YIMBY recently went on a hard hat tour of the highest currently accessible floor of Arthaus, a 47-story residential skyscraper on the verge of topping out at 311 South Broad Street in Washington Square West,…
An upgrade has been completed for the lighting array atop the PECO Building at 2301 Market Street in Center City West. Designed by H2L2 (Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson), the building was completed in 1970, which was soon followed by a number of major high-rise developments in Center City. The tower rises to a total of 27 stories and 384 feet, an an impressive height for its time. While the tower does not feature an outstanding design, it is widely known for its tenant, the PECO Energy Company, which serves customers across the tri-state area and all over the country. However, the tower is best known for its 38-foot-high screen spanning every face on top of the tower, measuring 148 feet across on the north and south façades and 71 feet across the east and west faces. Over the decades, more than 17,500 digital messages have scrolled across the display.
The booming area around the Loews Hotel and Jefferson Center, at the junction of the Washington Square West and Market East neighborhoods in Center City, is getting ready for the construction of yet another high-rise development. Demolition and construction permits have been filed at 1101 Walnut Street, a site that is currently occupied by a single-story Wendy’s fast food restaurant. It will be replaced by a 259-foot-tall, 23-story skyscraper with an L-shaped footprint, as the property extends to the north. The structure will house 111 residential units and 6,000 square feet of retail on the first and second floors. JKRP Architects have brought a vibrant mix of materials, with irregular stone patterns that will make the tower stand out on the cityscape. The permits list ARD 1105 Walnut LLC and now LD Investment Partners LLC as the current owner.
Excavation appears imminent for Cathedral Square Phase One, a 245-foot-tall tower proposed for 222 North 17th Street in Logan Square, on the northern fringe of Center City. The 23-story building is developed by Exeter Property Group and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as part of the two-tower Cathedral Square development, which will rise next to the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Phase One, located at the southeast corner of the block-spanning project, will replace a parking lot with a three story building. The structure will span 265,849 square feet and will offer a total of 273 residential units, over 3,000 square feet of retail space, and 18 underground parking spaces. The tower was designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, which has designed many recent projects across the city.
In August 1987, the 945-foot-tall One Liberty Place officially opened at 1650 Market Street as Philadelphia’s tallest skyscraper, soaring above the long-held unofficial height limit of 548 feet, set by the tower of City Hall in 1901. This remarkable skyscraper with a fantastical design ultimately led to the city gaining a new cluster of tall and massive skyscrapers that define the skyline to this day. In this feature, Philadelphia YIMBY explores the building’s progress from concept to reality, as well as its tenure as the city’s tallest skyscraper for 31 years.
