Countdown

Mural West site looking east. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Murals Rank at Number 29 on Philly YIMBY’s First Anniversary Countdown

7:30 am on August 21, 2021 By Vitali Ogorodnikov

Philadelphia is famous for its astounding collection of outdoor murals, which count in the thousands. Philly YIMBY does intentionally seek them out as subjects of articles (unless, at some point in the future, we hear an announcement of a particularly notable mural planned somewhere in the city). However, given the pervasive presence of outdoor wall art all around the city, especially near sites with vacant lots, it inevitably makes its way into our content in one way or another. Some murals are located near planned development. Of these, some are in danger of being entirely obscured or torn down. Others are planned to be painted on freshly proposed buildings. In either case, when the opportunity arises, we try to track these murals. Over the past, we have made 29 such tags, earning the category the 29th place (the numbering is coincidental) on Philly YIMBY’s First Anniversary Countdown. Today we look at a few standout examples.

Current view of The Maven. Credit: Khosla Properties.

Philly YIMBY’s First Anniversary Countdown Looks at Entry Number 30: Francisville

8:00 am on August 20, 2021 By Vitali Ogorodnikov

In 1682, William Penn’s surveyor general Thomas Holme laid out a rectangular street plan for the new planned city of Philadelphia. Today, the area covered by the original plan comprises Center City, yet its grid continued to extend in all directions until it either hit a natural boundary, or was shelved in the postwar period when gridded city plans fell out of favor. As such, most of the city’s central neighborhoods follow the rectilinear plan, with a few notable exceptions. One among these is Francisville, a neighborhood situated west of Broad Street in Lower North Philadelphia. Here, a small yet clearly noticeable group of streets run at a roughly 45-degree angle to the main grid, as they follow Ridge Avenue and predate the grid’s extent this far north. The neighborhood fell on hard times in the postwar period, yet today it is awash in new construction as low- and mid-rise buildings are rising in every direction. The construction boom translated to 28 category tags over the course of the past year, landing Francisville at the 30th place on Philly YIMBY’s First Anniversary Countdown, where we track article categories we tagged most frequently over the course of the past year. Today we visit the most notable developments that we have covered in the neighborhood during this period.

The new Philadelphia skyline. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Philly YIMBY Launches Its First Anniversary Countdown by Looking at Rittenhouse Square and Brewerytown

8:00 am on August 19, 2021 By Vitali Ogorodnikov

A year ago, the start of August marked the launch of Philadelphia YIMBY. We were excited to extend New York YIMBY’s years-long legacy of covering architecture, construction, and development to the City of Brotherly Love. Since that time, our staff has shared over 1,000 articles, covering a wide variety of topics that were cataloged into more than 1,800 categories. In celebration of Philly YIMBY’s first anniversary, we look at our most frequently tagged categories in a month-long series of articles that will run as a countdown that starts with the 31th most-popular category and will run until it hits number one. Today we begin our countdown by looking at Rittenhouse Square and Brewerytown, the two categories tied for the 31st place.

Cathedral Square. Credit: Solomon Cordwell Buenz

Cathedral Square Phase Two Awaits Design Reveal in Logan Square, Center City

8:00 am on December 31, 2020 By Thomas Koloski

At number one on Philly YIMBY’s December 2020 Development Countdown is Cathedral Square Phase Two, a 685-foot-tall tower planned for 1700 Vine Street in Logan Square, Center City. The skyscraper is part of Cathedral Place, a proposed redevelopment of the block-sized archdiocesan campus centered on the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, a block east of Logan Square. The development will also include a new 23-story high-rise. The taller tower will be designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, though only a general massing is available at this point. The model shows a bulky building with a lower section to the west that steps up toward the tower. Our site visit has revealed no construction activity yet at the tower site, which is occupied by a low-rise structure and a parking lot. Both towers are being developed by Exeter Property Group.

Finishing Touches Going Up on W/Element Hotel at 1441 Chestnut Street in Center City

8:00 am on December 30, 2020 By Thomas Koloski

The second-tallest building on Philly YIMBY’s December 2020 Development Countdown is the W/Element Hotel, which is finishing construction at 1441 Chestnut Street in Center City, a block south of City Hall. Designed by Cope-Linder Architects and developed by Chestlen Development, the 52-story skyscraper stands 617 feet tall and features a distinctive design with jagged blue glass and gray metal cladding that was inspired by the Schuylkill River and the cliffs that run along it. The building has made a significant impact on the Center City skyline, as it joins the group of 500-foot-plus towers in the Center City core.

