PHILADELPHIA | The Harper | 272 FT | 24 FLOORS

[brenster]

Maybe a dumb question, but the height diagram stops at 383. Then there is a crown that looks to be about 15 more feet. Wouldn't this be about 398?

[iheartphilly]

Did anyone noticed the glass curvature curtain on the last two pages of the .pdf? That's pretty neat and something new for us.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by acenturi

Here's the details:
http://www.phila.gov/historical/Docu...2010.15.15.pdf

Good stuff. I really like the turn this has taken.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

Did anyone noticed the glass curvature curtain on the last two pages of the .pdf? That's pretty neat and something new for us.

That's the old dead proposal for the site, sorry to say.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by brenster

Maybe a dumb question, but the height diagram stops at 383. Then there is a crown that looks to be about 15 more feet. Wouldn't this be about 398?

Sure looks that way.

[boxbot]

Originally Posted by brenster

Maybe a dumb question, but the height diagram stops at 383. Then there is a crown that looks to be about 15 more feet. Wouldn't this be about 398?

Where do you see 383'?

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by boxbot

Where do you see 383'?

Main Roof height on page 17 of the PDF

[boxbot]

Wow. That (legible) render would make that even taller than that. The height of the "oyster panel" above the roof appears to be equidistant to the height of two floors (or 25'). This would put the total height closer to 408'. The attorney's letter at page 1 states the building is 32 stories at its "peak" but then mentions height in terms of the "roof," which we can see from the diagram is the top of the glass.

[jsbrook]

Good. Art Deco version was best but this is a strong upgrade from the last monstrosity. I forget who has big issues with setbacks (which this will have), but from the PDF it appears this is a function of the Historical Commission.

http://www.phila.gov/historical/Docu...2010.15.15.pdf

Here because the Boyd must be contended with. 10 Rit because of the historic former Rittenhouse Club façade. 2116 Chestnut Street because of the former Hillman Medical Center. Of course, new towers built from the ground up with no historical elements to contend with are being built without them. I don't personally mind the setbacks so much. A mix is good. But I'm glad they're not showing up on a lot of the new architecture.

[Cro Burnham]

Originally Posted by brenster

Maybe a dumb question, but the height diagram stops at 383. Then there is a crown that looks to be about 15 more feet. Wouldn't this be about 398?

I agree looks a tiny bit above 400'.

[summersm343]

After some measurements and calculations, it is 406 feet exactly to the peak of the building, while 383 feet to the roof. I will also update and rename the thread "1910 Chestnut"

[alasi]

Hopefully this will encourage the developers of 1911 Walnut to step up their game.

[SJPhillyBoy]

summersm343, Great job extracting the images out of.pdf and posting them.

This building is really good infill for that location.

[thisisforreal]

What are the odds this could have a crane by the time of the DNC? Are there any more permit hurdles, or has that been cleared? Financing ready to go? Just looking for a ballpark answer from someone with some knowledge.

[McBane]

Thanks for posting the renderings. Very nice. A huge upgrade over the last tower. While the Art Deco plan was nice, with these "traditional" designs, it's all about the materials and with only a rendering, it was too hard to tell how it would have turned out.

What's interesting about this tower is that the address is Chestnut Street but the tower is really on Sansom Street. I still don't get the need for a set back (especially one that big) b/c there's already two high rises fronting Chestnut on this block. But it's not a huge deal.

The old Boyd will serve as the lobby, which is nice. Does anyone know about the Gap Outlet? That's not owned by Pearl or part of this project is it?

One last comment, in the "View Looking East" image, it seems that the tower is depicted as shorter than it will be, if the 400' number is correct. It's taller than anything on the Square and really, one of the tallest buildings south of 2 Liberty Place. I expect this to make more of a visual impact.

[Human Scale]

Originally Posted by McBane

Thanks for posting the renderings. Very nice. A huge upgrade over the last tower. While the Art Deco plan was nice, with these "traditional" designs, it's all about the materials and with only a rendering, it was too hard to tell how it would have turned out.

What's interesting about this tower is that the address is Chestnut Street but the tower is really on Sansom Street. I still don't get the need for a set back (especially one that big) b/c there's already two high rises fronting Chestnut on this block. But it's not a huge deal.

The old Boyd will serve as the lobby, which is nice. Does anyone know about the Gap Outlet? That's not owned by Pearl or part of this project is it?

One last comment, in the "View Looking East" image, it seems that the tower is depicted as shorter than it will be, if the 400' number is correct. It's taller than anything on the Square and really, one of the tallest buildings south of 2 Liberty Place. I expect this to make more of a visual impact.

The old Boyd will serve as a restaurant according to these plans. The residential lobby is accessed on 19th.

[summersm343]

Article from PhillyMag - pretty much information we already know

http://www.phillymag.com/property/20...hiladelphia-2/

[McBane]

According to the application to the commission (see it here), the new plans call for a glassy, 32-story tower also made of limestone and metal panels. The new tower will rise 382-feet above the street, and the entrance to the loading dock and underground parking garage (an issue in a previous meeting) has been moved from the tight confines of Sansom Street over to a long driveway on 20th Street. Along with an entrance to the residences, Sansom Street will also get some retail to go along with nearby Oh! Sheas pub, Rachael's Nosheri and Capogiro, the latter is in Kate's Place at 20th and Sansom.

This is interesting. It prompted me to review the HDC review a little closer and I do have some concerns with this building. DISCLAIMER: I'm not whining, I'm not against this project, and I am very excited to see this project move forward.

1) The driveway is being moved from Samson Street to 20th, giving the 1900 block of Sansom a chance to be rescued from back alley trash bin status. But I can't tell from the PDF what is happening to this parking lot. Is the building going to extend to this lot? Does anyone know? See the white block of space below, all the way on the left, immediately north of Kate's Place:


If this project ends up killing this lot, then this a great bonus! Though I would have rather had the driveway buried on Sansom than on 20th.

2) Answering my own question from earlier, it does appear that Pearl owns the Gap Outlet and it is part of this project - and, unfortunately, it's being left as is. I think it would have been smart to either add a few floors or replace it with a 4-8 story building. I'm blanking on the technical term here, but a mid-rise here would help create "steps" to the tower. The building immediately to the west is 9 floors, so 4-8 floors would not look out of place at all. Plus, the Gap Outlet building is super ugly and kind of wasteful at just two floors. In the rendering below, you can see how weird leaving the Gap Outlet building as is looks.


Even a 1 or 2 story addition to the Gap Outlet would have helped. The windows (i.e., residential units) on the lower stories of the actual tower eliminates any chance of Pearl building anything where Gap Outlet stands. But perhaps when/if they ever move, Pearl can do something to it to make it a little nicer (like maybe windows on the second floor).

[summersm343]

Update from Building Philly
Site prep of Chestnut Street retail portion



https://www.facebook.com/BuildingPhilly

[1487]

This block will look so much better in a couple of years.