Center City condo sells for $12M

The condominium market in Philadelphia is hitting a zenith as a penthouse at the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton closed for $12 million.

This comes on the heels of a condo being put under agreement at 500 Walnut St. for $17.6 million and another big sale at 10 Rittenhouse for $1,400 a square foot.

Craig Spencer, president of Arden Group, developer of the condo tower overlooking City Hall, said the penthouse on the 48th floor totaled 7,500 square feet of indoor space and another 1,900 square feet of outdoor deck space. "This is literally a concrete shell," Spencer said. The buyer paid $1,600 per square foot and will likely spend another $500-$600 per square foot on finishing it.

Spencer declined to disclose the name of the buyer.

Sources believe it is a local business person. Several Comcast executives have bought in the building.

Spencer said sales been strong, having rung up $23 million in the last five or so weeks. He expects the momentum to continue.

Spencer shrugged off whether these eye-popping sales are a sign of a bubble or the market peaking. "It's breaking the glass ceiling in the Philly market," he said. "It shows you how undervalued the Philadelphia market is."

The question is how many more of these exist on the market, he said.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal