Plans for University of Pennsylvania South Bank Campus

The University of Pennsylvania plans to construct another 58,000-square-feet of cutting-edge architecture with its new Pennovation Center. The new structure is set to anchor Pennovation Works, a 23-acre industrial site along the Schuylkill River that the university is turning into a research and innovation park, and will add to the University's already impressive portfolio of campus buildings.

Pennovation Works will be built on the former DuPont Marchall Research Laboratories site, a large industrial property along the Schuylkill River that will house the school's new South bank campus. 

The 23-acre industrial site located between 34th Street and Grays Ferry Avenue served as an automotive paint lab, manufacturing and testing facility for DuPont until 2009, when the factory was shut down.

The property, which includes 250,000 square feet of vacant laboratory, office and warehouse space, was acquired by Penn for $13 million.

Penn’s South Bank campus is the tip of the spear when it comes to recasting underused industrial property on the Lower Schuylkill as a zone for gritty creativity and economic growth.

The university has announced new plans to begin more deliberately transforming this 23-acre former DuPont campus into a buzzing hive of research and entrepreneurship, starting by establishing a new business incubator called the Pennovation Center.

Designed by architecture firm Wallace Roberts and Todd to support entrepreneurial and innovation growth in Philadelphia, the South Bank is an important component of Penn Connects 2.0—an ambitious long-term development strategy that has added almost 3 million square feet of space to Penn’s campus and increased the university’s open space on campus by 25 percent since 2006, when the university embarked on a two-decade expansion plan.

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A 200,000-square-foot incubator and accelerator dubbed the “Pennovation Center” will anchor the university’s campus and will serve as a hub for collaboration and creativity while encouraging the exchange of ideas for innovators from Penn’s departments.

According to a news release, Penn’s flexible project design allows for another 550,000 sq. ft. of new campus space that will be built in phases over the next twenty years.

The school’s long-term campus development strategy to add facilities while expanding the amount of open space it has. Penn has constructed four million square feet of new space on its West Philadelphia campus since 2006. At the same time, it has boosted the amount of open space by 25 percent.

South Bank aims to become a research park supporting entrepreneurs and advances in technology. The development would be multi-phased and will initially concentrate on adding new light industrial and flex-use buildings.  

At build out, up to 1.5 million square feet of new space will be constructed on South Bank.

Penn’s South Bank is very much in sync with Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation’s (PIDC) long-term revitalization plan of the entire Lower Schuylkill River into a 500-acre Innovation District, a Logistics Hub and an Energy Corridor while expanding riverfront green space.

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Penn will release a Request for Proposals for design services to help bring the Pennovation Center to life in a converted industrial building on the property.
  

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.
  

$500M East Market Redevelopment Ready to Rise

A four-acre block, bound by Market, Chestnut, 11th and 12th streets will soon be transformed into a retail-residential development. The project, called East Market, will encompass 4.3-acres and cost approximately $500 million to build. The $230 million first phase of East Market includes demolition of the existing building at 11th and Market Street, which began in October, followed by construction of a 17-story mixed-use tower totaling 650,000 square feet. 
  

East Market's master plan calls for no fewer than six buildings, and will incorporate high-rise apartments, boutique offices, and a hotel.

The initial structure will include 160,000 square feet of retail space on two levels, topped by a 325-unit apartment building.

Phase I will also renovate the 200,000-square-foot family court building into retail and office space and slice the block bound by Market and Ludlow streets in half for a pedestrian promenade.

"We're going to have grocers, we're going to have restaurants, entertainment, fashion," said Jeff Kanne, CEO of National Real Estate Advisors, the $2.2 billion-asset, Washington-based firm backing the project.

The project will be built with 100% union labor, including IBEW electricians. The development team was glad to note that union crews delivered the NREA-backed tower at 2116 Chestnut Street ahead of schedule.
 

The $500 million-plus project is aimed at upgrading Philadelphia's worn downtown retail district and spreading Center City's apartment revival east of Broad Street.

NREA counts the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and other labor unions among its investors.

