Filling in the doughnut: 6 real estate projects set to elevate Center City West
A rendering of the new Morgan Lewis & Bockius headquarters at 2222 Market St.
MIKE CHAWAGA/ROBOTIC IMAGING
By: Paul Schwedelson
Long considered the wasteland of Center City, the area of Philadelphia from 20th Street to the Schuylkill River between Market and Cherry streets is seeing an explosion of new development. Parkway Corp. CEO Rob Zuritsky, whose company is behind several of those projects, equates the explosion of activity along the corridor to filling in the hole in a doughnut. Six new buildings on the western edge of Center City are planned to open in the next few years. They would total more than 1.7 million square feet of new space and represent over $1 billion in investment. The new office and residential buildings are part of a neighborhood on the brink of significant changes. Here are details on each project:
2222 Market St.
Developer: Parkway Corp.
Square footage: 305,000
Price: $200 million
Estimated completion: late summer 2023
The new 19-story Morgan Lewis & Bockius headquarters is the first non-Comcast commercial office building constructed in Philadelphia’s Central Business District in over 30 years.
A rendering shows the future 23-story residential building at 2301 John F. Kennedy Blvd. near the Schuylkill River. SCB
2301 JFK Blvd.
Developer: PMC Property Group
Residential units: 287
Square footage: 334,201
Price: several hundred million dollars, per PMC President Ron Caplan
Estimated completion: mid-to-late 2024
The 23-story building is next to PMC Property Group’s two Riverwalk towers, adding even more residents to the area along the Schuylkill River.
PMC Property Group is building 115 residential units at 23rd and Cherry streets. SCB 139 N. 23rd St. Developer: PMC Property Group Residential units: 115 Square footage: 122,576 Price: undisclosed Estimated completion: spring 2023 PMC Property Group is nearing completion of the four-story residential development at 23rd and Cherry streets, a block north of its Riverwalk towers.
An artist's rendering of a 28-story apartment tower proposed by Parkway Corp. at 21st and Ludlow streets in Center City. ERDY MCHENRY ARCHITECTURE 14 S. 21st St. Developer: Parkway Corp. Residential units: 292 Square footage: 289,152
Price: under $200 million Estimated completion: TBD Across from the Mütter Museum, Parkway is planning to build a 28-story residential tower on the southwest corner of 21st and Ludlow streets.
A rendering of the future Chubb building at 2000 Arch St. It's set to become Chubb's largest North American office. CHUBB
2000 Arch St.
Developer: Parkway Corp.
Square footage: 438,000
Price: $408 million
Estimated completion: 2026
Construction began in early 2023 on an 18-story building for insurance giant Chubb, which will house 3,200 employees, including 1,250 new positions.
A rendering of Breakthrough Properties' proposed life sciences building at 2300 Market St. in Philadelphia. BREAKTHROUGH PROPERTIES/KIERANTIMBERLAKE
2300 Market St.
Developer: Breakthrough Properties
Square footage: 220,000
Price: undisclosed
Estimated completion: 2024
Breakthrough Properties is developing the eight-story life sciences building, adding on top of the existing three- and four-story buildings on the site. Breakthrough is a partnership between real estate firm Tishman Speyer and life sciences investor Bellco Capital.