Skyline massing

Center City West. Looking north. Credit: Google Maps

YIMBY Observes the Rise of Center City West

8:00 am on June 3, 2022 By Thomas Koloski

Center City West is a section of Center City located roughly between 21st, Chestnut, and Arch streets and the Schuylkill River. For decades, the neighborhood was comprised primarily of parking lots, yet in recent years the area has been on the rise with a large number of projects that have recently been completed, underway, and proposed. The largest developments that have originally been completed in the neighborhood are the PECO Building, completed in 1970, and the Aramark Headquarters which renovated the structure of an existing building at 2400 Market Street in 2019. With Aramark relocating its headquarters to the neighborhood, the company saw the potential of the area’s growth. 2222 Market Street, the first development of the new construction wave was revealed in 2019, and is currently underway.

Model of Liberty Place. Photo by The Philadelphia Inquirer

YIMBY Shares Detailed Models Of The 1985 Liberty Place Iteration In Center City

8:00 am on June 2, 2022 By Thomas Koloski

The Liberty Place complex, which consists of One Liberty Place and Two Liberty Place are located at 1650 Market Street and 50 South 16th Street in Center City, has anchored the Philadelphia skyline ever since it was completed in 1990. However, at one point, the final form of the buildings was meant to look very different. The groundbreaking project was designed by Helmut Jahn of Murphy/Jahn (now known as Jahn/), who had hand-drawn a massive quantity of possibilities for the city block. The project was developed by Rouse and Associates, as Willard G. Rouse, who was adamant about raising the skyline above Philadelphia City Hall as he believed that William Penn himself would appreciate the city’s progress. In this feature, Philadelphia YIMBY shares our latest skyline massings of a heavily detailed model of the 1985 iteration of Liberty Place.

Philadelphia 1987 One Liberty Place south elevation. Models and image by Thomas Koloski

YIMBY Shares a Detailed Model of One Liberty Place in Center City

8:00 am on May 31, 2022 By Thomas Koloski

As the 35th anniversary for the topping-out of One Liberty Place‘s spire was commemorated, Philadelphia YIMBY has assembled a high-quality model of the skyscraper. Located at 1650 Market Street in Center City, the tower is a milestone in the skyline and Philadelphia history as it broke free of the height limit once set by City Hall and improved the city’s image. While heavily criticized by some at the time of proposal, the office tower was eventually given the green light to stand 61 stories high and 945 feet tall. The tower and the second phase of the project was designed by Helmut Jahn of Murphy/Jahn and developed by Willard G. Rouse III of Rouse and Associates. In this feature, Philadelphia YIMBY observes an accurately detailed model of One Liberty Place on the 1987 skyline massing.

Virgin Hotels looking southwest. Image via The Badger Group

Philadelphia YIMBY Shares Skyline Massings of Two-Tower Virgin Hotel Proposed in Rittenhouse Square, Center City

8:00 am on May 26, 2022 By Thomas Koloski

For years, Philadelphia YIMBY has published in-house-made skyline massings, of old developments and new proposals alike, and today we bring another project to our readers. Recently, images of a new Virgin Hotels development proposal have surfaced, showing two new buildings at 500 South Broad Street in Rittenhouse Square Center City. Shown in renderings are a taller tower standing 36 floors and a shorter tower rising 23 stories. The project is being designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill and developed by The Badger Group, Dranoff Properties, The Goldenberg Group LLC, and Virgin Hotels, which will have their logo displayed on the north tower. In this feature, Philadelphia YIMBY presents our skyline massings of the Virgin Hotel towers.

2300-24 Market Street looking southwest. Image via Breakthrough Properties and KieranTimberlake

Philadelphia YIMBY Presents Updated Massings of 2300-24 Market Street in Center City West

8:00 am on May 19, 2022 By Thomas Koloski

A surge of development in Center City West is poised to change the neighborhood in the near future. One of these additions is the recently redesigned proposal at 2300-24 Market Street. The original plan was more massive and held residential space, and would have risen 202 feet and 14 stories high. The original iteration was designed by Tantillo Architecture and developed by Lubert-Alder, but now KieranTimberlake and Breakthrough Properties have collaborated to bring the new iteration. The building will now stand at a noticeably shorter height, with a confirmed floor count of nine floors, along with the buildings purpose shifting to office and lab space. Today we share YIMBY’s own skyline massings of the development.

