WILMINGTON | WSFS Bank Center | 70 M / 230 FT | COM

[mglan80]

Construction actually started in early August (site clearing and prep), but there really wasn't anything to show photo-wise. Anyway, the offical "Pile Driving" ceremony (since the ground was already broken) was held on Tuesday, September 20, 2005. The building will be approximately 350,000 sq. ft., with a 5 story garage in the rear and 15 floors of office. There will be retail on the ground floor fronting Delaware Avenue and Washington Street.

The building is a joint venture between Buccini/Pollin Group (51%) and WSFS Bank (49%). WSFS Bank will take the 12th and 11th floors and move their headquarters from their current 838 Market Street location, as well as place their letters on roof. The USPS will move their downtown location to the building from the basement of the Wilmington Trust Company headquarters (originally the Wilmington Post Office). As of 9/21/05, the building is approximately 50% leased.

Architect: Gensler
Developer: Buccini/Pollin Group
Roof: 70.1 m
Floor Count: 15
Floor Area: 106,680 m²
Elevator Count: 4

The rendering:

http://www.addresswilmington.com/GatewayPlaza.jpg

Site photos to follow...

[FlyersFan118]

I likey. That'll look sweet.

[mglan80]

WSFS Building Gets Under Way
$90 Million Office Tower to Rise in Wilmington's Western Gateway

BY MAUREEN MILFORD / The News Journal
09/21/2005

When it comes to real estate development kickoffs, Tuesday's groundbreaking in downtown Wilmington felt so '80s.

There was the tent with the buffet spread, the collection of movers and shakers in dark suits and the usual back-slapping associated with a new development. These festive occasions were regular events in the 1980s after the state passed the Financial Center Development Act and the real estate community scrambled to house the dozens of out-of-state banks that migrated to the state.

But in recent years some ceremonies have seemed pale imitations of the go-go 1980s. Not so Tuesday, when 170 people gathered at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Jefferson Street to celebrate the construction of the central business district's first multitenant office tower in more than a decade.

"It's the best [groundbreaking] we've had in 20 years," said Leigh Johnstone, senior vice president of Grubb & Ellis in Wilmington. "It was reminiscent of the early 1980s when this was a boomtown for construction."

The new $90 million office building, to be called the WSFS Bank Center, is being developed by Buccini/Pollin Group Inc. of Wilmington. The company, which also is building town houses, condominiums and apartment buildings on the Christina River, has been one of the most active developers in the city in the past five years.

Not only is the 15-story tower a symbol to the real estate community that the city is ready for new construction, the building will fill a gap in what is considered the western gateway to the city, real estate experts and economic development officials said.

Three years ago, the Delaware Avenue boulevard from I-95 was beginning to look a little down-at-the-heels, with the former Chase Manhattan Bank building a looming vacant presence on the highway. ING Direct, the country's fourth-largest savings bank, began the revival of the western gateway in 2004 when it moved into the empty building, constructed in the mid-1980s. ING invested about $15 million to renovate the 14-story building at 802 Delaware Ave.

What's more, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware, the state's largest health insurance company, has been in negotiations with a real estate developer for a space next to ING Direct on Delaware Avenue.

Richard V. Pryor, the city's economic development director, said negotiations with Blue Cross Blue Shield are "at the one-foot line" for newly-constructed office space at 800 Delaware Ave. It would be developed by Delle Donne & Associates Inc. of Claymont. A decision is expected in mid-October, Pryor said.

"This city is doing better than any city in the region," Mayor James M. Baker told the crowd. "This city's coming back."

The WSFS Bank Center is now 50 percent pre-leased, according to Robert Buccini, a partner in Buccini/Pollin. WSFS announced in June it will be a major tenant, as well as a minority owner, of the 371,222-square-foot tower. WSFS plans to move its corporate headquarters from its current location on North Market Street.

Earlier this year, Morris, James, Hitchens & Williams agreed to take 40,000 to 60,000 square feet of space on the building's top three floors.

David H. Williams, managing partner of Morris, James, said it's exciting for the firm to be part of the development of the city's newest office tower. The firm expects to move into the building when it is completed in the fall of 2006.

"I think it will energize the firm," he said.

