The Other Center City

Shortly after I moved to Philadelphia, ground broke on the Cira Centre. I was living in a modest studio apartment in University City and coming from DC, my impression of a skyline was Arlington, VA or college road trips to Richmond. Needless to say, Philadelphia wowed me. But still, as Cira Centre rose, I thought, "What?? A skyscraper in West Philadelphia??"

After Cira Centre grew synonymous with 30th Street Station and the west bank of the Schuylkill River, developers throughout University City became less shy about building vertically. Today, from Belmont Plateau, Philadelphia's skyline is as dramatic west of the Schuylkill as it is east of the Aramark Tower. 

For years, proposals for Cira Center South, even Cira Centre North were floated. They were fun to look at but seemed like a dream. We were sure that University City would never grow taller than Cira Centre. 

But with the FMC Tower, part of the Cira Centre South we never thought we'd see, one of "Philadelphia's tallest" will be west of the Schuylkill. And that's significant.

Let's face it, skyscrapers are built to make a statement. Working in one is a laborious hassle if your day is full of meetings. Once a building exceeds 300 feet, you can easily spend several hours a day in elevator banks. FMC Corporation needed space, sure. But its landlord, Liberty Property Trust, encouraged FMC to relocate to the yet-to-be-built Cira Centre South because Liberty knows University City is open for business, and they want other businesses to take note. 

And take note they will. Amtrak commuters from DC, Wilmington, and all points south will be greeted by FMC's crystalline skyscraper, backdropped by our growing Center City skyline. But what's more interesting than our growing Center City - the Comcast Innovation & Technology Center, 1919 Market, East Market, and the LDS Church's residences on Vine - is University City's true introduction into Philadelphia's skyline.

We're no longer a city bound by two rivers, we're a city straddling the Schuylkill. 

University City office space now costs more than office space in Center City, and University City continues to grow. And for good reason. University City is easily accessible by regional rail, the Market Street El, and the surface trolleys. It's also right on the Schuylkill Expressway, Baltimore Avenue, and Market Street, and chock full of parking. While that doesn't bode well for New Jersey; the Main Line, Upper Darby, and Media are essentially in University City's backyard. That's a lot of people. And they don't have to pay a toll to get here.

What's ever better, it doesn't seem that businesses are trading Center City for University City. With the exception of the FMC Corporation, University City is rising on its own, either growing its current base or attracting new. 

With ample sites for future development, low NIMBY intervention, and a precedent to build taller, University City's skyline may challenge Center City's in ten years or so. Imagine a complex on par with Liberty Place occupying the surface lot at 38th and Market. Now imagine what that would look like from Fairmount Park. 

As residents of Philadelphia, it's easy to discount University City. It's full of college kids. It's not "local." And perhaps that's why it's growing so rapidly. Unfettered with local politics and fueled by academic cash, University City is growing in isolation, and doing so at a fantastic rate. But while locals may be ignoring much of the growth west of the Schuylkill, the growth isn't ignoring us. 

From Drexel's proposed Innovation Neighborhood, plans floating to cap the railroad tracks north of 30th Street Station, and University City's hospital district, University City is organically growing as an extension of Center City's gridded urbanity. Pedestrianization has always been key, and development is seamlessly integrated into the streets leading to the bridges that connect University City to Philadelphia's core. 

It's exciting, and to more seasoned Philadelphians, perhaps a bit scary. Development has begun to snowball, and in a good way. As for University City, sure, it still contains a swell of college students between 30th and 40th Streets, but the way that swell is being developed is bridging West Philadelphia's residential neighborhoods with Center City. 

Once inner-burbs of Philadelphia, neighborhoods like Spruce Hill and Powelton Village are going to soon find themselves part of the cohesive, walkable fabric of Greater Center City. And that truly is a great thing.

Cira Centre South

Take a second and Google an image search of Cira Centre South. 

I'll wait...

Wild, huh?

Now consider the fact that this will be the first thing thousands of DC-NYC commuters see as they approach Philadelphia every week. 

Cira Centre is about to challenge what many commuters think of Philadelphia.

So Many Cranes in the Sky!

If you enjoyed last week's weather by wandering outside, you might have noticed quite a few construction cranes in the sky. That's because Philadelphia is currently experience a building boom, one that stands to put 2005 to shame. The city's skyline is about to change forever, and the growth isn't just taking place where you'd expect it. Developers are building high in the sky in University City and for the first time ever, one of our tallest skyscrapers will soon be west of the Schuylkill River.

