Construction work is wrapping up on Penn’s New College House West, located in University City, West Philadelphia. Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the tower rises 12 stories tall at Walnut Street and five stories along Locust Walk. The structure is the University of Pennsylvania‘s latest student dormitory, which will house 450 rooms within 250,000 square feet of space.
During the planning for the Centennial Exposition of 1876, expo organizers put forth a bold proposal for an incredibly tall structure called the Centennial Tower in Fairmount Park, where two buildings still remain from the expo. The tower was planned at 1,000 feet tall, well before any skyscrapers were built in the city. The tower would have risen as large cross-braced tube that slims down at the top, capped with a short cone top and lightning rod, and would have featured four observation levels. The metal structure was designed by Clarke, Reeves and Company, which had also designed an older bridge that stood at then site of the current Girard Avenue Bridge.
Permits have been issued for a multi-family addition to 2765 East Country Club Road in Wynnefield Heights, West Philadelphia. The development will involve a single-story addition to the existing structure. In total, the project will deliver five residential units. The extension will add 1,061 square feet of space to the structure, making for a total of 5,780 square feet of space. Construction costs for the development are estimated at $180,000.
Permits have been issued for the construction of a five-story, 40-unit mixed-use building at 4415 Chestnut Street in Spruce Hill, West Philadelphia. Designed by Wulff Architects and developed by Orens Brothers Real Estate, the building will include retail space as well as features such as elevator service, a green roof, full sprinkling, and 14 bicycle spaces. Permits list Orens Development Inc. as the owner and Orens Brothers Inc. as the general contractor. Construction is expected to cost $5.5 million. The structure will be a part of a two-building complex that extends through the block to Ludlow Street to the north, which will total 70 units. Construction is already underway on the 30-unit Ludlow Street building.
Permits have been issued for the construction of a multi-family building at 3836 Haverford Avenue in Mantua, West Philadelphia. Upon completion, the structure will stand three stories tall and hold seven residential units. The building will total 4,800 square feet of floor space and is expected to cost an estimated $400,000 to build.
