Permits have been issued for a multi-family renovation of a four-story prewar building at 1325 Spruce Street in Washington Square West, Center City. Upon completion, the building will be refitted to house nine residential units. The renovations are expected to cost $207,350. D N Construction Company is listed as the project’s contractor.
The Liberty Place complex in Center City is known for being the first building in Philadelphia to dramatically break the unofficial 548-foot height limit that was set by the statue of William Penn on top of City Hall. Upon completion, One and Two Liberty Place were the tallest skyscrapers on the skyline, standing at a height of 945 and 848 feet, respectively. The towers were designed by Helmut Jahn and developed by Rouse and Associates, which eventually became Liberty Property Trust. In this feature, Philadelphia YIMBY takes a look back at a number of early iterations of the complex when the towers were planned to stand around or under 500 feet in height.
Philadelphia YIMBY’s ongoing countdown, which looks at the 31 most frequently listed article categories over the course of the past year in honor of our first anniversary, finds Washington Square West in the 28th place, with at least 29 publications mentioning the neighborhood in its tags. Much like Rittenhouse Square, which we recently covered in the countdown, this Center City neighborhood is already well-established and densely built out. As such, instead of a pronounced development boom, it owes its high ranking to our consistent coverage of a handful of notable developments, particularly Arthaus at 311 South Broad Street. Although we have also covered several minor projects in the area, today we are taking a look at some of the most dramatic developments that will alter the local skyline.
Architectural models and renderings are a convenient way for the architects and developers to give the public a glimpse at what planned buildings will look like. Residential skyscrapers are particularly notable for displaying detailed architectural models in their showrooms, as a means to show off and advertise the units along with the amenity space. Designed by Solomon Cornwell Buenz and developed by Southern Land Company, The Laurel Rittenhouse is a 599-foot-tall, 48-story residential skyscraper under construction at 1911 Walnut Street in Rittenhouse Square, Center City. In this publication, Philadelphia YIMBY looks at the physical model of The Laurel Rittenhouse, which is located in the building’s sales gallery.
Permits have been issued for the construction of a 115-unit multi-family building at 139 North 23rd Street in Logan Square, Center City. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and developed by the PMC Property Group, the building will rise four stories tall and will feature a roof deck with a green roof. In total, the building will hold 122,576 square feet of space. The developer was permitted to include the higher-than-standard unit count through the utilization of green roof and mixed-income density bonuses. A below-grade garage will hold 42 parking spaces. Construction costs are estimated at $35 million.
