$56 Million One Ardmore Place Luxury Development

The first phase of a challenging revitalization effort in Ardmore is now closer to fruition as developer Dranoff Properties is preparing to construct an 8-story mixed-use project called One Ardmore Place.

Conveniently located near the Ardmore train station, the $56 million project will transform the township-owned Cricket Avenue parking lot into 121 high-end studio, one, two and three bedroom rental apartments with state-of-the-art amenities and a 24/7 concierge.

10,500 square feet of ground floor retail space, as well as covered parking on two decks with more than 200 parking spaces, will round out the complex.

The project is estimated to create 900 construction jobs and 80 permanent retail jobs and generate around $40 million in annual revenue once construction is completed.

Once the parking garage is complete, it must for the first five years provide the same number of public spots — 133, with four-hour meters — that the Cricket Avenue lot provided, in an agreement reached with local businesses owners, so that they would drop their challenge to the project.

One Ardmore Place will stand at the crossroads of stores, homes and the historic district, where just about everything is within walking distance.

Located on Philadelphia's affluent Main Line, Ardmore is bordered by Wynnewood, Haverford, Gladwyne and Havertown, One Ardmore Place will be the very heart and soul of the town’s revitalization.

Originally unveiled in 2008 as Ardmore Station, the project was scaled back from a $180 million, three-phase development with 335 apartment units and 120,000 square feet of office and retail space, as the economy stumbled.

Pre-construction is already underway with ground breaking slated for later this year.
 

Developer Plans 16-Story Apartment near Drexel Campus

A Drexel University-owned lot at 3201 Race Street will soon have a new life as Radnor Property Group prepares for construction of a new 207-foot apartment building near the 30th Street Station's Amtrak lines, beefing up University City's growing skyline.

The glassy 16-story residential tower, designed by Philadelphia-based Erdy McHenry Architecture, will rise at the corner of 32nd and Race Streets and house 164 market rate rental apartments.

The building will rise above a mixed-use platform that will contain a large childcare facility and a public green space that looks over the train tracks towards Center City.

The project will also include 12 market rate townhomes to the north, a green roof and an underground parking facility with 26 spaces. There are also 61 bike spots and two car share spaces.

The 168,000 square foot complex will maximize green space on the site.

A green roof, with an amenity terrace, is planned, the townhomes will have storm water management systems and it will adhere to sustainability principles in an effort to achieve LEED certification.

The project was born out of a request for proposal from Drexel University for projects geared towards market rate housing and childcare for their staff and the nearby community. 

The childcare facility will be able to accommodate 150 to 164 kids and scholarships will be available to eligible families. There will also be an outdoor green area for the kids to play.

This won't be undergraduate housing; they’ll be marketing the units and homes to young professionals, faculty, staff and graduate student. 122 will be one-bedroom units, with the other 42 being two-bedroom layouts, providing prime views of Center City.

Radnor hopes to get started on the demolition of all structures on the lot later this year and break ground early in 2016. Construction is expected to take 18 months, with the goal of opening in the spring of 2017.
 

Gigantic Mixed-Use Complex Coming to Fairmount Avenue

A company named Broad Street Holdings is planning to construct a supermarket, two parking levels, two residential towers, and 27 residential row homes at 1300 Fairmount Avenue, a large development site directly behind the Divine Lorraine Hotel in North Philadelphia. New York developer RAL Companies & Affiliates is designing the 860,000 square foot project which will be located just a block away from the Broad Street Line’s Fairmount station.

Plans for the massive development call for construction of a large supermarket, with an attendant parking garage that will front on Ridge Avenue, while a belt of row houses will line the block bounded by 13th Street, Melon, Park, and Wallace Streets.

Finally, at the corner of 13th Street and Fairmount Avenue, two midsize residential structures would be erected: a 15-story mid-rise residential building facing Fairmount Avenue, and an 18-story apartment tower, about the same height as the Divine Lorraine.

A short part of Melon Street–between Ridge and Park Avenues–would also be erased in favor of the supermarket. The market will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood as two large new apartment buildings are just two blocks away.

It is difficult to attempt large-scale projects on North Broad Street. The street calls for higher densities than what is being built in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Blumenfeld Development, which owns the Divine Lorraine and Metropolitan Opera House, developed 600 North Broad and Lofts 640, and is currently working on Mural Lofts in the former Thaddeus Stevens Public School, has been going at a relatively slow pace in large part for this reason.

Broad Street Holdings, based at 275 Seventh Avenue in New York City, bought the property from the City just prior to the beginning of 2014 for one dollar, a fraction of a percent of the parcel’s $6.3 million assessed value.

The developer is seeking $15 million in state funding for this project.

22-Story Glass Tower 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.