Philadelphia 1985 Liberty Place massing south elevation. Models and image by Thomas Koloski

YIMBY Presents Revised Massings Of The 1985 Liberty Place Iteration

7:30 am on April 29, 2022 By Thomas Koloski

On May 13, 1985, celebrations were held for the groundbreaking for the first phase of the Liberty Place complex in Center City, with another office tower, mall, and hotel under construction by February 1988. The towers, located at 1650 Market Street and 50 East 16th Street, were designed by Helmut Jahn of Murphy/Jahn. Originally One Liberty Place was meant to stand 915 feet, while the shorter Two Liberty Place was proposed to rise 708 feet and 48 stories tall. The project was developed by Willard G. Rouse III of Rouse and Associates, which had eventually transformed into Liberty Property Trust. In this feature, Philadelphia YIMBY shares revised versions of our custom-made skyline massings of the 1985 Liberty Place design.

Philadelphia skyline from South Street Bridge. Photo by The Philadelphia Inquirer

Observing The Construction Of Mellon Bank Center and Two Liberty Place

8:00 am on April 11, 2022 By Thomas Koloski

In 1984, plans were approved for the first office tower to rise above the unwritten Gentleman’s Agreement height above the statue of William Penn. One Liberty Place broke ground in 1985 and was under construction until the end of 1987, starting a new construction boom for the city that revitalized the city’s skyline. One Commerce Square had topped out the summer before One Liberty Place rose, but, shortly after the completion of One Liberty Place, the structure of the Independence Blue Cross Tower joined the skyline. By the end of 1988, the Bell Atlantic Tower was also rising, eventually bulking up the skyline by 1989.

2022 Philadelphia skyline massing looking northeast. Image and model by Thomas Koloski

YIMBY Presents the 2022 Philadelphia Skyline Massing

8:00 am on March 11, 2022 By Thomas Koloski

Over the years, the Philadelphia skyline has been changing continually with new buildings being constructed. YIMBY has recreated the historical growth via multiple skyline massing models. The first model was completed back in 2019 and since then a series of models were made, going back to 1905. The newest model represents the skyline in the current year, reflecting multiple milestone additions to the cityscape. Like most models other than the 2019 model, the section of the city represented in our the three-dimensional mockup is bordered by the Schuylkill River, Cherry Street, 12th Street, and Walnut Street. In this feature, Philadelphia YIMBY will be observing the city construction on the 2022 massing.

Two Cathedral Square in the Philadelphia skyline from the Museum of Art. Photo and model by Thomas Koloski

Philadelphia YIMBY Presents Massings of Two Cathedral Square in the Philadelphia Skyline

8:00 am on January 18, 2022 By Thomas Koloski

While the Philadelphia skyline is growing upward, it is also extending further outward with new proposals. Cathedral Square, a development consisting of two skyscrapers, is on its way up in the Logan Square neighborhood in Center City, with the first tower already under construction at 1701 Race Street. Just to the north, Two Cathedral Square will soon stand 470 feet and 34 stories tall at 227 North 18th Street. The tower was designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and developed by Exter Property Group and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Harper Square. Image via centercityphila.org

Philadelphia YIMBY Reveals Updated Skyline Massings for Harper Square in Rittenhouse Square, Center City

8:00 am on January 5, 2022 By Thomas Koloski

Over the past year, several new proposals for the city of Philadelphia have been revealed that will make a significant mark on the skyline. One of these is situated in Rittenhouse Square in Center City, where a project was revealed at 113-121 South 19th Street. The development, known as Harper Square, will dominate the neighborhood along with the nearly-complete Laurel Rittenhouse. Designed by DAS Architecture and Planning, the residential tower will stand 611 feet and 54 stories tall, and will include 215 units. The slender high-rise is being developed by Pearl Properties, which also developed The Harper, another residential tower located nearby. Today YIMBY presents our latest custom-made building massings that show the proposal’s future effect on the skyline.

Pages: 123456789101112131415

Fetching more...

Skyline massing

What’s happening in your backyard?