Articles by Thomas Koloski

1620 Sansom Street. Credit: Solomon Cordwell Buenz

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

8:00 am on June 14, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

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 Square, 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.

Comcast Technology Center lantern testing from Pennsauken. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Looking Back At The Testing Of The Lantern On The Comcast Technology Center

7:00 am on June 13, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The Comcast Technology Center at 1800 Arch Street in Center City was completed on August 12, 2019, when the hotel portion officially opened, becoming the tallest skyscraper in Philadelphia. The tower stands 1,121 feet and 60 stories tall, with a central concrete core and steel floor plates. The skyscraper was designed by Foster and Partners, which has designed several buildings that features metal highlights and bright lighting features, and developed by Liberty Property Trust, which used to be known as Rouse and Associates when Willard G. Rouse III ran the company before his death. Today YIMBY looks at the process of testing the lighting at the building’s lantern around the time of its completion.

Commerce Square in the Philadelphia skyline. Photo by Thomas Koloski

A Look at Commerce Square, Philadelphia’s Twin Towers

7:30 am on June 12, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Philadelphia is home to many skyscrapers designed by well-known architects from around the world. Among these are the twin towers of Commerce Square, which were designed by the renowned firm of I.M. Pei & Partners. The 565-foot-tall One Commerce Square and Two Commerce Square towers are still prominent on the Philadelphia skyline to this day, and they take up an entire city block at 2001 Market Street and 2005 Market Street in Center City. Both of the 41-story structures are framed in steel, and each is topped with a decorative diamond on the east and west faces. Maguire Thomas Partners was the developer of the towers at the time of the completion of One Commerce Square in 1987 and five years when Two Commerce Square was completed, which was also the time when the developers decided to split their partnership.

Live! Casino and Hotel. Photo by Thomas Koloski

An Overview of the Construction of the Live! Casino and Hotel in The Sports Complex District, South Philadelphia

7:30 am on June 11, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Over the course of the past few years, the Live! Casino and Hotel rose to become a welcome addition to the nearby stadiums in the Sports Complex District in South Philadelphia. The structure, located at 900 Packer Avenue, just to the north of Citizens Bank Park, holds over 1.5 million square feet of space, more than the 1.4-million-square-foot Rivers Casino in North Philadelphia. Designed by Bower Lewis Thower Architects and developed by The Cordish Company and Greenwood Racing and Entertainment, the casino stands three stories tall, with the hotel rising 215 feet and 14 stories high.

PhilaPort and the skyline from New Jersey. Photo by Thomas Koloski

A Look At The Recent PhilaPort Expansion in South Philadelphia

7:00 am on June 10, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Large container vessels that carry materials and products around the world are vital to the global economy, and are serviced by thousands of ports throughout various countries. PhilaPort in South Philadelphia, part of the greater Port of Philadelphia, is the fastest growing port on the East Coast. The port has been in operation for over 300 years, originating with the City Charter of 1701 granted by William Penn. Today Philly YIMBY looks at the most recent additions to the port.

Philadelphia skyline from I-95. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Observing the Growing Philadelphia Skyline from the Interstate 95

7:00 am on June 9, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Multiple highways around Center City offer great perspectives of the Philadelphia skyline. One of the best vantage points located along the Interstate 95, which presents a look at the skyline where the towers scatter in broad view from east to west, with underway developments in multiple neighborhoods easy to pinpoint. Of course, the Center City skyscrapers stand out prominently, and even smaller towers rising in Center City West can be seen from the view.

Two Liberty Place from One Liberty Place. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Looking at Two Liberty Place, Philadelphia’s Fourth-Tallest Building, in Center City

8:00 am on June 8, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The majority of the skyscrapers that dominate the Philadelphia skyline are the trophy towers that were built in the late 1980s. One of these buildings is the 848-foot-tall, 58-story Two Liberty Place at 50 South 16th Street in Center City, the city’s fourth-tallest building. The skyscraper is a part of the Liberty Place complex that consists of two towers connected by a mall and a hotel. The skyscraper was designed by Helmut Jahn, who also designed buildings such as MesseTurm in Frankfurt, Germany, 50 West Street in New York City, and the Bank of America Tower in Jacksonville, Florida, among many others. The developer of the project was Rouse and Associates, which eventually transformed into Liberty Property Trust, which built both of the Comcast skyscrapers that today dominate the skyline.

Mellon Bank Center crown. Photo by Thomas Koloski

A Look at the BNY Mellon Center at 1735 Market Street in Center City

7:00 am on June 7, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The Center City skyline had drastically changed in the late 1980s with the construction of newly approved skyscrapers standing over the former, informal 548-foot height limit established by City Hall. In late 1990, Mellon Bank Center, located at 1735 Market Street in Center City, joined the skyline with its bright materials alongside the other new, amazingly designed skyscrapers. The tower stands 54 stories above the ground with a total height of 824 feet to the tip of the crown and a roof height of 792 feet. The skyscraper was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, which is currently constructing Arthaus a few blocks to the south of City Hall. The tower is owned by Silverstein Properties, which also owns the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. The building received a name change for a branding initiative, and is now called the BNY Mellon Center.

Bell Atlantic Tower from Logan Square. Photo by Thomas Koloski

A Look At Three Logan Square in Logan Square, Center City

7:30 am on June 6, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

The construction boom of the 1980s brought a new generation of skyscrapers, many of which still make up the principal mass of the Philadelphia skyline. One of these skyscrapers is the Bell Atlantic Tower at 1717 Arch Street, now known as Three Logan Square. Designed by designed by Kling Lindquist, the building stands at an imposing height of 739 feet and 55 stories. The all-steel structure was constructed by Turner Construction. The skyscraper, located in the Logan Square neighborhood of Center City, has a notable presence both during day and night, as the cladding features an eye-catching mix of colors as well as incredible nighttime lighting.

The Laurel Rittenhouse Square from Market Street. Photo by Thomas Koloski

The Laurel Rittenhouse Square Nearing Topping Out in Rittenhouse Square, Center City

7:30 am on June 4, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In recent weeks, the Laurel Rittenhouse Square has been rising at a steady pace, and is now leaving an imposing presence on the Philadelphia skyline. The tower, located at 1911 Walnut Street in Rittenhouse Square, Center City, is growing to reach a final height of 599 feet and 48 floors. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and developed by the Southern Land Company, the skyscraper will hold 160 rental apartment units and 85 luxury units.

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Articles by Thomas Koloski

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