The partnership redeveloping Girard Square in Center City into East Market will soon begin a $20 million redevelopment of the former Family Court building at 34 S.11th Street into new Class A office space, with the organic grocer, Mom's Organic Market, leasing 16,000 square-feet of space on the ground floor.

National Real Estate Advisors, SSH Real Estate, Young Capital and Joss Realty Partners plan to totally gut the now vacant 160,000-square-foot building and install new mechanical equipment, including elevators, as well as totally redo its interior and put a new facade on the structure.

The builders will strip and replace the outside walls of the eight-story former Snellenburg department store warehouse facing 11th Street, now used by the city's Family Court.

Planned are new stores facing Market Street, lit by Times Square-style signs, that will be topped by 325 apartments - at $2,300 a month for a one-bedroom unit - with underground parking.

Retail stores are also planned for the first floor of the nearby 12-story Girard office building, with the upper floors upgraded for office, hotel, or apartments, depending on market demand.

"We're going to make Market Street cool again," said Daniel Killinger, director at NREA Development Services.

If the initial space sells well, the group plans to replace buildings in the 1100 block of Chestnut Street with new stores and apartments - bringing the residential count for the entire project to as many as 1,000 units.

Demolition to Begin for $1.2B Drexel University City Development

Drexel University plans to build housing, stores, labs, offices, parking and a public school on 2.7 million square feet on the north side of Filbert Street just west of the university, at a cost of around $1.2 billion. The 14-acre property was the former home of University City High School and Charles Drew Elementary. The development plan also includes laboratory and research space, as well as recreational space. Some 3,700 people will work on the site once it's all built out, and 4,300 workers will be hired at various stages in project construction, “producing substantial economic and fiscal benefits,” according to the university.

This week, demolition work is slated begin on buildings at the former University City High School site.

Drexel University City Development, a joint venture between Drexel and Baltimore developer Wexford Science & Technology, acquired the 14-acre site from the School District of Philadelphia in June 2014 for $25.15 million.

Wexford is also the developer of the nearby University City Science Center tower at 3737 Market Street.

The development plan totals more than 2.7 million square feet and includes a K-8 public school surrounded by residential, retail and public open space, as well as laboratory and research office space and parking. The residential housing component “will not be dormitories,” said Bob Francis, Drexel’s vice president of University Facilities.

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The project will create more than double the square footage of Philadelphia's tallest building, the Comcast tower.

President John Fry called it "an exciting and rare opportunity to convert an underutilized and vacant property into a vibrant center" for Drexel and its community.

Upon full completion, the project will cost around $1.2 billion, will have created 4,300 construction jobs, will house 3,700 employees and will produce substantial economic and fiscal benefits to both the City and the Commonwealth.

During construction, the university estimates the Philadelphia economic impact to include $1.2 billion in total expenditures; 4,300 jobs; and $11.2 million in tax revenues.

After completion, Drexel projects an annual Philadelphia impact of $711 million in total expenditures; 5,600 in total jobs; $20 million in tax revenue to the city and an additional $7 million of tax revenue to the School District of Philadelphia.

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Drexel, once a small school with a large commuter population, has rapidly expanded in the last decade and has about $2 billion worth of construction planned.

In addition to the University City High School redevelopment project, the Drexel has a large, mixed-use residential and retail complex under construction at 34th Street and Lancaster Avenue.

Lancaster Square will increase dining options and supply the beds necessary to meet the school’s housing requirement, along with retail in the northwest area of the campus.

The university also has plans to develop a 12-acre site near the 30th Street Station that would include a 6.4 million-square-foot hub of sleek new buildings for technology incubators, academic offices and retail space.

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The project might eventually include building over the 75-acre Amtrak rail yard, a bold idea that would represent a huge addition to the rapidly developing area.

When finished, these developments would combine academic research into fast-growing areas like information technology, energy and bio-sciences with the business interests that could commercialize them, while providing residential and retail space for an anticipated influx of young workers, all within walking distance of rail service to New York and Washington.