[mglan80]

A couple of photos I took last weekend. You really can't see much from ground level. I'll take some from the top of the garage in the second photo below sometime relatively soon.

http://www.addresswilmington.com/10-1-05-WSFSBC-JeffersonStElevation.JPG

http://www.addresswilmington.com/10-1-05-WSFSBC-WashingtonStElevation.JPG

The auger has been on the site since late August. I assume drilling holes for caissions. There were also two concrete trucks there. I guess they were pouring the pilings?

[Joey D]

Nice Goin MGlan... I'm sure you'll be on top of this one!

[mglan80]

Buccini Pollin's site (http://www.bpgroup.net/) has added a PDF file and a couple of rendering of the WSFS Bank Center project. I can't save the PDF target, so you'll have to go the site.

http://www.addresswilmington.com/WSFSBankCenter.jpg

[Joey D]

Looks nice, I just wish they would get away from that blocky style.

Spire, please, somebody?? Maybe?

[mglan80]

An update for the WSFS Bank Center. A boom crane was setup on the site on Saturday (12/3) afternoon. They were unloading steel today. I wonder if they will use a tower crane for this one? The boom crane they have looks tall enough to handle the job, but it doesn't seem very practical since it has to manoeuver around the site. Anyway, here's a few shots from the garage across the street, plus one from 10th Street:

http://www.addresswilmington.com/12-04-05-WSFSsite.JPG

http://www.addresswilmington.com/12-04-05-WSFSsite2.JPG

http://www.addresswilmington.com/12-04-05-WSFSsite3.JPG

http://www.addresswilmington.com/12-04-05-WSFSsite4.JPG

[Joey D]

Hmm I'm wondering, now... is there going to be a basement level on this building? I can't say I've seen anything but ground leveling for the past few months.

Is this project coming along slowly, or is it just me?

[James Bond Agent 007]

It's not big, but it looks like it'll fit nice into Wilmington's skyline.

[Phillydude]

I wish Wilmington would get at least 1 butt-kicking skyscraper, like around 400/430 feet. Chase Manhattan is alright but just one 400-footer would be cool.

[mglan80]

I think the massing is pretty good, but 5 more floors would have made it a little more striking.

I think we'll have to wait another 20 years for 400'. The only hope is residential, and even then...

Joe, there isn't really a need to go subterranean, and there certainly isn't any zoning requirement to. Also, there's probably bedrock not too far under that dirt, which is probably why they didn't drive steel piles. Kelvin?

Also, the project only broke ground in late August. Three months to finish the foundation is really fast. But hey, it's all up from here on out.

[mglan80]

New site (http://www.500delaware.com/) for the building. As always, BPG impresses. The street level renderings are enough to make you smile.

It's still fun to think I'll be working on the 12th floor in January 2007. Also, from what I understand, the USPS will have its own HVAC and be completely self-contained. For security and safety reasons I suppose.

[Joey D]

INCREDIBLE Flash presentation.. Breathtakingly real.

I'm getting excited, now.

[mglan80]

I noticed today that they have two floors of steel up already! I don't think they'll use a tower crane because they are going to construct the building first, then the garage in the rear. It'll let them use the full length of the site and not obstruct the street (the building is fairly narrow). Also, there is protective scaffolding up along Delaware Ave. Wow, just like a real city construction site.

I'll probably take some shots tomorrow afternoon. Better get on it, this one will go up quick.

[mglan80]

A few new photos to look at:

http://www.addresswilmington.com/12-11-05-WSFSsite.JPG

http://www.addresswilmington.com/12-11-05-WSFSsite2.JPG

http://www.addresswilmington.com/12-11-05-WSFSsite3.JPG

http://www.addresswilmington.com/12-11-05-WSFSsite4.JPG

http://www.addresswilmington.com/12-11-05-WSFSsite5.JPG

That garage is a great place to take photos. I only wish Chase Manhattan Center was another 60' or 70' to make it a bigger presence.

Still need another ~150,000 sq. ft. to lease up, though.

[volguus zildrohar]

Steel rises in Wilmington too!

[zerokarma]

I think that will look pretty nice once finished, should fit in nicely there.

