One Liberty Place Rainbow animated scheme from South Street. Photo by Thomas Koloski

My Liberty Lights Program Is Underway at One Liberty Place

Over the course of the past two years, the decorative illumination at the crown of One Liberty Place at 1650 Market Street in Center City has been under renovation, as it is being upgraded with powerful lights that can be animated into various schemes and colors. Designed by Helmut Jahn of Murphy/Jahn and developed by Rouse and Associates (later known as the Liberty Property Trust), the tower was completed in 1987 and stands 945 feet and 61 stories tall. The contractor for the illumination upgrade is The Lighting Practice, which has also decorated the W/Element Hotel. The new lighting system is integrated with the My Liberty Lights program, which allows certain users to change the exterior lights atop the building once per day for a duration of five minutes.

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View of 916 North 51st Street. Credit: Google.

Permits Issued for 30-Unit Building at 916 North 51st Street in Mill Creek, West Philadelphia

Permits have been issued for the construction of a 30-unit multi-family building at 916 North 51st Street in Mill CreekWest Philadelphia. Upon completion, the building will rise three stories tall, with a roof deck situated at its pinnacle. Amenities will include a community room and parking. In total, the building will hold 38,397 square feet of space, with construction costs estimated at $10,189,759. Nancy Bastian is listed as the project’s design professional, with the T N Ward Company specified as the contractor.

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1700 North Front Street. Credit: NORR

Renderings Revealed for 1700 North Front Street in Fishtown, Kensington

Renderings have been revealed for a 204-unit mixed-use development at 1700 North Front Street in FishtownKensington. Designed by NORR, the building will rise five stories tall and will feature 172,844 square feet of interior space, with 123,218 residential square feet, an additional 5,264 square feet of space reserved for amenities, and a ground-floor commercial space spanning 16,429 square feet. The residences will include 28 studios, 141 one-bedroom, and 35 two-bedroom units. The development will also include 70 bicycle spaces.

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The view from The Laurel Rittenhouse looking west toward Center City West and University City. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Center City West Lands at the 21st Place on Philly YIMBY’s First Anniversary Countdown

Yesterday, Philadelphia YIMBY’s First Anniversary Countdown, which looks at the most frequently mentioned article categories over the course of the past year, looked at Market East, which scored 35 category mentions. Today we visit a Market Street-anchored neighborhood on the opposite side of Center City, where Center City West noted 36 category mentions and as such arrived at number 21 in the countdown rankings. The forlorn neighborhood, a domain of block-spanning parking lots, garages, and otherwise underutilized properties, is the remaining development frontier of Center City, and is finally witnessing a major development surge, albeit one on a smaller scale than it deserves. Today we look at a few of the projects transforming its rather inhospitable streetscape into Philadelphia’s newest neighborhood.

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Current view of 1701 South 24th Street. Credit: Google.

Permits Issued for Three-Unit Building at 1701 South 24th Street in Point Breeze, South Philadelphia

Permits have been issued for the construction of a three-unit multi-family building at 1701 South 24th Street in Point BreezeSouth Philadelphia. Upon completion, the building will rise three stories tall, with an access structure connecting to a roof deck at the pinnacle. In total, the building will hold 3,200 square feet of space, with construction costs estimated at $350,000. Maher Abdelaal is listed as the project’s design professional, with Clifford Lasky specified as the contractor.

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