Earthcam
Close up of Arthaus from my recent render. I’m ok with the design of this building and it bringing mass to the skyline, but I expected more in design from Kohn Penderson Fox
Crane visible from Westville, NJ. Bottom right corner
Earthcam
Dranoff Properties’ $253 million Arthaus condominium development on South Broad Street in Philadelphia marked a construction milestone with the arrival of a crane.
In addition to the construction crane, the 47-story tower’s foundation is being built in preparation for a planned concrete pour in early October. That’s when a convoy of 600 trucks is expected to roam up and down Broad and Spruce streets to fill the mat. By January, Arthaus should be poking up above street level and a topping out expected by next fall.
Progress is being made on the project that was in the early stages of development when Dranoff made its formal announcement in early June.
“The crane goes up when you are done digging down.” said Carl Dranoff.
Arthaus will have 108 condos ranging from $2 million up to $10 million for the penthouse.
The last time Dranoff embarked on the construction of a high-end condo tower was in the spring of 2015 when he broke ground on One Riverside at 225 S. 25th St. in the Fitler Square neighborhood of Philadelphia. That was well into the economic recovery post Great Recession and when few other new, million-dollar plus condos were on the market. A decade into the expansion, there is more competition for Dranoff. High-end condos under development include the Laurel on Rittenhouse Square and 2100 Hamilton along Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
That doesn’t worry Dranoff, who is confident in his timing, location, project scope and target market.
While Dranoff declined to disclose the number of condos sold so far, sales are four times ahead of where One Riverside was at this point in construction, he said. One Riverside ended up having 68 condos after buyers decided to combine units to make them larger.
Dranoff said he went into Arthaus with some potential buyers who saw One Riverside get developed but for various reasons, whether it was location or timing, didn’t buy but now find themselves in the position to move forward.
“There are people who want to be more in Center City and along the Avenue of the Arts,” he said. “There are people who want to walk across the street to a show. There are a group of people who wanted larger units and brand new.”
Arthaus will add to South Broad Street’s growing residential scene. What was once predominantly an office submarket has changed over the last 10 years to become more of residential and entertainment corridor. It started in 2008 when Dranoff completed Symphony House and then added 777 South Broad and South Star Lofts. The Atlantic, which was once an office building is under conversion and Lincoln Square anchors South Broad at Washington Avenue. What was once a dorm for art students at Broad and Chestnut streets is now an apartment building called the Griffin and the Cambria hotel has opened at Broad and Locust streets.
More is on the way. Though Dranoff is focused on Arthaus, he is also working on a development for a site Broad and Pine streets. “We are reimagining that corner,” he said. “We have plans but I can’t say what they are.
