Big changes are coming to Washington Square.
About seven months after the Curtis Center was purchased
for $125 million by Keystone Property Group and Mack-Cali Reality Corp., plans
have been firmed up for a mixed-use redevelopment of the historic building
facing the square along Walnut Street between Sixth and Seventh.
Among the changes at the 12-story building will be luxury
apartments, a departure from its current primary use as office space.
“We want to create a vibrant pedestrian experience … a
24-hour destination,” said Jennifer Cooperman, development director for
Keystone.
About 30,000 square feet is available for lease on the
ground floor.
A large space on the ground floor on the Sixth Street
corner will be offered for lease as a restaurant.
“We thought this is the corner to start where the energy
can begin for the building,” said Jacob Cooper of MSC Retail, the broker for
the property. “The restaurant can not only be an amenity for the entire
building, but a destination that can pull residents and tourists and people
from around the area.”
Cooper said MSC Retail has been talking to several
restaurant groups and expects the restaurant to be operated by someone local.
Aside from the restaurant, Cooper said they’re looking to
add a coffee shop, spa, gym, bar, and other retail stores to the six additional
available spaces.
Currently, for phase one, 55 luxury apartments are
planned for the upper floors, which Cooperman said will begin construction this
spring. She said the apartments will be primarily on the Sixth Street side of
the building overlooking Independence Mall, as well as a portion along Walnut
Street, overlooking Washington Square.
The Seventh Street side of the building will remain office space.
The building is only one block from what will be the
“glass needle tower” - developer Tom Scannapieco’s planned 26-story, 40-unit
condo tower at Fifth and Walnut Streets. Construction is slated to begin around
the same time.
The atrium, one of the Curtis Center’s defining features,
is also getting a makeover. The developers hired architectural firm Voith and
Mactavish to design the space.
“Currently, the atrium serves as a pass-through for
pedestrians on a 9-to-5 basis,” Cooperman said. “Keystone wants to change that
by making the Curtis a central hub.”
Cooperman said they will remove the palm trees and
fountain, repaint the space, build a bar in place of the fountain, and install
archways that span the width of the room.
The space is a popular venue for weddings and other
special events under the Cescaphe Event Group. The renovations won’t change
anything: the company will still operate there.
Another hallmark of the building, the 100,000-piece
mosaic called The Dream Garden, will remain in the lobby, Cooper said.
Although some of the windows in the atrium are original
from when the Curtis Center was built between 1909 and 1920, much of the room
is new.
The structure was built by publisher Cyrus H.K. Curtis as
headquarters for his publishing empire, and the atrium served as a loading
dock.
The last time the building got a major makeover was in
1980, when $80 million was spent to refurbish office space, common areas, and
building systems.
Once complete, Cooper said he believes the area to have
the potential of becoming the “second Rittenhouse Square."
Source: Philly.com
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