Is a 20-Story Condo High-Rise Back in Play at Broad and Fitzwater?
Rendering of what the 20-story condo high rise | Provided by Anthony Beverley
There’s been an interesting change of plans for the long-vacant lot at 740-48 South Broad Street. Conceptual designs for a tall-ish condo building were posted on the site at Broad and Fitzwater a while back. Then, it morphed into a few projects consisting of 8 single-family homes listed at $1 million (plus) a piece. One such development was dubbed Mona Lisa’s on the Avenue of the Arts.
We had heard that the land was quietly being marketed as a condo high-rise yet again and, earlier this week, Zillow had it listed as “for sale by owner” for $15 million–a price that includes the land, plans for the high rise and its zoning approvals. Lo and behold, we’ve learned that even this information isn’t quite accurate.
Zillow lists Anthony Beverley as the owner of the property. Beverley, who is president of Beverley Strategic Development Group LLC and part of 720 S Broad Street LP (the listed owner of the lot) told Property that the land is actually for sale for $20 million, with all the bells and whistles of before. The listing on Zillow was updated this morning.
So, what’s now in store for the vacant lot on a prime spit of land on South Broad Street?
Beverley said they have approvals for a 20-story high-rise project that would be comprised of 120 luxury condo units–valued at $1 million a piece. The land and plans could be sold outright, or Beverley said the company would be open to a joint venture as well. Although the future of the condo project is up in the air, one thing is certain–the Mona Lisa development is no longer in the picture. “We are not moving forward with the townhomes,” confirmed Beverley.
Earlier plans for the high rise were designed by Coscia Moos Architecture in Center City. Sergio Coscia, principal of the firm, said that it was designed as a modular high-rise building reaching 20-stories in height–one he called the tallest in the county at this point. That’s an important note, as the B2 BKLYN modular high-rise at the former Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn will be the tallest modular building in the entire world, whenever it actually gets completed. Coscia called it a “tight site,” and noted that the modular construction would work well within the physical constraints of the lot, which would allow for the “containers” to be built off site and stacked and locked into place.
The site is zoned CMX-3, and Beverley said that the new owners could use the previous plans or draw up new ones, if that’s what makes sense financially. So hey, if you’ve got an extra $20 million (plus) in your pocket and want to develop a slick-looking high-rise on South Broad Street, give Beverley a call at 215-410-5602.
In the meantime, it looks like some major density is back in play at a key corner of South Broad Street across from Carl Dranoff’s 777 South Broad apartment complex. It will be interesting to see what the final product looks like, if and when something actually gets built. We’ll be sure to keep you posted.