[mglan80]

Fifth floor already!

http://www.addresswilmington.com/1-8-06-WSFSsite.JPG

http://www.addresswilmington.com/1-8-06-WSFSannex.JPG

The grade beams can be seen for the annex building that will house a breakfast/lunch spot.

http://www.addresswilmington.com/1-8-06-WSFScrane.JPG

[Edit: ^Sorry about the tilt, it's not easy shooting a level photo on a parking ramp.]

[Joey D]

Our baby is growin' up so fast!

Elated with the progress of the steel thus far.

Hope you guys look forward to some renderings from the flash presentation I plan to post tonight. They will hopefully do some justice to the building.

[Joey D]

Well, guys and gals.... I decided to go out and get drunk that night.

But I finally got around to getting the images tonight.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/500delaware8.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/500delaware7.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/500delaware6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/500delaware5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/500delaware3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/joe84323/500delaware4.jpg

Hope they turn out alright

[mglan80]

A few updates from this morning:

http://www.addresswilmington.com/1-29-06-wsfsbankwide.JPG

http://www.addresswilmington.com/1-29-06-wsfsbankclose.JPG

[mglan80]

With snow:

http://www.addresswilmington.com/2-12-06-WSFSsnow.JPG

[Downtowner]

This is looking better and better I love wilmington been through it a fee times looks like an awesome place. But this will be a boost for wilmington. I would just like to see you guys get some high rises in the 20's and 30's floor range.

[Joey D]

^You're not the only one.

[mglan80]

She's been topped out! I guess there wasn't a big ceremony. There was no memo in the office.

Fireproofing:
http://www.addresswilmington.com/03-19-06-WSFSfireproofed.JPG

High Steel:
http://www.addresswilmington.com/03-19-06-WSFSwide.JPG

Topped with a flag and a tree:
http://www.addresswilmington.com/03-19-06-WSFStopped.JPG

Looks nice.

[Joey D]

Nice pics, there MGlan.

I did notice the grayness on the bottom levels of the Center, but I didn't know that was the fireproofing.

I'm happy with the building, mostly because it's going to be a very attractive skyline filler between the ING building, and Sheraton Suites.

[mglan80]

I like the glass, it's: reflective|evitcelfer

http://www.addresswilmington.com/4-15-06-WSFSBankfacade.JPG

http://www.addresswilmington.com/4-15-06-WSFSBanklowerleft.JPG

http://www.addresswilmington.com/4-15-06-WSFSBankprofile.JPG

[xzmattzx]

glass is starting to go up on the west and north sides of the building.

on another note, the blue cross/blue shield building down the street is moving beyond the steel skeleton.

[Joey D]

Welcome, Matt.

I have been taking the bus to work lately, hence I have been monitoring the progress of both WSFS and BCBS, and both are coming off nicely. It almost seems as if the BCBS was never not there. It just blends perfectly into the block.

However, I think the WSFS is gonna stand out alot more than was expected. The reflective glass is really a standout, even with the few panes that are up.

[xzmattzx]

i think some exposed concrete would probably make the wsfs bank center look a little bit better. much like the ing direct building on delaware avenue by i-95, it could be mainly glass with some concrete visible to blend in with the brick and concrete buildings around the area.

[xzmattzx]

this building is really going to stand out as you drive up northbound i-95. a 4 or 5 story building in front of the wsfs bank center would make the skyline look a little thicker and better, in my opinion.

[kznyc2k]

Hey ho way to go, nice building! I've never seen this before. Maybe its the glass of wine I'm drinking that's making me attracted to this building, but those renderings sure do look nice and classy. It's always a joy to find a construction thread of a tower I had no clue about, and then work my way through it up to the present, watching it get built right before my eyes, minutes after I was exposed to the rendering for the first time.

And I gotta agree, the website and flash video are top notch. I almost always hit the volume off button when I go to those things, but not this time. And that flash capture from the park in from of the Brandywine bldg. is so perfectly picturesque!

This is also the first time I've seen Wilmington's skyline. Consequently, I spent more than a few minutes on Emporis, er, Emporis Buildings learning more about this city. Despite the lack of height, there's some nice buildings here. I particularly like the Melon Bank Center (I'm a sucker for clean-'n-clear high modernism), the Brandywine building (not often a tower from that era acknowedges its site like that with such grace), the American Int'l bldg (Pei at his best) and the Legal Arts tower. That last one almost looks like it's from the same era as the PSFS tower in Philly, just with a po-mo facade. When was it built?

