32-Story Apartment Tower to Rise near Independence Hall

A real estate company best known for constructing offices buildings North Jersey plans to build 300 luxury apartments in a new 32-story tower on a vacant lot at 709 Chestnut Street in Center City. Plans call 11,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenity space as well as 125-vehicle automatic parking garage.

Citing the growing demand for higher-end apartments in Center City, the Roseland division of Mack-Cali has teamed up with Parkway Corporation of Philadelphia to build the tall residential structure on what is now a narrow surface parking lot near Independence Hall.

The project marks the newest development on the east end of Chestnut Street, an area, best known for restaurants like Rosa Blanca.

Presently, there are not many buildings on this scale in the Washington Square neighborhood except for the St. James, a 45-story apartment building at 200 West Washington Square.

The developers plan to construct an automated 125-car parking garage onsite, marking the third fully automated garage project that Parkway has established in Philadelphia.

The company also operates the city's first fully automated garage at 1706 Rittenhouse Square and provided the land for the automated garage project at 500 Walnut Street, both of which have been praised by city and civic organizations.

The area has experienced a recent flurry of development and is in the midst of a rapid transformation and has proven to be particularly attractive for its emerging cultural livelihood.

The influx of businesses and residents is due to recent City initiatives, including a reduction in business taxes and a revamped zoning structure that allows for a mix of commercial and residential uses in the neighborhood.

Construction on the new 32-story tower is expected to start by the end of 2015.