Hotel-Condo Tower to Soar at South Broad & Spruce Streets

Demolition is now underway for a sleek 47-story hotel/condo tower slated to rise on the corner of South Broad & Spruce streets, across the street from the Kimmel Center. The SLS International Hotel and Residences will soar 590 feet and house 125 luxury condo units, 150 hotel rooms, an Olympic sized swimming pool, a restaurant and retail space. The $200 million building will be Pennsylvania’s tallest residential structure, and its units will be among its most expensive. Construction is expected to take about two years to complete.

Dranoff Properties has already begun to tear down the existing structures on the project site.

The buildings being demolished include 301-309 South Broad Street -- the longtime home of Philadelphia International Records, and 311 South Broad Street, which suffered significant fire damage in 2010.

The developer has also acquired the University of the Arts lot at 313 South Broad Street, which will be used as a loading dock.
 
Construction is slated to to begin as soon as the site is clear.
 
Project details:

• 47 stories and 590 feet tall
• Approximately 423,000 square feet
• 162 five-star hotel rooms
• 125 luxury condos, ranging from one-bedroom units to penthouses
• The hotel and condos units will have separate lobbies

• Ground-floor retail stores
• 6,000-square-foot, double-height glass ballroom on the fifth-floor
• Olympic sized swimming pool, fitness center and spa
• A ground-floor corner bar and restaurant

• Construction time: two years
• Cost: more than $200 million

• Total parking spots: 233
• One level of underground parking; three levels above-grade
• The garage will be limited to residents and hotel-uses, and all parking will be by valet.

The compelling 47-story tower was designed by Kohn Pederson Fox, architects of the world's highest hotel, the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong.

The new building is intended to act as a catalyst for the future of development to the south of Center City, said architect Gene Kohn.

Developer Carl Dranoff, says the building will be the Pennsylvania’s “tallest structure built for residential use.“

The 590-foot tower will be taller than the William Penn statue on top of City Hall, and its units will be among the City’s most expensive.

The name, SLS International, is a nod to Philadelphia International – which was famous for the “Philadelphia Sound,” showcased in the recordings of artists such as The Three Degrees, Teddy Pendergass, and The O’Jays.

The SLS International Hotel and Residences will be one of Philly's most upscale properties once complete. Not only will it be the tallest building on Broad Street, it will also house an Olympic sized swimming pool, a spa and boast the highest penthouses in the city.

The project calls for condos from floors 20 to 47, hotel rooms on lower floors, and amenities including restaurants, a gym, swimming pool and a spa near street level.

The new building will feature stone at the base, but will be primarily made of metal and glass. The glass will have a high-performance coating, and the metal will be covered with a bright metallic paint.
  
  

28-Story Luxury Apartment Tower to Begin Rising on Market Street

Another high-rise luxury apartment tower will soon begin to rise in Center City, at 1919 Market Street, on the corner of 20th & Market Streets. The new 460,000-square-foot mixed-use building will stand next to the Independence Blue Cross Tower in the middle of Center City’s largest and tallest office corridor. This tower will be 28-stories high and comprised of 321 luxury apartment units, with ground floor retail and a five-story parking garage for 215 vehicles. The project is expected to be completed in 2016.

The corner of 20th and Market Street will soon be looking at lot different.

Brandywine Realty Trust, which was named Developer of the Year by Development Magazine, is teaming up with Berwyn-based real estate company LCOR to construct the new 28-story mixed-use tower .

Hunter Roberts Construction is managing the process of building the 460,000-square-foot tower, which was designed by Barton Partners.

There will be twelve units per floor above the fourth floor, except for the top three floors, which will have larger penthouses on the 26th & 27th floors, with an amenities floor on the very top.

The apartments will range from studios to two bedrooms, and the corner units will have large balconies.

Project Details:

- 321 luxury apartments
- 24,000 square feet of office space for Blue Cross
- Five-Story parking garage for 215 cars
- Ground-floor retail space for CVS pharmacy
- Full concierge service
- Fitness center
- Rooftop ledge pool
- Outdoor roof garden with fire pit
- Game room with golf simulator
- Target completion date: 2016.

