Apartment Complex will Transform Logan Square Waterfront
The Schuylkill River waterfront north of Market Street, in the Logan Square neighborhood, has seen several residential developments over the years. It used to be a very industrial area, but is being remade into an upscale residential neighborhood. Still, it hasn’t been as popular or upscale as the waterfront in Rittenhouse/Fitler until recently. One of those developments which exemplifies that growing popularity, and which is likely to take the Logan Square waterfront to a new level of popularity and opulence, is soon to break ground on the west side of the intersection of 23rd and Arch Streets. The site is now an ugly parking lot. This new development is to be called River Walk and it is being developed by PMC Property Group and designed by Gensler Architects.
The new complex will have two apartment towers. The north tower will be 28 stories and will have 291 rental units, 85 parking spaces, and 106 bicycle parking spaces. The south tower will have 32 stories and 321 rental units, 97 parking spaces, and 120 bicycle parking spaces. The entire complex will have 612 apartments, 182 car parking spaces, and 226 bicycle parking spaces and will be almost one million square feet of living, parking, and retail space. The north tower will be closer to the river than the south tower. In between the two towers will be an extension of Arch Street leading to a raised pedestrian plaza facing the river, connected by a bicycle path running along the side of the property facing the river, to Cherry Street to the north. The first floor will have retail spaces at the entrance at Arch Street. The second floor of the north tower will have an expansive supermarket. Parking will be located on the first and third levels of the podium of the towers and will be available for residents and retail customers. The developers insist the floodplain makes it too expensive to put any of the parking underground. The fourth level of the north tower will have amenities overlooking the river and a large plaza to the north. A pedestrian bridge will connect the fourth floor amenities of the north tower to the south tower. The exterior will have glass, balconies with great city and river views, and brick and aluminum panels around the podium.
The first phase of River Walk will be the north tower, which could begin soon now that the developers have approval from all city agencies. The developers plan to start building the south tower after the north tower is complete. Later, the developers plan to build an office tower on an adjacent site along JFK Boulevard and over the SEPTA regional rail tracks just south of River Walk, possibly utilizing space underneath the elevated SEPTA tracks. The developers are, also, helping to fund a new ramp from JFK Boulevard leading to the Schuylkill Banks trail along the river. The development of River Walk helps increase demand for new development in Logan Square and several large sites on Market Street West.
By, Gabriel Gottlieb
