed by the Exeter Property Group and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the building will feature 273 condominium residences, as well as retail space at the ground floor. Hunter Roberts Construction Group is the project contractor.

One Cathedral Square at 1701 Race Street. Credit: Solomon Cordwell Buenz

One Cathedral Square at 1701 Race Street. Credit: Solomon Cordwell Buenz

The building comprises the residential component of Cathedral Square, a major redevelopment project at the block-sized archdiocesan campus centered on the iconic Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. The cathedral became an instant architectural icon upon its opening in 1864, and remains a cherished Philadelphia landmark to this day. The cathedral had witnessed two papal Masses, one celebrated by Pope John Paul II in 1979, and the other by Pope Francis in 2015.

By contrast, before the redevelopment, the rest of the archdiocesan campus left much to be desired. Aside from a pair of minor prewar buildings and a humdrum, 185-foot-tall, 13-story office building constructed at 222 North 17th Street in 1971, the fenced-in campus consisted of parking lots and sparse green space.

Archdiocesan campus block map. Credit: Barbara Hagan via Catholic Philly

Cathedral Place Phase 1 site looking north. January 2021. Photo by Thomas Koloski

One Cathedral Square rises at the southeast corner of the superblock, at the intersection of Race and 17th streets. Although it replaces a rather attractive, traditionally-styled, three-story convent building, the new tower is a vast improvement over the site’s prior condition. Instead of a fenced-in parking lot and the long-vacant convent, the new building will spruce up the pedestrian experience with a corner-sited retail space.

The residential lobby and amenity space will be located at the western section of the footprint, facing a new pedestrian path that will lead to the block interior, past the cathedral to the new Cathedral Plaza public space and Two Cathedral Square, a 470-foot-tall office and residential tower planned at the site’s northern end.

Apartments at One Cathedral Square will consist mostly of one-bedroom units, with a few two-bedrooms mixed in. Each residence will feature floor-to-ceiling windows, which will bathe the interiors in ample sunlight. The upper floors on the western side of the building will offer dramatic, up-close views of the cathedral and the skyline beyond. Residential amenities include a lounge, fitness center, a roof deck, and a 16-car underground parking garage.

One Cathedral Square at 1701 Race Street. Credit: Solomon Cordwell Buenz

Cathedral Square site plan. Credit: Solomon Cordwell Buenz

One Cathedral Square at 1701 Race Street. Credit: Solomon Cordwell Buenz

One Cathedral Square at 1701 Race Street. Credit: Solomon Cordwell Buenz

One Cathedral Square, then still tentatively known as Cathedral Place Phase One, was not tall enough to make it to last year’s December Countdown, which started with 20th+Arch, a 260-foot-tall proposal sited nearby at 2000 Arch Street. At the time, work had not yet begun at One Cathedral Square, as our January visit revealed, and the convent was still standing. By March, the convent was gone and excavation was in progress.

Cathedral Square Phase 1 from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Since that time, the concrete structure has shot rapidly upward. At the moment, work is underway at the 22nd floor, with just one more floor remaining until the topping out. The reflective curtain wall currently rises up to the sixth floor. As seen below, the structure already rises well above the Archdiocesan Office Building and is already making an impact on the Center City skyline.

222 North 17th Street, Cathedral Square One. Photo by Jamie Meller

222 North 17th Street, Cathedral Square One. Photo by Jamie Meller

If you are curious as to what’s going on on our sister websites, we invite you to stop by New York YIMBY and Chicago YIMBY, which are running December Countdowns of their own. Happy holidays, and keep looking up!

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