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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2222 Market Street. Rendering credit: Gensler

Exterior Construction Nearly Complete at 2222 Market Street in Center City West

A recent site visit by Philadelphia YIMBY has discovered that exterior construction work nears completion at the 295-foot-tall, 19-story office building rising at 2222 Market Street in Center City West. Designed by Gensler and developed by the Parkway Corporation (alternately Parkway Commercial Properties), with IMC Construction as the contractor, the development will feature 329,100 square feet of tenant floor area, with 324,826 square feet of Class A office space and 4,274 square feet of retail, as well as a 47-car underground garage. The structure is being built as the new headquarters for Morgan Lewis, a major law firm. Building features will include ten-foot-high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, several landscaped outdoor decks, flexible workspace plans, a conference center, a fitness center, Zoom conference rooms, expanded areas for servicing out-of-office visitors, and rooms with advanced audio technology to facilitate virtual court hearings.

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