Looking my comments over, it seems I particularly like the buildings built here during the 60s/early 70s, and this is probably the first city anywhere where I've been able to say that. You guys seriously lucked out in these instances, given the general crapola that was getting put up during that period. Congrats..

[xzmattzx]

glad you took a look at wilmington. our skyline isn't too tall (tallest building is 331 ft: chase manhattan center), but it's pretty dense and wilmington's downtown is much like a scaled-down version of a larger city's downtown.

the brandywine building is pretty nice. it's hard to comprehend that this was built in 1970. usually (and unfortunately), you can tell what buildings were built in the late 60's and early 70's.

the american international building isn't as great in my opinion. it's not "wide" enough or "thick" enough for it's height, in my opinion. to me, it kind of resembles an upright 2x4.

the mellon bank center is now used by citizen's bank. so i guess it's called the citizens bank center now.

i'm not sure when the legal arts building was built. this is one of the uglier skyscrapers in wilmington to me. that's probably because i always drive north up market street towards my gym, and all i see is the one side of the legal arts building that doesn't have a single window. i've never taken an opportunity to look at the other sides of the building, mostly because i've seen enough of that one windowless side.

[Joey D]

Hey ho way to go, nice building! I've never seen this before. Maybe its the glass of wine I'm drinking that's making me attracted to this building, but those renderings sure do look nice and classy. It's always a joy to find a construction thread of a tower I had no clue about, and then work my way through it up to the present, watching it get built right before my eyes, minutes after I was exposed to the rendering for the first time.

And I gotta agree, the website and flash video are top notch. I almost always hit the volume off button when I go to those things, but not this time. And that flash capture from the park in from of the Brandywine bldg. is so perfectly picturesque!

This is also the first time I've seen Wilmington's skyline. Consequently, I spent more than a few minutes on Emporis, er, Emporis Buildings learning more about this city. Despite the lack of height, there's some nice buildings here. I particularly like the Melon Bank Center (I'm a sucker for clean-'n-clear high modernism), the Brandywine building (not often a tower from that era acknowedges its site like that with such grace), the American Int'l bldg (Pei at his best) and the Legal Arts tower. That last one almost looks like it's from the same era as the PSFS tower in Philly, just with a po-mo facade. When was it built?

Looking my comments over, it seems I particularly like the buildings built here during the 60s/early 70s, and this is probably the first city anywhere where I've been able to say that. You guys seriously lucked out in these instances, given the general crapola that was getting put up during that period. Congrats..

Thanks for the kind words.

As for the buildings in the late 60s/70s, this is the majority of our larger buildings. We have some "mini-me's" of buildings in NYC I have noticed throughout the years. It's kinda funny/cute.

Depending on my views from the bus stop today, I may take some pictures with my phone of the WSFS HQ and post them later.

[kznyc2k]

the american international building isn't as great in my opinion. it's not "wide" enough or "thick" enough for it's height, in my opinion. to me, it kind of resembles an upright 2x4.


I agree that I find it's scale a bit underwhelming. But design-wise, it's nice. Here in Boston we have a very similar building, the tower component to the Christian Science church's headquarters campus. It's IM Pei at his brutalist height-

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=119247

I'd take your version any day, even at its current size/width.

[xzmattzx]

I agree that I find it's scale a bit underwhelming. But design-wise, it's nice. Here in Boston we have a very similar building, the tower component to the Christian Science church's headquarters campus. It's IM Pei at his brutalist height-

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=119247

I'd take your version any day, even at its current size/width.

they look remarkably similar!

[xzmattzx]

the glass "skin" has been going up pretty fast recently. it's starting to look like a real skyscraper. :)

[Joey D]

The facade is going up smoothly lately.

One thing I have noticed about the facade is that it has separations between each floor, while I had envisioned a more Mellon Center appearance where the facade is totally glass.

WSFS is actually appearing to be very classy, and high-scale, as I start to see the shinyness and attractive curve in the middle of the building, including the "skirt slit" which will encompass the street number of the building. (700, was it?)

