Condo Tower Becoming a Major Opus
A lot of people in Center City have been anxiously awaiting the final design of Opus East's 38-story condo building at 20th and Market Streets. Opus, a huge national company that builds everything from industrial flex spaces to housing, originally wanted to prop its tower on a nine-story parking podium. Fortunately, the Center City Residents Association stopped that clunky, anti-urban design in its tracks.
Opus, to its credit, went back to the drawing board, and the tower has gone through at least two redesigns. Opus, which is partnering with Philadelphia Management, is scheduled to reveal its latest version at a meeting sponsored by the CCRA on Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. in the Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion at 2110 Chestnut Street. The renderings seem to be a closely guarded secret - not even the CCRA's point people have seen them. But an executive at Opus told Skyline that this version splits the parking garage into two parts: three levels go underground. Three remain above.
It's an improvement, but it probably won't fly with the CCRA, which is in the midst of a wide-ranging neighborhood planning study. Although the CCRA report is far from finished, consultant John Gibbons of Kise Straw & Kolodner, has been a strong advocate for requiring Center City developers to bury their garages.
Craig Guerrs at Opus complains that the existence of underground streams make it technically difficult for his company to construct more than three underground parking floors. Gibbons says that's nonsense, and notes that Opus' neighbor, the Blue Cross tower, has four parking levels below ground. The design of the parking decks is a big concern for the people in Penn Center House on JFK Boulevard. Their windows will be separated only by a narrow alley from the new tower.
I suspect that parking won't be the only thing wrong with Opus' proposed tower. The project is being designed in-house. Judging from the projects shown on the company website, Opus tends to favor clunky, bottom-line designs - more like the stuff on JFK Boulevard than the stylish Murano tower now going up one block west, at 21st and Market Streets. It will be interesting to see what materials the company proposes for the facade of the Philadelphia tower.
Opus, to its credit, went back to the drawing board, and the tower has gone through at least two redesigns. Opus, which is partnering with Philadelphia Management, is scheduled to reveal its latest version at a meeting sponsored by the CCRA on Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. in the Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion at 2110 Chestnut Street. The renderings seem to be a closely guarded secret - not even the CCRA's point people have seen them. But an executive at Opus told Skyline that this version splits the parking garage into two parts: three levels go underground. Three remain above.
It's an improvement, but it probably won't fly with the CCRA, which is in the midst of a wide-ranging neighborhood planning study. Although the CCRA report is far from finished, consultant John Gibbons of Kise Straw & Kolodner, has been a strong advocate for requiring Center City developers to bury their garages.
Craig Guerrs at Opus complains that the existence of underground streams make it technically difficult for his company to construct more than three underground parking floors. Gibbons says that's nonsense, and notes that Opus' neighbor, the Blue Cross tower, has four parking levels below ground. The design of the parking decks is a big concern for the people in Penn Center House on JFK Boulevard. Their windows will be separated only by a narrow alley from the new tower.
I suspect that parking won't be the only thing wrong with Opus' proposed tower. The project is being designed in-house. Judging from the projects shown on the company website, Opus tends to favor clunky, bottom-line designs - more like the stuff on JFK Boulevard than the stylish Murano tower now going up one block west, at 21st and Market Streets. It will be interesting to see what materials the company proposes for the facade of the Philadelphia tower.
posted by Inga Saffron at 4:16 PM
2 Comments:
Why oh why oh why doesn't anyone want to get it???? What is most appealing about the core of the city, what adds most to its livability and scale, is the, repeat after me--WALKABILITY. All of these designers are intent on killing that very thing. Is it really the end of the world if everyone doesn't have their very own parking space. What they may find after living in town for a while is that they won't have a need certainly for two cars, and limited need for one car. And, look around, there are probably other solutions, like Share-A-Ride, where you rent a car when you need it. Thank you Inga for shedding such light on this problem that most of our politicians and well-connected developers would prefer to keep in the dark, sort of like a mushroom.
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