3025 John F. Kennedy Boulevard. Rendering credit: Practice for Architecture and Urbanism

Construction Approaches Halfway Point at 3025 JFK Boulevard in University City, West Philadelphia

A recent site visit by Philly YIMBY has revealed that concrete assembly is nearly at the halfway point at 3025 JFK Boulevard, a 361-foot-tall, 28-story mixed-use tower at 3025 John F. Kennedy Boulevard at University City, West Philadelphia. Designed by the Practice for Architecture and Urbanism and developed by Brandywine Realty Trust, with Hunter Roberts Construction Group as the contractor, the building, also known as Schuylkill Yards West, will span 559,583 square feet, with commercial and laboratory space on the lower floors with 326 residential floors situated above. The building is the first major high-rise to be built as part of the 14-acre Schuylkill Yards megadevelopment. Construction at 3025 JFK Boulevard is expected to cost $180 million.

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Two Cathedral Square at 227 North 18th Street. Credit: Solomon Cordwell Buenz

Construction Anticipated at Two Cathedral Square in Logan Square, Center City

Last year, plans had been unveiled for Two Cathedral Square, a 470-foot-tall, 34-story mixed-use commercial and residential tower proposed at 227 North 18th Street in Logan Square, Center City. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and developed by EQT Exeter, with Studio Bryan Hanes behind the landscape design, the 700,000-square-foot-plus building is part of Cathedral Square, a redevelopment master plan for the block-sized archdiocesan campus around the iconic Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. The building will offer 450,000 square feet of office space on floors two through 14. Luxury residential space will span 250,000 square feet on floors 15 through 34. The ground level will feature 4,500 square feet of retail. No permits have apparently yet been filed, so we did not expect to see any construction progress at the site, yet we still recently paid a visit to the location to check on its status, as we show in the photos below.

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Philadelphia skyline from Citizens Bank Park. Photo by Thomas Koloski

YIMBY Observes Philadelphia’s Rising Development from Citizens Bank Park Stadium

Over the course of our publications, Philadelphia YIMBY occasionally revisits certain specific locations for a general update on the status of new development rising into the city’s ever-expanding skyline. A recent visit to the Citizens Bank Park stadium in South Philly revealed a stunning change in the Center City and University City skylines, located over three miles away. Designed by EwingCole, with Stranix Associates as the project manager, the arena was built as a replacement of the aging and problematic Veterans Stadium, and was completed on April 3, 2004, with a current capacity of 42,792 seats.

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Rendering of 1810 Chestnut Street. Credit: Cecil Baker + Partners.

Construction Anticipated at 25-Story Freeman Condominiums at 1810 Chestnut Street in Rittenhouse Square, Center City

A recent site visit by Philadelphia YIMBY has revealed that construction work has apparently not yet commenced at the 312-foot-tall, 25-story Freeman Condominiums at 1810 Chestnut Street in Rittenhouse Square, Center City, although recent permit filings indicate that on-site progress is likely imminent. Designed by Cecil Baker + Partners, the project will renovate the six-story Samuel T. Freeman & Co. Auction House, built in 1923, with five floors of retail and commercial space facing the street, tenant amenities, and six stories of automated vehicle storage in the rear. The slender vertical addition will house 19 condominiums, most of which will be full-floor and bi-level units.

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709 Chestnut Street (aka 709-13 Chestnut Street). Credit: Edry McHenry Architects

Still No Signs of Progress at Dormant Development Site at 709 Chestnut Street in Market East, Center City

As expected, Philadelphia YIMBY’s recent visit to the site of an apparently dormant proposal for a 317-foot-tall, 27-story residential high-rise at 709 Chestnut Street (aka 709-13 Chestnut Street) in Market East, Center City revealed no signs of new construction. The site is located on the north side of the block between South 7th and South 8th streets, a block west of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. The project is a development by the Parkway Corporation, a company that specializes in operating parking lots (such as the one at 709 Chestnut Street) while looking for opportunities to redevelop said lots into residential and/or commercial properties, either on their own or in partnership with other developers. The latest iteration for the site at hand was designed by Edry McHenry Architects and had Roseland Properties attached as a co-developer, and was slated to offer 278 residential units.

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