Large-scale residential and retail projects are developing along Market East and north of Vine Street and, like the dense development taking place in West Philadelphia, challenging our notion of "downtown." 

Here's a quick rundown of what's taking place, and what we have to look forward to.

Under Construction

Comcast Innovation and Technology Center
1121 feet
A few years ago Comcast altered the skyline with Comcast Center, its national headquarters. The wildly growing company hadn't had enough, and employed the world renowned starchitects at Norman + Foster to deliver some serious panache. Once completed, the CITC will be the tallest skyscraper in the United States outside New York and Chicago. 

FMC Tower at Cira Centre South
730 feet
When Cesar Pelli's design for the first phase of the Cira Centre made headlines, some were appalled, some cheered, but many were certain it would never be built. Once we got used to its crystalline and asymmetrical presence along the Schuylkill River, we were sure the master plan had been abandoned. Then Campus Crest and Erdy-McHenry delivered the Evo, the tallest student housing in the country. Before Campus Crest could fill its infinity pool with sweeping views of the Center City skyline, the unthinkable happened: Brandywine Realty Trust found a tenant right here in the city, allowing them to complete Cira Centre South. Will we soon see a proposed Cira Centre North? There's certainly room to keep building.

500 Walnut
380 feet
Building in Society Hill is tricky, just ask John Turchi. At the height of the last building boom he attempted to convert the debatably historic Dilworth House into his private residence before being shot down by stubborn community associations. The mansion remains vacant. But building tall within earshot of some of the nation's most sacred history has been unheard-of for a long time. 500 Walnut is bringing the amenities, and the height, of Rittenhouse Square back to the city's first premier address and will forever alter photographs of Independence Hall.

1601 Vine Street
370 feet
The Mormons don't mess around. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' has the money to build big, build fast, and build quality. For decades, Vine Street has been a wasteland of surface parking lots discouraging developers from bridging the gap between Center City and neighborhoods eager to thrive just north of the Expressway. The city's first Mormon Temple is nearing completion and will handsomely compliment the city's Basilica, Free Library, and cultural institutions. Risking logic - or perhaps understanding how ridiculous the Expressway is as a barrier - the Mormons have hired Robert A. M. Stern to build a high-rise befitting Rittenhouse Square just north of the highway canyon. 

Welcome to Little Salt Lake City.

1919 Market Street
337 feet
Who ever thought this would happen? Once intended for a carbon copy of the skyscraper just to its east, this lot has been vacant for as long as many can remember. For decades it's been the site of proposals destined to flop. Nearby residential development has begged us to ask if Philadelphia's West Market Street is a neighborhood that shuts down at five on Friday, or something that deserves more. 1919 Market might just be giving us more Murano, but that means more feet on the ground. Philadelphia has forever been a densely packed and pedestrian friendly city, and our cornerstone of skyscrapers has been our ironically situated black-eye since the demolition of Broad Street Station. The final realization of 1919 Market Street is proof that West Market Street is finally ready to be more than a one-trick pony.

The Summit
279 feet
Go look at this building in person. It is far more astonishing, and tall, than it looks in renderings. In fact, from some angles, it looks like something straight out of a Middle Eastern power city. It's pretty wild and it's redefining what we think of the University City skyline. 

3737 Chestnut
278 feet
It's not nearly as exciting as the Summit, but it is challenging the University City skyline. 

What we have to look forward to...
If the construction cranes aren't enough to satisfy your thirst for a new Philadelphia, get ready for more, because they're coming. Below are some of the most likely skyline altering proposals in and around Center City. 

SLS International Hotel and Residences
590 feet

W Hotel and Residences
582 feet

MIC Tower
429 feet

CHoP on Schuylkill Avenue
375 feet

1900 Chestnut Street
295 feet

East Market
281 feet

One Riverside
260 feet

Was the Evo a miss?

Several years ago, Campus Crest proposed something unique. With students taking advantage of easy access to loans, universities growing exponentially, there appeared to be an untapped real estate market: luxury student housing. 

When the Evo opened last year it was applauded as the tallest student housing project in the country. But with a pool atop its roof a sweeping views of the Center City skyline, it also came with the sort of panache counter to anything you'd expect to find within the ramen stained halls of housing for college students. 

