Developer Parkway Corporation is seeking to redevelop a block-spanning, 53,568-square-foot parking lot at 1443-49 Cherry Street in Logan Square, Center City. The developer’s “opportunities” page states that the site is currently available for development and can support 642,816 square feet of buildable space at a floor-to-area ratio of 12:1, or whopping 1,071,360 square feet at an FAR of 20. Discounting any potentially applicable height limits, the site is theoretically capable of housing a skyscraper that rises well over 50 stories, a podium with ample retail space, and still have enough leftover room for a public plaza and/or promenade.
1443-49 Cherry Street. Credit: Google Maps
1443-49 Cherry Street. Looking north. Credit: Google Maps
The property takes up the entirety of the city block that is bounded by Cherry Street to the south, Race Street to the north, Carlisle Street to the east and North 15th Street to the west. Since the narrow Carlisle and Cherry streets are effectively alleyways, the site may be best described as being located on the southeast corner of 15th and Race. The site is located right in the center of the city, two short blocks north of City Hall, one short block to the northeast of Love Park, and one short block west of the Convention Center, to which it is connected directly via the adjacent Cherry Street pedestrian promenade.
1443-49 Cherry Street. Credit: Parkway Corporation
Needless to say, the site is incredibly well-serviced by mass transit. The Race-Vine Station on the Broad Street Line is situated half a block to the northeast. Two short blocks to the south is the transit junction of the Broad Street Line’s City Hall Station, the 15th Street Station on the Market-Frankford Line, the 15th Street Station of the trolley, and the Regional Rail Suburban Station.
Although YIMBY strongly encourages the use of mass transit over cars for commuting, we must acknowledge the site’s near-immediate adjacency to the entrance and exit ramps to the I-676 aka the Vine Street Expressway, which provides direct interstate highway access throughout the region.
At the moment, the property houses a parking lot with 277 spaces, of which 120 are self-parking spaces and 157 are attendant-serviced. The lot is managed by the Parkway Corporation, a parking management and real estate firm with a business model of maintaining “land banks” in the form of parking that would see development once favorable conditions arise. The company has experience with both self-developed projects and joint ventures.
Since the lot at 1443-49 Cherry Street is listed under the “opportunities” category, we assume that Parkway is seeking a development partner or a client, such as an anchor tenant for future floor space (as the Morgan Lewis law firm served for Parkway’s office tower currently under construction at 2222 Market Street).
1443-49 Cherry Street. Credit: Parkway Corporation
1443-49 Cherry Street. Looking southeast from the intersection of Race and North 15th streets. Credit: Google Maps
1443-49 Cherry Street. Looking southwest. Credit: Google Maps
1443-49 Cherry Street. Looking northeast. Credit: Google Maps
1443-49 Cherry Street. Looking northwest. Credit: Google Maps
If a sizable tower does rise at the site, it would extend the skyline of the adjacent Center City core to the northeast. Tall, large-scale development would be entirely appropriate at the site, which sits amidst a large number of high-rise buildings. Moreover, the development would fill a glaring, pedestrian-unfriendly gap in an otherwise densely built out streetscape.
Although no plans have nor permits have been filed for the site, YIMBY would like to see a large, mixed-use proposal for the property, possibly involving residential, retail, office, hotel, and/or institutional space. Each of these uses would be able to capitalize on a variety of users from the nearby Convention Center as well as booming Lower North Philadelphia to the north.
The segment of Cherry Street to the south of the lot ought to be pedestrianized (as much as possible with existing vehicle access requirements), extending the existing Cherry Street plaza all the way from Broad Street to 15th Street. Additional public space and landscaping would be a welcome sight, as well.
Cherry Street, with 1443-49 Cherry Street on the left. Looking east toward the Convention Center. Credit: Google Maps
YIMBY hopes to see a development announcement for this centrally-located, potential-laden property in the near future.
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Bring back America commercial center , would look great there
With retail on the skids, what is going to happen to all of the “retail” space being incorporated in the new builds? Who is going to rent this retail space?
Leasing retail space in a democratic city trying to balance the needs of the people versus the BLM activists should be enough to vote out those clowns.
Don’t hold your breath for this to happen. It is not in a shopping area, it is not much of an inviting area. I predict nothing happens there for many years.
Considering that the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is on the adjacent block, perhaps
some gallery space could be incorporated into any new development.
Brian! You’re predictably back airing your personal biases in a manner that has nothing to do with the development itself. Might I recommend Twitter for that?
Here, let me model how this whole posting thingy works…
“Hopefully this parking lot will be developed into something sizable and significant as befits it’s acreage and location, and not be another two cheers development”.
Perfect site for Comcast 3! (But seriously, this huge parking lot is calling out for a 1.2M sq ft office/hotel/retail tower)
Can we please keep that rotating billboard? LOVE IT and there aren’t many left.