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.
“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.
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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