Posted Dec 11, 2015, 9:17 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Philadelphia
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A very tall residential building proposed for Rittenhouse Square area
Quote:
Southern Land Co. has refined its plans for 1911 Walnut St. in Center City and is proposing to construct a $300 million residential tower that would stand between 47 and 51 stories.
In what is its latest and most detailed version of what it wants to build, the Tennessee developer said the project would have 342 apartments, between 64 and 75 condominiums, and 55,000 square feet of retail space that would wrap around Walnut, Sansom and 20th streets. The retail space would be on the structure's first three floors. The tower was designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz.
It’s an ambitious development on one of Philadelphia’s most prominent squares and going tall was deliberate, the developer said. By comparison, One Liberty Place is 61 stories, Mellon Bank Center is 54 stories and Comcast Center is 58 stories and those three buildings are office towers. The St. James, a residential building on Walnut Street, is 45 stories.
“This is the last greatest development site on the East Coast, certainly in Philadelphia,” said Dustin Downey of Southern Land. “This site was deserving of something iconic and elegant. We wanted something elegant and unique and that’s how we got to the height.”
The developer concedes that this version of its plans could change. It has been meeting with the Center City Residents Association as well as the Preservation Alliance as a way to get input on its plans. Southern Land anticipates having an informal meeting with the planning commission in January and will be moving forward with the approval process from there.
“This is a preliminary plan,” Downey said. “We are going to listen to community feedback. I’m sure this plan will be modified.”
Clara Wineberg, associate principal with Solomon Cordwell Buenz, said the design and scale is “something deserving of the site.”
It attempts to pay as much attention to the residents who will eventually be living there as well as to pedestrians milling about Rittenhouse Square, those who will use the project's retail space as well as those who will view it from the square, she said. It’s a delicate balance that Buenz believes has been captured.
“We wanted the residential areas to shine because it is their home,” Buenz said. “At the same time, the passerby can also engage with it.”
To that end, the part of the structure that is most visible to pedestrians and the street has a portion that is tiered. There are other added dimensions and design elements to ensure that the building is not presented as a static, flat wall fronting Rittenhouse Square.
Residents of 1911 Walnut who peer down onto the park will also have an urban gardenscape atop of a lower structure to view. There is a 57-foot internal right-of-way between 1911 Walnut and Rittenhouse Plaza next door. The design also took into account the building’s L-shape, which gives it exposure along Walnut, Sansom and 20th streets.
“It’s a prominent part of the city and each side is important,” Buenz said.
The Walnut Street side faces the square and has other structures to consider such as a nearby church as well as various curb cuts. Retail will be incorporated along that portion of Walnut and there will be a restaurant with a roof-top deck overlooking the park. The areas facing Sansom and 20th streets got a different treatment and three levels of retail are incorporated on that side.
“You turn the corner and there is a slightly different feel,” she said about moving from Walnut to Sansom.
Though still in its early stages, the project hasn’t been without controversy. There are three historic structures on the parcel and last month, the developer withdrew an application to raze one of them — the Rittenhouse Coffee Shop. Southern Land did this after there was some outcry over the demise of the city's historical structure. Southern Land met with representatives from the Preservation Alliance and the CCRA and decided to protect that building. The developer does plan to move forward with demolition of the Warwick apartment building and Oliver Bair funeral home.
Southern Land is developing 1911 Walnut in a joint venture with an undisclosed domestic institutional investor, which the way it proceeds with all of its projects.
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http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/...ll-residentialbuilding-proposed-for.html
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