Center City Tower rendering with Liberty Place. Image via Kling Lindquist

A Look Back at Center City Tower, Once Planned as the City’s First Supertall Skyscraper

In the late 1990’s, a massive supertall was planned at the site of the 492-foot-tall One Meridian Plaza, an office skyscraper damaged by a fatal fire in 1991 and demolished in 1999. The proposed Center City Tower at 1414 South Penn Square in Center City would have been built where The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton and the under-construction W/Element Hotel currently stand. Designed by Kling Lindquist, the 1,050-foot tower would have become the first supertall skyscraper in Philadelphia, rather than the Comcast Technology Center, which took the title 20 years later. Notably, Comcast was also considering taking office space at Center City Tower, and the cable company’s decision to pull out of the project and to build Comcast Center at 17th and Arch Street instead was a major reason behind the supertall’s cancellation.

Read More

Construction Tops Out at 3700 Lancaster Avenue in University City, West Philadelphia

Construction has topped out at the six-story, 463-unit development in progress at 3700 Lancaster Avenue in University CityWest Philadelphia. The project will offer ample retail space on the ground floor as well as 157 parking spaces for residents. The building is the northernmost component of the massive uCity Square development, and sits at a prominent location at the junction of Lancaster and Powelton avenues. A pedestrian promenade will run along the building rear.

Read More

The Trinity at 1621-23 Bainbridge Street. Credit: Gnome Architects

Permits Issued for The Trinity at 1621-23 Bainbridge Street in Graduate Hospital, South Philadelphia

Permits have been issued for the construction of The Trinity, a four-story, seven-unit multi-family structure at 1621-23 Bainbridge Street in Graduate HospitalSouth Philadelphia. Designed by Gnome Architects and developed by Zatos Investments, the 9,754-square-foot building will hold multiple balconies and roof decks and will cost an estimated $970,000 to build.

Read More

CHOP Hub for Clinical Collaboration rendering via Perkins + Will

Core Topped Out at CHOP Hub for Clinical Collaboration at 3501 Civic Center Boulevard in University City, West Philadelphia

The slender core of the 377-foot-tall, 19-story CHOP Hub for Clinical Collaboration has topped out at 3501 Civic Center Boulevard in University City, West Philadelphia. The building is a part of a $3.4-billion expansion for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Designed by Perkins + Will, the tower will connect to the existing hospital structure.

Read More