Landmark Garden Court Plaza Recently Renovated
Garden Court Plaza is a landmark and historic highrise apartment tower in the middle of the Garden Court neighborhood of West Philadelphia. It was built in 1928 and was supposed to be the first of four towers, but the others weren’t built because of the Great Depression. The building is fourteen stories tall and stands out in the neighborhood because of its size. Garden Court Plaza has Art Deco styling and was built with a parking garage and the city’s first green roof over the parking deck. Post Brothers has recently purchased the building and is renovating it to reflect its historic character.
The renovated Garden Court Plaza includes a complete renovation of the lobby, revealing a terrazzo floor, marble walls, columns, heating grates, and an original skylight ceiling which had been covered up for decades. Post Brothers added a custom wooden Art Deco front desk with granite counters and brass trim, as well as brass light fixtures, furniture, and new chandeliers to the lobby. The front entrance has a portico that has a vaulted ceiling and new wooden paneling around the new brass heating vents. The back of the lobby has a large picture window facing a courtyard and a dog park. The first floor, also, has a resident lounge with a table and easy chairs and a piano, a package room, a renovated laundry room, and will soon have a sizeable fitness center. The exterior of the building has been enhanced with a new Art Deco brass canopy over the front entrance, new period lighting, and new railings on the Juliet balconies of the second floor. The retail windows and doors have been replaced and the first floor will have new retail around the streets all along 47th and Pine Streets. Already, Reanimator Coffee and Miles Table restaurant have signed up as tenants.
The apartments include one, two, and three bedroom units. The one bedroom units start at $2,095 per month, the two bedroom units start at $3,395 per month, and the three bedroom units start at $2,345 per month. The fully renovated units have oak floors, marble bathroom walls, jacuzzi tubs, marble kitchen countertops, Jenn-Air kitchen appliances and GE microwaves, Blomberg dishwashers, Blomberg washers and dryers, MechoShades window shades, EZ Closet shelving, and electric heat. Some units are being partially renovated, replacing the outdated kitchens and bathrooms.
Garden Court Plaza is a classic West Philadelphia apartment building and it is being renovated to reflect its historic character. It joins other nearby buildings being renovated, such as West Lofts at the former West Philadelphia High School and The Croydon apartments. Even the former Provident Mutual Life Building is being offered to developers after the Philadelphia Police Department started renovating it for their new headquarters, then changed their minds. Garden Court Plaza will continue to be a namesake landmark for the Garden Court neighborhood.
By, Gabriel Gottlieb