The Laurel Rittenhouse. Credit: Southern Land Company

The Laurel Rittenhouse Continues to Ascend in Rittenhouse Square, Center City

8:00 am on December 29, 2020 By Thomas Koloski

The third-tallest building on Philly YIMBY’s December 2020 Development Countdown is The Laurel Rittenhouse, which is rising at 1911 Walnut Street in Rittenhouse Square, Center City, just to the northwest of Rittenhouse Square Park. The reinforced concrete structure currently stands around one-third of the way to its eventual height of 599 feet and 48 stories. The building will feature 185 rental units as well as 60 condo units at the top. The $300-million tower was designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, which has designed many buildings around the city, and developed by the Southern Land Company, which has been trying to redevelop the site into a residential skyscraper for over a decade.

113-121 South 19th Street. Credit: Pearl Properties/DAS Architecture

Slender Tower to Rise at 113-121 South 19th Street in Rittenhouse Square, Center City

8:00 am on December 28, 2020 By Thomas Koloski

Many developments near Rittenhouse Square are about to transform the local skyline. At number four on Philly YIMBY’s December 2020 Development Countdown is 113-121 South 19th Street, a slender tower proposed at a site that spans five properties, all of which will maintain their façades within the new tower’s base. This Center City tower will rise 567 feet and 49 stories high and is designed by DAS Architecture and Planning and developed by Pearl Properties, which has a handful of developments in progress across the city. Philly YIMBY’s recent site visit captures the buildings that currently stand at the site.

1826 Chestnut Street. Looking southeast. Credit: Goodman Properties

Approximately 550-Foot-Tall Tower May Rise at 1826 Chestnut Street in Rittenhouse Square, Center City

8:00 am on December 27, 2020 By Thomas Koloski

A conceptual design recently leaked online for the fifth-tallest building on Philly YIMBY’s December 2020 Development Countdown, an approximately 550-foot-tall building at 1826 Chestnut Street in Rittenhouse Square, Center City. The details of the project are entirely lacking, aside from the screenshots that depict a 42-story skyscraper along with the logo of Goodman Properties, the current owner, and possible developer. The tower will likely be residential, and appears to rise from the preserved exterior of the former Aldine Theatre, now occupied by a pharmacy. As expected, Philly YIMBY’s recent site visit has revealed no signs of construction.

Rendering of Arthaus. Image by Dranoff Properties

Arthaus Crown Starts Forming in Washington Square West, Center City

8:00 am on December 26, 2020 By Thomas Koloski

The sixth-tallest project on Philly YIMBY’s December 2020 Development Countdown is the most visible development currently under construction in Philadelphia. Arthaus at 311 South Broad Street in Washington Square West, Center City, has already made a major impact on the skyline as it nears topping out at a height of 542 feet and 45 stories (though the marketing material describes the building as 47 stories tall). Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, which also designed the 792-foot-tall BNY Mellon Center, the city’s fifth-tallest building, and developed by Dranoff Properties, the building will feature 108 condominium apartments. Philly YIMBY’s recent site visit revealed busy activity, with workers installing cladding on the superstructure.

Schuylkill Yards East at 3001 John F. Kennedy Boulevard (center) via Brandywine Realty Trust and Practice for Architecture and Urbanism

530-Foot-Tall Tower Awaits Construction at 3001 John F. Kennedy Boulevard in University City, West Philadelphia

8:00 am on December 25, 2020 By Thomas Koloski

The seventh-tallest building on Philly YIMBY’s December 2020 Development Countdown is the 34-story skyscraper proposed at 3001 John F. Kennedy Boulevard in University City, West Philadelphia. Designed by the Practice for Architecture and Urbanism and developed by Brandywine Realty Trust, the bulky office building will feature an eye-catching staggered massing and an exterior of red aluminum cladding. The building, which will rise approximately 530 feet tall to the top of the parapet, is the first 500-foot-plus tower in the Countdown, the tallest proposal so far in the 14-acre Schuylkill Yards development, and will be the second-tallest building in West Philadelphia upon completion. Philly YIMBY’s recent site visit has revealed no construction progress so far at the parking lot that spans the site.

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