They also had a couple letters at the topmost floor for a while, but it seems they took it off, as if it were a beta, or a mockup of the final version of the WSFS insignia.

I really hope WSFS is large, in charge, and preferably lit up at night, although it is not planned to be so at night.

Our crackheads need some beacon to lead them at night, right?

[xzmattzx]

:previous: you mean the pnc bank center? the mellon center (now the citizens bank center) is the uglier, white and black 1960's skyscraper.

they're working on the street-level portion of the building, which will be along delaware avenue.

[mglan80]

It's been quite awhile since the last photo update. It's looking pretty good:

http://www.addresswilmington.com/07-16-06-wsfs.JPG

The garage portion on the back is moving pretty quick too. Prefab gets it done. I'm getting anxious to see how the small plaza will look in the front. Just to throw it in, but we WSFS employees will get a walkthrough of our floors when they enclose it (first week of August?). The elevators were being installed last week, and the HVAC should be done soon.

[Joey D]

WSFS has a really spectacular facade.

It really has brought a needed presence on 95 going south through town.

However, the view from the back is a little disconcerting, but it does fill in the skyline from, say, 4th street going down into town.

I like the fact that it is glass, but not necessarily too mirrorlike. It seems to reflect light, but necessarily it's surroundings as images off the glass. Hard to explain.

[Austinlee]

That's looking really nice!! Delaware is such a cute little state....It's family oriented and close to lots of big cities, yet its got some high rise activity of its own just humming along... Very cool!

[xzmattzx]

Now all we need to make Delaware Avenue look very dense is to build something on that parking lot in the foreground of all of these pictures.

And from I-95 northbound, the Sheraton looks way to small now. I wouldn't mind blowing it up and building somehing bigger there, then building the hotel one or two blocks south to give the skyline some depth from I-95 north.

[xzmattzx]

Looks like it's nearing completion. :)

[williamphilapa]

I dig this building, very nice::yes:

...anyone able shots at different angles ?

[xzmattzx]

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/4056/dscf5544ajx1.jpg

WSFS Bank Center from HB DuPont Park

From one of my Wilmington threads (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=113134)

[mglan80]

Nice shot Matt. I've been meaning to take a another couple shots now that it's fully enclosed and the construction elevator is down. They've been working double shifts to get the Morris James space fit out on the top two floors; they'll be moving in November now I believe. The work on the post office is starting to wrap up too.

[xzmattzx]

Anyone else think that that back section of the building, that faces northbound I-95, doesn't look so great with all of that gray facade?

[mglan80]

^Did you prefer the white? I don't think it looks any worse or better then the white cinderblock. That grey paneling seems to be BPG's trademark.

The rest of the building is really starting to flesh out now.

[xzmattzx]

^Did you prefer the white? I don't think it looks any worse or better then the white cinderblock. That grey paneling seems to be BPG's trademark.

The rest of the building is really starting to flesh out now.

I think both white and gray are bad. I would've liked windows the whole way across, like the front of the building.

[Joey D]

I think the gray appears a little sloppy, as if they have not finished the edging.

However, we do already have a uniform blue glass building, and I think the building looks good.

Also, at night, the middle of the building breaks it up, making the building appear as if it is two building, which makes for a dynamic addition to the skyline.

[xzmattzx]

The building is being used now, and they are working on the laza out front, along with the post office.

[mglan80]

Morris James moved into their space after Thanksgiving. There were crews out working at 10PM the Sunday before their move. I don't know how late they worked, but it was definately a last minute scramble.

[Joey D]

I think the 501 looks frickin' badass on the front. Oh, so classy.

Thumbs Up on the completion of the building. It was good.

[xzmattzx]

Looks like the WSFS Bank Center is done. :)

[Urbannizer]

Completed in 2006.

http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/class-image.php/pic.jpg?width=1000&height=800&image=/images/albums/userpics/10008/WSFS12-13a.jpg

http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/class-image.php/pic.jpg?width=1000&height=800&image=/images/albums/userpics/10008/WSFS10a.jpg

http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/class-image.php/pic.jpg?width=1000&height=800&image=/images/albums/userpics/10008/WSFS2a.jpg
http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/wilmington/wsfs-bank-center/12075/