Work appears stalled on the 150-room AC Hotel by Marriott planned at 230 North 13th Street in Chinatown, Center City. Designed by Bergman Associates and developed by Baywood Hotels, the project will integrate a historical building into the design. The 181-foot-tall, 15-story tower will stand out prominently in an area with few tall buildings and will offer fantastic views of the city.
Permits have been issued for the construction of a three-story, mixed-use building at 2206 North 2nd Street in Norris Square, North Philadelphia. The structure will replace a vacant lot situated on the west side of the block between West Susquehanna and West Dauphin streets. The building will rise from a 1,000-square-foot footprint and will feature 3,960 square feet of interior space, comprised of two residential units and a commercial space. The development will feature full sprinkling. The roof deck will likely provide sweeping vistas, given a near-total lack of taller buildings nearby. Permits list Adeline Kupa as the owner, Paul Dietz as the design professional, and Qazim Kupa as the contractor. Construction costs are specified at $175,000.
A revised design has been revealed for a high-rise tower planned at 1101 Walnut Street in Market East, Center City. Designed by JKRP Architects, the revised plan will rise 18 stories and include 198 residential units, with a total of 138,150 square feet of space, located on the second, third, and fifth through eighteenth floors. The ground floor will hold 4,420 square feet of retail space and the fourth floor will offer 6,281 square feet of office and amenity space. The project will also include 34 off-site parking spaces, as well as 68 bicycle spaces.
Renderings have been revealed for a life sciences laboratory building at 1201 Normandy Place in the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia. Designed by DIGSAU and developed by Ensemble Investments and Mosaic Development, the building will rise four stories tall, with a mechanical penthouse on top, and will feature 127,259 square feet of lab space. The ground floor will also hold 2,990 square feet of retail. An off-site garage will hold 58 parking spaces.
In 1984, the unwritten Gentleman’s Agreement that forbade building above the 548-foot-high statue of William Penn atop City Hall was about to be eliminated when, in April, developer Willard Rouse proposed a skyscraper development that eventually became Liberty Place. The proposal apparently influenced more developers and architects to build towers above the former height limit. The Commerce Square twin towers were revealed at 2005 Market Street in Center City at the end of the year. Designed by I.M. Pei and Partners and developed by IBM and Maguire/Thomas Partners, the 41-story towers were not built simultaneously, as One Commerce Square was the first building finished in the complex.