Except for the lobby, the entire first floor will have retail space, and the second floor will have office space. The commercial space will total approximately 25,000 square feet on both floors.  The third and fourth floors will have two-level loft apartments facing Market Street. 

The tower will have dark have multi-colored glass window panels. The glass panels will have a random pattern and come in four colors: blue, green, light gray, and silver.

A parking structure will rise five stories on the north side of the property at Commerce Street, and will accommodate 215 parking spaces.  The parking garage will also have 108 bike storage spaces and retail space on 20th Street.

The developers plan to obtain LEED Silver certification for the tower, with features such as Energy Star appliances, low-flow showers, energy-efficient lighting and mechanical systems, and storm water management.

Foundation work for the shiny 367 feet tall building is presently underway.
 

One Riverside Place Expected to Break Ground This Year

In addition to its massive hotel/condo tower project across from the Kimmel Center, Dranoff Properties is also planning to construct a new 167,282-square-foot glass tower in Center City called One Riverside Place. The Philadelphia developer will build the 22-story residential structure on a parking lot at 25th Street between Locust and Manning streets in the Fitler Square neighborhood of the city.

The mixed-use tower, designed by Cecil Baker + Partners, will be built on a triangle-shaped parking at 210-20 South 25th Street, at the intersection of 5th and Locust Streets.

One Riverside Place will include 167 luxury apartments on 18 levels with retail and amenity space such as a fitness center, game room and club room, along with a cafe on the ground floor.

The project will also include 14,000 square feet of landscaped terrace, which will be built over a parking podium with 81 parking spaces and 49 spaces for bicycle storage.

One Riverside would front the Schuylkill River Trail. Apartments would occupy floors 3 through 20 and the top floor would have three penthouse units. The new tower would sit near Locust on the Park, another one of Dranoff’s developments.

After weeks of debates, the Civic Design Review board of Philadelphia unanimously green lighted the project late last year.

Designed to achieve LEED Silver certification, One Riverside Place will feature several green amenities that will make it a sustainable addition to the Fitler Square neighborhood.

The tower will be built from recycled and locally produced materials, which is expected to reduce energy consumption and water use by 20 percent.

A green deck above the parking garage and new plants and trees at sidewalk level will improve the quality of air. The area is presently zoned for industrial use.

In order to maximize natural daylight and reduce the need for artificial light, each residential unit will feature floor-to-ceiling windows.

 

Residential Conversion Slated for Mt. Sinai Hospital Buildings

The former Mt. Sinai Hospital in Dickinson Square West, which has been closed since 1997, will be transformed into 235 residences. Both the original 1921 hospital and the addition built in the late 1980s will be reused, according to developer Greenpointe Construction.  

Designed by Barton Partners architects and planners, the proposal includes 198 rental apartments located in the existing buildings, and 37 owner-occupied townhouses.

The project, which would take up the entire block, also includes a restaurant, meeting space, a gym and 157 off-street parking spaces.

The townhouses will be built on former surface parking lots at Fourth & Reed and on Fifth and Dickinson Streets.

Some small existing structures on the block, including a loading dock, would be demolished to make room for the townhouses.

The apartments will consist of 128 one-bedroom units, approximately 600 to 900 square feet, and 47 two-bedroom units, approximately 750 to 1,280 square feet. 

The upper floors of the old hospital will make for some balconies with incredible views.  And the former emergency room entrance, where the restaurant would be located, would make some interesting, pretty amazing commercial space, with 15-foot ceilings.

The project would be built in phases, starting with the townhouses.

Greenpointe has pledged to include some amenities that will benefit the community -- such as street trees and improvements to sewer, water and electric systems -- as part of the first phase.

The commercial portion of the project will begin with a restaurant. Depending on how that goes, other commercial property will be added in the future.

Greenpointe does both new construction and adaptive reuse as opportunities arise. The company built 15 new townhouses and two condos at 12th and Latona. It also built Arrow Swim Club from an old warehouse for Tower Investments and converted an old church on 3rd Street into a tech company's offices.

“It's iconic from its history and its visibility. To be able to reuse what's there and maintain its distinctiveness is great.” said the developer.

The residents in the community have concerns about parking, which has long plagued the neighborhood. Regardless of what happens with the project, parking will continue to be a problem.