Skyline massing

How One Liberty Place Revolutionized the Philadelphia Skyline

8:00 am on January 5, 2021 By Thomas Koloski

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.

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.

CHOP Roberts Center (left) and 730 Schuylkill Avenue (right). Image by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

CHOP’s Roberts Center Phase 3 Awaits Construction at 730 Schuylkill Avenue in Schuylkill Grays Ferry, South Philadelphia

8:00 am on December 14, 2020 By Thomas Koloski

At number 19 on Philly YIMBY’s December Development Countdown is CHOP’s Roberts Center For Pediatric Research Phase 3, a 350-foot-tall, 21-story tower proposed at 730 Schuylkill Avenue. The building is a part of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s four-tower master plan in the Schuylkill section of Grays Ferry, South Philadelphia. The site sits directly to the southwest of the 375-foot-tall CHOP Roberts Center for Pediatric Research at 734 Schuylkill Avenue, which was completed in May 2017. Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the architect for Phase 1, is likely to be the designer for the new tower.

YIMBY Presents Concept Renderings for the Philadelphia Skyline of the Next Decade

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

The Philadelphia skyline has come a long way over the past 300 years, and still has a long way to go with the developments currently on the drawing boards. Philly YIMBY presents a tour of the past, present and future of the city’s skyline, with exclusive renderings of the skyline’s appearance ten years from now.

YIMBY Presents Exclusive Concept Massings for the Penn’s Landing Redevelopment in Center City

8:00 am on October 18, 2020 By Thomas Koloski

The Penn’s Landing redevelopment plan, revealed last month ago as a winner of a major planning competition, will bring dramatic change to the Delaware River waterfront with a total of 3.6 million square feet of floor space. Developed by The Durst Organization, the project is also slated to bring a 11.5-acre park that will connect the I-95 Park to Penn’s Landing, with green space built atop new platforms over the Delaware Expressway. Two large lots of land will be redeveloped to bring a total of 15 buildings, with the southern portion featuring high-rises up to around 300 feet in height and the towers in the northern portion rising up to around 700 feet. The project will bring 1,834 residential units to the eastern edge of Center City. Philadelphia YIMBY’s exclusive set of concept massings display the impact the development will have on the skyline about eight years from now when the project anticipates completion.

Construction Timelines Announced for Three Schuylkill Yards Towers in University City, West Philadelphia

8:00 am on September 16, 2020 By Colin LeStourgeon

Construction timelines have been released for three skyscrapers that are a part of the Schuylkill Yards mega development in University City. The three buildings will range from 185 to 512 feet and from 14 to 34 floors.

Rendering Revealed for 24-Story Building at 300 North Christopher Columbus Boulevard in Center City

8:00 am on September 3, 2020 By Thomas Koloski

The Durst Organization is proposing to replace a large parking lot at the Delaware River waterfront with a 290-foot, 24-story residential building at 300 North Christopher Columbus Boulevard in Center City. Handel Architects have crafted the structure as a wide, jagged slab facing its broad side toward the river. The development will rise three-quarters as high as the nearby, 385-foot-tall Benjamin Franklin Bridge and will bring much-needed activity to the long-neglected stretch of the waterfront.

Cathedral Square. Credit: Solomon Cordwell Buenz

Cathedral Place Phase 2 At 1700 Vine Street Planned To Rise 685 Feet And Bulk Up The Logan Square Skyline

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

The Philadelphia skyline continues to expand its boundaries, and a new proposal on the northern fringe of the skyline will be a major game changer. Today, YIMBY explores the most recent information on Exeter Property Group’s Cathedral Place Phase 2 at 1700 Vine Street, a high-rise that would stand directly north of the iconic Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Logan Square. Massing renderings released by architecture firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz show a bulky, 685-foot-tall tower containing a prodigious amount of office space, as well as ground floor retail and dining. The massing diagram was released earlier this year alongside the unveiling of Cathedral Place Phase 1, which is currently further along in its design.

Checking In On Philadelphia’s 2020 Skyline

8:00 am on August 8, 2020 By Thomas Koloski

The city of Philadelphia has been booming recently with skyscrapers and buildings of all shapes and sizes. While most of the new buildings have been proposed and built in Center City, the skyline is extending in all directions. The skyline made its first significant leap across the Schuylkill River back in 2005 with the 437-foot, 29-story Cira Centre; now, the area boasts three towers over 400 feet all within a few blocks of one another. The district may soon add a new supertall at the site of Schuylkill Yards, as seen on SHOP Architects renderings from 2016 (though the tower has been excluded from recent renderings).

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Skyline massing

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