Thursday, March 12, 2015

New residential tower rising over Independence Hall



Scannapieco Development Corp. is scheduled to officially break ground today on its $180 million project called 500 Walnut, a high-end residential tower that will overlook one of America's most historic sites — Independence Hall.


The 26-story building will have 38 condos ranging from $2.5 million to a $17.6 million, two-level penthouse that will have exclusive use of the roof. Units will range from 2,700 square feet to 4,300 square feet. So far, $75 million in reservations have been made and of that, $25.5 million have been converted into contracts. Cecil Baker + Partners designed the residential tower.

A ceremony to mark the ground breaking is set for today at 11 a.m. at the nearby National Museum of American Jewish History.

The building will have a treetop terrace that is positioned next to a retractable glass wall that leads to an interior lounge, boardroom and billiard room and library. Set at podium level, the terrace will have a direct view of Independence Hall. Architect Cecil Baker , in a marketing video, described it as a "balcony overlooking history."

The 4,000-square-foot terrace was designed by Robert J. Gorman of Mahan Rykiel Associates Inc., a Baltimore landscape architect. It was designed to have two personalities, said Tom Scannapieco, chief executive of the company developing 500 Walnut. It is a place where people can visit on an intimate level or use it for parties and entertaining.

"It's the most unique amenity in the building because of the opportunity to look at such a special view," Scannapieco said. "That's what we responded to. We have a once-in-a-lifetime view and that drove us to do something very special."

No comments:

Post a Comment