The Evo wasn't designed for Beast swilling frat boys. It was designed for the richest of University City's elite. But with a 48% occupancy rate, so far the Evo appears to be an epic failure. 

The statistics aren't exactly fair. The Evo opened after the fall semester had already begun. Students were already housed. The true test will come in the fall of 2015. But Campus Crest needs to be working on its marketing campaign, because without students there is little use for the Evo. 

Failed condos can easily be converted into apartments. Aging hotels and office buildings that have outlived their purpose can be reconfigured. But the Evo was purpose-built for students. That means study lounges, large bedrooms with small common areas, and three or four bedroom units. Just one year into its existence, it would be a costly endeavor - and loss - to necessitate a reconfiguration to make room for traditional apartments.

Unfortunately, there may have been a flaw in Campus Crest's assumption that there was a demand for luxury student housing. For one, that market already exists and it's somewhat satisfied. It's not uncommon for parents to purchase investment properties in University City, and these condos and homes are often far from humble. The Evo isn't an investment, it's pricy practicality...with a pool on the roof. 

But the other fatal flaw is the assumption that college students - rich or not - find the Evo particularly appealing. Most students want to be emancipated from the dorms by their second year. And as flashy as the Evo may be, it's still a dorm very detached from the hearts of Drexel and Penn. Students tend to prefer the converted party houses of Powelton Village and Spruce Hill.

College students are a unique demographic. Regardless of economic background, they all tend to want the same thing: freedom. Whether they show up in a Porsche full of Prada bags or a busted truck with "Farm Use" spray painted on the side, students are looking for housing near their friends and relatively convenient to class. 

Hopefully Campus Crest can fill the Evo next fall. But student housing has a negative connotation. Instead of showcasing the Evo's unique space in the student housing market, insisting that it is "student housing," they need to convince their potential renters that the Evo is just like the apartments to its west, only a lot better. 

A New Philadelphia

With all the whining about shadows and burnt tomatoes on the east bank of the Schuylkill River, University City seems anxious to give Center City a run for its money. Brandywine's recently proposed skyscraper, the FMC Tower at 30th and Walnut seems to be breezing its way into existence with no opposition. 

Even more astonishing, West Philadelphia office space is now higher than Center City's central business district.

Although FMC's name will be on the tower at 30th and Market, the district's universities are behind the district's growth. The current economic climate has driven the region's academic expansion architecturally rivaling the building boom of the early 2000s.

University City's growth is creating an exciting, new Philadelphia skyline. Perhaps part of the appeal driving up rents its more manageable infrastructure.

Philadelphia, unlike New York or more expensive, densely packed cities, is not devoid

of developable land. Most current development is taking place outside Center City. While new University City and North Broad Street projects are being developed with urbanism in mind, they lack the parking and traffic issues that impact Center City but also sit near major public transportation hubs.
With easy parking, University City provides Philadelphia with all the benefits of a new city like Atlanta or Charlotte but at the same time, provides extensive transportation opportunities.

The new developments will ultimately turn University City's corridors into an extension of Center City with all of its demons and realities, but for the time being, it's attractive to new business.

The bonus in all of this is that University City is very much part of Philadelphia, and despite the Schuylkill River, is still integrated into the fabric of our core.

While towers continue to pop up around the district, they're being built within an existing pedestrianized infrastructure.

40th and Walnut may not look like the most desirable addresses now, but putting more residents at the edge of the river will bring sidewalk improvements, parks, and bike lanes.

Soon enough, walking from University City to our city's proper core won't be a burden, but a pleasant walk across a beautiful river and a true gateway to Center City.

FMC's Cira Centre South

Finally some truly exciting news for Philadelphia's skyline. Cira Centre South isn't dead. FMC Corp., headquartered at 1745 Market will be moving into 47 stories of new Brandywine real estate at 30th and Walnut.

The 650 foot tower will rival Center City's skyline and include 260 apartments and Penn offices.

For the time being, FMC seems to be going with the design for Pelli Clark Pelli and Bower Lewis Thrower's Cira Centre South.

However Campus Crest changed up the design at 30th and Chestnut with The Grove so it wouldn't be surprising to see FMC bring a new look to the table.

FMC is a chemical company specializing in everything from Lithium to detergent.

With numerous projects throughout University City scraping Philadelphia's sky, FMC is helping challenge City City's centricity.