A recent site visit by Philadelphia YIMBY has observed no signs of construction work at the site of Harper Square, a 620-foot-tall, 52-story mixed use skyscraper proposed at 113-21 South 19th Street in Rittenhouse Square, Center City. Designed by DAS Architecture and Planning and developed by Pearl Properties, the slender, 267,874-square-foot structure will incorporate existing historic buildings into the base and hold around 200 residential units and 30,180 square feet of commercial space.
The lack of progress is expected, as no construction permits have yet been issued, though we were open to the possibility of some form of site prep work or signs of project marketing.
113-21 South 19th Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. May 2023
113-21 South 19th Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. May 2023
113-21 South 19th Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. May 2023
The development will incorporate four prewar four-story structures at South 19th Street with house numbers 113, 115-117, 119, and 121. All four date to the turn of the twentieth century or earlier. The new tower will replace the interior portion of the three structures while preserving the façades and restoring the brick to its original red color. The ground floor of the 38-foot-wide structure at 115-117 will hold the residential lobby, while the flanking, 19-foot-wide ground-floor spaces at 113 and 119 will include new retail, preserving the existing scale and pedestrian experience on the street.
113-121 South 19th Street. Credit: Pearl Properties/DAS Architecture
113-121 South 19th Street. Credit: Pearl Properties/DAS Architecture
113-121 South 19th Street. Credit: Pearl Properties/DAS Architecture
113-121 South 19th Street. Credit: Pearl Properties/DAS Architecture
113-121 South 19th Street. Credit: Pearl Properties/DAS Architecture
Upon completion, Harper Square will become the tallest predominantly residential building in Philadelphia (discounting mixed-use developments such as Two Liberty Place, where commercial space takes up the majority of the structure). The building will take the title away from The Laurel Rittenhouse, which was recently completed a block to the southwest.
Harper Square is an exciting project as it will situate a large volume of housing stock on a small, centrally-located, transit-accessible site while preserving the aged structures that currently stand at the property. We look forward to further progress on the development.
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I remember reading how this project was a by right project until other people decided to sidetrack its progress by blocking the issuance of permits.
Good
Hope to see this design come to fruition, anything that shows the city is growing and progressing is a good thing especially when it retains the historic character that makes Philadelphia unique among American cities.
time for all these highrises to be built…..i want Philadelphia to look like the NEW NEW YORK!!!