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PHILADELPHIA | Arthaus - 311 South Broad Street | 173m | 567ft | 47 fl | T/O

32K views 84 replies 18 participants last post by  hkskyline 
#1 · (Edited)


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Philadelphia Int’l Records Out, 40-Story Hotel-Condo In At Broad & Spruce


Development about to take the Soul out of South Broad.

If the lack of the Royal Theater’s redevelopment in the 13 years that Kenny Gamble’s Universal Companies has owned it seems perplexing, imagine how strange South Broad Street will seem if he the very building where he and Leon Huff made musical magic (and millions) with Philadelphia International Records is demolished. Because sources tell Hidden City that will happen under a Dranoff Properties plan to develop a mixed-use, hotel-condo tower on the Southeast corner of Broad and Spruce Streets called Avenue Place. (Natalie Kostelni reported Dranoff’s preliminary plans for a mixed-use tower in the Philadelphia Business Journal last month.)

Multiple sources indicate the 40-story design comes from Kohn Pederson Fox and that au courant hotel brand SLS will anchor the tower. Symphony House II this is not. Two vacant buildings owned by Gamble-affiliated parties would presumably need to be demolished to make way for the project.

301-309 South Broad Street, home of the offices and studio of Philadelphia International Records, has been closed since a fire destroyed most of its interior in February 2010. Officially 1344-52 Spruce Street to the City, it’s owned by the Great Philadelphia Trading Company, the real estate division of Philadelphia International Records. Great Philadelphia Trading purchased the building in 1991, but PIR has kept offices and studios there since 1971. Little historical information exists for the three-story, neoclassical building of brick and limestone trim, but it was likely built in the 1920s. At one time, it featured a wraparound sign on its cornice, and has for years carried a large billboard on its roof. More recently, Utrecht Art Supplies occupied the ground floor space until Dick Blick bought out Utrecht and closed its two Center City stores.

....

A 40-story tower would be the tallest building on South Broad Street by far. (Symphony House, for example, is 31 stories.) It would also nestle very closely with Center City One, the 30-story brutalist tower next door on Spruce Street, built in 1974.

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http://hiddencityphila.org/2013/11/...-out-40-story-hotel-condo-in-at-broad-spruce/
 
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#2 ·
Dranoff talks up tower at Broad & Spruce

Carl Dranoff is still a few weeks short of jawboning everyone he needs to convince so he can confirm detals of the "game-changing project" he says he's preparing for the east side of Broad St. below Spruce in Center City Philadelphia, across from the Kimmel Center. Dranoff says he's already met with city planners; he has a review lined up for the Washington Square West civic association's zoning committee, when he'll unwrap more details; if all goes well, he plans to present the proposal publicly sometime after Dec. 8. Dranoff says there's no historical restrictions on knocking down the former Philadlephia International Records (Gamble & Huff) offices on the site, damaged and empty since a 2010 fire, or a second low-rise across the narrow Cypress St. alley, currently braced to keep it from collapsing.

Phila. Business Journal's Natalie Kostelni wrote about the project back in October, here, and Hidden City Philadelphia's Brad Maule yesterday noted the building is projected at 40 stories, hotel plus apartments, here. This would be the tallest tower on South Broad, though Dranoff won't confirm he's heading that high.

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Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/...road-and-Spruce-plan.html#ZsWUEFyzDxIRdLZb.99

Philadelphia at Night by adaminspired, on Flickr
 
#4 · (Edited)
47-Story Hotel/Condo Building Joining The Philadelphia Skyline


PHILADELPHIA (CBS)–With a big announcement, Philadelphia’s skyline will soon have more company.

A new project on the corner of Broad and Spruce Streets will be the city’s tallest structure built for residential use. “It’s just the center of activity. It really is the center of the city.”

Developer Carl Dranoff is partnering with a Los Angeles based company to construct a 47-story $200 million structure. It will be called the SLS International—a building more than just condos.

Developer Carl Dranoff says, “SLS International will be the tallest building ever built exclusively for residential use in the state of PA.” He adds, “1,600 direct and indirect jobs and probably $11 million, plus in tax revenues to the city.”

Mayor Nutter supports the building saying it keeps the city relevant. “It’s just a further indication that people have confidence in this market place and want to build here.”
 
#5 · (Edited)
It's Official: Dranoff Talks to the Inquirer About His 562 Ft. Hotel & Condo Tower


http://hiddencityphila.org/2013/12/dranoffs-broad-street-skyscraper-its-official-now/

Dranoff noted that the success of the project will depend upon City Council's changing the zoning code: by extending a zoning designation which currently ends at Spruce Street south to Pine,the building will be able to have a larger square footage (relative to how big the lot is).

The building itself will be a mixed-use luxury boutique hotel with 149 guest rooms, six suites, and 125 condos (the condos and hotel will have separate entrances.) Parking, the main concern of all the city's neighbors, is also covered: 220 spaces will be provided for hotel guests and condo residents. SLS International will also house a "double height" glass ballroom, and street level retail, to include a bar/restaurant, and shops. Dranoff said, "Great cities build great buildings", perhaps feeding hopes that it'll be a little different from Dranoff's other project South Broad Tower, Symphony House, (which archicritic Inga Saffron has referred to as "a Frankenstein mix of historical elements", "a clumsy, contemporary fake", "decorated with the padded-shoulder pomposity of the Reagan era", and "like a sequined and over-rouged strumpet").

The architect, A. Eugene Kohn, is a Philly local who attended Central High School and UPenn. The hotel brand, SLS, is known for super trendy designs, and their website states that they like to foster "elements of creativity and community". The man behind SLS Hotels, Sam Nazarian, emphasized that the new hotel on Broad Street would "elevate" the "creativity" that "Philadelphia is already committed to...through the Avenue of the Arts".

