PHILADELPHIA | Mural West @ 523 N. Broad | 363 FT | 32 FLOORS

[mcgrath618]

Blumenfeld actually got things going.

Title: Mural West @ 523 N. Broad
Project: Apartments, office, ground floor retail
Architect: AOS Architects
Developer: Blumenfeld
Location: 523 North Broad St, Philadelphia, PA
District: North Philadelphia
Neighborhood: Spring Arts/Spring Garden
Floors: 32
Height: 363 Ft



No news articles or official proposition yet, but a rendering is all we need.
This and the development across the street should help vitalize Spring Garden (and hopefully prevent those awful Storage Units from being built)

[blart]

Reminds me a little of The Bridge.

[summersm343]

Love it! Build it!

Last I read Penn State was interested in space here for a "Center City" campus. Wonder if that's still a possibility? Between this and the proposed development across the street, they have plenty of space to make it happen.

[volguus zildrohar]

Originally Posted by blart

Reminds me a little of The Bridge.

Me too. They could have found worse inspiration.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by volguus zildrohar

Me too. They could have found worse inspiration.

Like the Robinson building

[Aaamazarite]

One nit to pick: PRG is not the developer, they are just listing the retail spaces. Developer is most likely Blumenfeld

[SEFTA]

I'll repost this here.

it shows in blue, the Hamilton & 1300 Fairmont
and across the street is http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=226538
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=223423
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=216750

Spring Garden 9-4-18

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Aaamazarite

One nit to pick: PRG is not the developer, they are just listing the retail spaces. Developer is most likely Blumenfeld

Thank you for this, I will edit the OP.

[mcgrath618]

Also, I like how this interacts with the mural. Hopefully it'll create a kind of public space, which the area desperately needs.

[mcgrath618]

I just realized from the renderings: are they incorporating the subway entrance with the building!?!?! That's awesome!

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

Probably just bluster but...

Skyscraper, not strip mall, now planned on North Broad Street, courtesy of Trump tax break



From: https://www2.philly.com/philly/busin...-20181015.html



What he is describing doesn't seem to match this conceptual rendering that floated around last month:



Both, however, point to imminent development of this lot. Blumenfeld gets stuff done.

From the high rise thread. This project has been heightened to 30 stories at the least.

[Philly-Drew]

This looks a heckuva lot like The Bridge, which is a great thing in my opinion. The Bridge design is fantastic. People who aren’t skyscraper nerds like us will probably never even make the connection.

[gjrip]

This is AWESOME! I've been waiting for these lots to get something nice. As a member of the Retro Fitness at 16th and Spring, I'd like to request a moment of silence for the parking lot, but what a nice trade off.

[McBane]

I'm confused.

This crude illustration of a Bridge lookalike (which I just love btw) is 17 stories at Broad and Spring Garden (or more accurately, Brandywine St).

But where did this rendering come from? It doesn't add up being the lot where Blumenfield now plans his 30 story high rise because the previous plans for that site was a strip of retail. So to say the height of the building depicted in this rendering will be increased to 30 stories is inaccurate.

I'd love to be wrong but this feels like one of those overly ambitious drawings that typically accompany Center City lots for sale ("Hey, look what you can build here" - and then we end up with something lame like townhomes). Whatever it is, it can't be the same site as Blumenfield's proposed 30 story building.

So what gives?

[Urbanthusiat]

Originally Posted by McBane

I'm confused.

This crude illustration of a Bridge lookalike (which I just love btw) is 17 stories at Broad and Spring Garden (or more accurately, Brandywine St).

But where did this rendering come from? It doesn't add up being the lot where Blumenfield now plans his 30 story high rise because the previous plans for that site was a strip of retail. So to say the height of the building depicted in this rendering will be increased to 30 stories is inaccurate.

I'd love to be wrong but this feels like one of those overly ambitious drawings that typically accompany Center City lots for sale ("Hey, look what you can build here" - and then we end up with something lame like townhomes). Whatever it is, it can't be the same site as Blumenfield's proposed 30 story building.

So what gives?

Well, it's possible he was using that image for marketing the property to retail tenants and lenders - the image came from LoopNet. Maybe he found that there was actually more interest in the project than he anticipated, and decided to up the floor count and, feeling confident, go to the press. It is definitely the same site - both show the mural loft building directly adjacent on the same side. If you look closely, there are actually some similarities in the 17-story version and the crude drawing of a 30-story building in yesterday's article - a setback above the retail podium, detailing on the southwest corner, and an angle along the retail base adjacent to mural lofts. It looks to be the same thing, but taller.

[ScreamShatter]

The idea of highrises on North Broad makes so much sense. The infrastructure is there for it, especially with the subway access. It'd be wonderful to see multiple 25 to 40 story buildings between Market and Spring Garden. And the Loft District can handle many of them.

[McBane]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

Well, it's possible he was using that image for marketing the property to retail tenants and lenders - the image came from LoopNet. Maybe he found that there was actually more interest in the project than he anticipated, and decided to up the floor count and, feeling confident, go to the press. It is definitely the same site - both show the mural loft building directly adjacent on the same side. If you look closely, there are actually some similarities in the 17-story version and the crude drawing of a 30-story building in yesterday's article - a setback above the retail podium, detailing on the southwest corner, and an angle along the retail base adjacent to mural lofts. It looks to be the same thing, but taller.

This makes some sense except yesterday's article, hell it was in the headline, said Blumenfield was replacing the retail strip concept with a high rise - no mention of a 17 story building. But I didn't see the rendering in the article so maybe the 17 story rendering was from a very preliminary concept that somehow got leaked before Blumenfield decided to build this as a retail-only project before switching gears again into the current high rise proposal. Funny how all that back-n-forth worked out.

[FairmountFellow]

A co-worker parks his car in this lot, and spoke with his contact at the parking lot. He told him construction is expected to start in 2019, but had no idea when during the year.

[Urbanthusiat]

Developer Blumenfeld targets July for North Broad Street office-and-apartment tower groundbreaking

Developer Eric Blumenfeld is aiming to break ground in July on a 30-story North Broad Street tower with offices, apartments and a fitness club that he hopes to cap with digital screens featuring animated versions of the famous mural next door.

Blumenfeld said Wednesday that he was close to finalizing a deal with investors in the $160 million project who will be taking advantage of the Broad and Spring Garden Street site’s location in an “opportunity zone” under the 2017 tax bill.

Under that law, investors in projects within opportunity zones can claim savings on taxes from the sale of assets that have gained in value. Blumenfeld declined to share details about the opportunity zone backing of what he’s calling Mural West before the deal is signed.

The tower would rise beside Blumenfeld’s Mural Lofts apartments, formerly the Thaddeus Stevens School, which is known for the Common Threads mural painted on its side.

It would be Philadelphia’s tallest building outside the city’s central core, as well as the latest — and largest — project in the city to be funded under the opportunity-zone program, which is meant to encourage development in low-income communities.

The project is slated to include about 205 apartments and 68,000 square feet of office space, according to a brochure prepared by brokerage Precision Realty Group to market the proposal’s ground-floor retail spaces.

Blumenfeld said he’s also nearing a deal with the operator of a planned fitness center in the building that would occupy nearly 48,000 square feet over six floors. The fitness complex may include features such as coworking offices and guest rooms for overnight visitor stays, Blumenfeld said.

https://www.philly.com/real-estate/c...-20190411.html





Yes please!!

[Scottydont]

Very different design then the initial rendering. Still looks good!