Articles by Thomas Koloski

Mandeville Place rendering. Image via Richard Meier and Partners Architects

Revisiting Mandeville Place, a 607-Foot-Tall High-Rise Once Proposed at 2401 Walnut Street in Center City West

7:30 am on March 8, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Philly YIMBY’s “unbuilt” series continues with Mandeville Place, a slender, 607-foot-tall high-rise proposed at 2401 Walnut Street in Center City West in the mid-2000s. Designed by Richard Meier & Partners Architects and developed by Bedrock Group LLC, the 43-story skyscraper would have joined an existing eight-story building to the south, which would have been converted into hotel space. A shared amenity rooftop was planned between the two structures. The tower would have featured 45 condominium units that would have offered dramatic views of the skyline.

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Cathedral Place Phase 1 via Civic Design Review

Excavation Starts at Cathedral Place Phase 1 at 222 North 17th Street in Logan Square, Center City

8:00 am on March 7, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Excavation is underway at the Cathedral Place Phase 1 tower, located at 222 North 17th Street in Logan Square, Center City. The 245-foot-tall, 23-story residential structure will be one of two high-rises that will be built as part of the Cathedral Place redevelopment of the Archdiocesan campus adjacent to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter and Paul, which was built between 1846 to 1864. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and developed by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Exeter Property Group, the building will have a sleek design that will be prominently visible from the iconic Philadelphia Museum of Art viewpoint, with blue glass standing out among the surrounding masonry and concrete towers. The structure is expected to stat rising this year.

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2100 Hamilton Street rendering from Cecil Baker and Partners

Cladding Mostly Complete at 2100 Hamilton Street in Franklintown, North Philadelphia

7:30 am on March 7, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Philly YIMBY’s recent site visit to the 27-unit residential project under construction at 2100 Hamilton Street revealed that cladding has reached the top of the 11-story structure, though progress has slowed down since our last site visit. Designed by Philadelphia based architects Cecil Baker + Partners and developed by Bock Development Group, the building stands in the Franklintown neighborhood in North Philadelphia near Logan Square in Center City to the south. Last year, the structure reached its full height of 115 feet and is on its way to becoming the latest luxury development in a neighborhood that rarely sees new construction.

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Waldorf Astoria looking northwest. Image via Cope-Linder Architects

Looking at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Once Proposed at 1441 Chestnut Street in Center City

8:00 am on March 3, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

Today’s entry in Philly YIMBY’s ongoing “unbuilt” series is the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Philadelphia, proposed at 1441 Chestnut Street in Center City, where the W/Element Hotel is now nearing completion. The 567-foot-tall, 59-story tower would have occupied the south side of the site of the former One Meridian Plaza, a 492-foot-tall office skyscraper damaged by a lethal fire in 1991 and demolished in 1999 (yesterday YIMBY covered a supertall structure proposed earlier at the site). Like the W/Element Hotel, the Waldorf Astoria iteration was also designed by Cope-Linder Architects, though the developers at the time were Mariner Commercial Properties, Inc. and Gatehouse Capital Corporation. The tower would have featured 181 hotel rooms and 126 residences.

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Center City Tower rendering with Liberty Place. Image via Kling Lindquist

A Look Back at Center City Tower, Once Planned as the City’s First Supertall Skyscraper

8:00 am on March 2, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

In the late 1990’s, a massive supertall was planned at the site of the 492-foot-tall One Meridian Plaza, an office skyscraper damaged by a fatal fire in 1991 and demolished in 1999. The proposed Center City Tower at 1414 South Penn Square in Center City would have been built where The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton and the under-construction W/Element Hotel currently stand. Designed by Kling Lindquist, the 1,050-foot tower would have become the first supertall skyscraper in Philadelphia, rather than the Comcast Technology Center, which took the title 20 years later. Notably, Comcast was also considering taking office space at Center City Tower, and the cable company’s decision to pull out of the project and to build Comcast Center at 17th and Arch Street instead was a major reason behind the supertall’s cancellation.

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