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#6 ·
Committee approves zoning changes for new Dranoff hotel on Broad



City Council’s Committee on Rules approved a bill Wednesday that would amend portions of the zoning code to allow developer Carl Dranoff’s SLS International Hotel proposal on South Broad Street to be built by without any additional zoning approvals.

The proposal calls for a 47-story, 567-foot tower with 149 luxury hotel rooms and 123 residential condominiums. It would also include a bar and restaurant at the corner of Broad and Spruce streets, with retail space along Broad Street.

The property currently sits just south of the Center City zoning overlay.

The bill approved on Wednesday, which was introduced by 1st-District Councilman Mark Squilla, would rezone the property from CMX-4 to CMX-5, the most permissive commercial mixed-use classification in the zoning code.

It would also extend the Center City overlay south to include the property, allowing the developer to build to a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of up to 1,600%. Additionally, the bill adjusts regulations related to parking and loading to allow for curb cuts on Spruce Street, and to reduce the requirement for loading spaces.

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#8 · (Edited)
SLS International now fully approved

Carl Dranoff's 590 foot tower on the corner of Broad and Spruce is a go after the Civic Design Review Committee Hearing is now complete. Hailed as an "iconic project" by one committee member, the SLS International's poshness will hopefully be completed in about two years and become SLS Hotels' second residential property.
 
#12 ·
When Will Construction Begin on Dranoff's SLS International?



It's been a little while since we've checked in on Carl Dranoff's SLS International Hotel/Condo on the corner of Broad and Spruce Street. You remember, it's the 590 foot, 47-story tower that will combine a four or five star hotel with uber-luxe condos and an entertainment/restaurant space. A zoning and use permit recently popped up on the property that includes the former Utrect art supply store, Philadelphia International Records and the vacant lot that was at one time the PHS Pop-Up (Beer) Garden in 2013. Cypress Street will also be taken and used as a loading dock. The zoning approval is "for the erection of an atttached structure with terraces and a green roof." As for the use registration, it gives us a glimpse into the specifics regarding the number of hotel and condo units. The permit states there will be 125 "multi-family residences" and 151 "visitor accommodations." It also includes the fun stuff like a "sit-down restaurant," "assembly and entertainment" and, yes, 233 parking spaces. But when will construction begin on this sleek South Broad building?

Details about the demolition of the existing properties and start-date of construction are not yet known. Crews were on site yesterday cleaning the vacant lot that was the PHS Pop-Up (Beer) Garden. What is clear is that this building will be built and, according to Philadelphia Heights, this puppy is going to be one of Philly's most upscale residential properties once complete.






 
#19 ·
The design is alright, though I'd have preferred a setbacked and more vertically oriented design.

But I'm worried about 'em tearing down the old buildings there. They should have at least incorporated the historical facades, that wouldn't have been a problem at all. My dear Philly, where art thou going? :(
 
#20 ·
Are those buildings historically significant? Because architecturally, they look too simple and underwhelming IMO. Not a huge fan of the new building but I'm glad it's going to replace these and not beautiful historic row-houses or larger/more significant buildings, for example. You can't be pushing out developers and investors holding back the city's economic growth just to preserve insignificant buildings that are old.
 
#22 ·
Budget stalemate puts damper on developers' plans for Phila.



Posted: February 24, 2016

The Pennsylvania budget stalemate wreaking havoc on Philadelphia's school and social-service finances could soon claim another victim: the city's expanding skyline.

Officials in Harrisburg are holding back funds from a program aimed at helping transformative redevelopment projects until the eight-month impasse is resolved.

That has forced developers expecting funds from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) to delay - and consider downgrading - their plans for the city.

"We're in the pack with other people," said Carl Dranoff, who applied for $20 million from the program for his SLS Lux hotel and condo project on South Broad Street. "We want to start in the summer, and we're not going to be able to do that unless this money becomes available pretty soon."

Philadelphia projects account for about $460 million of the $1.6 billion requested from the program statewide in 2015. They range from the Gallery at Market East redevelopment to the 3.0 University Place office building in University City, from the Chinatown Community Center mixed-use tower to the Viaduct Rail Park north of Center City.

"The RACP grants are often essential to make the economics of development work for certain kinds of projects," such as hotels and those with big public-space components, said Alan Greenberger, former deputy mayor for economic development and now a senior adviser to consultancy Econsult Solutions Inc.

Jeff Sheridan, a spokesman for Gov. Wolf, said the applications will remain under review "until there is an agreement on current and future revenue plans to fully fund state obligations."

[...]
 
#23 ·
Permits Issued and Activity Happening at Former SLS Hotel Site – 107 Units to Rise

In July of 2018, new use permits were issued with a bunch of changes. The building height was reduced from 607 feet to 542 feet. The hotel portion of the project was slashed and the residential unit count went from 125 to 107. The restaurant space remained in the proposal. The parking count was reduced to 161 and 40 bike spaces were added to the plan. We thought we may see some action before the end of the year, but were disappointed to still observe a stagnant site during the Mummers Parade.

New construction permits were finally issued for the 107 residential unit building in February of 2019. After all of the delays, we were not sure what to think. Was this really going to move forward? Or, was this just another tease?

It looks like we may finally have our answer. Over the last couple of days, we have seen some action on South Broad St. Heavy machinery is on site and a crew was busy doing site prep when we walked by.


 
#24 ·
New Center City 47-story condo tower breaks ground

A 47-story condominium tower across from the Kimmel Center broke ground in Center City Tuesday.

The 36,000 square foot Arthaus, a property by Dranoff Properties designed by Philadelphia-native Eugene Kohn, will house 108 units, a greenhouse, and 4,200 square feet of ground floor retail space at Broad and Spruce streets.


 
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