PMC Plans Two New Logan Square Projects

A rendering of the proposed expansion of 1900 Arch Street. The expansion is the slim mass at the back, running parallel to 20th Street.

Philadelphia’s PMC Property Group has been on the move lately. Construction is proceeding quickly on 1900 Arch, an apartment building adjacent to the proposed Comcast Innovation and Technology Center, and the company hopes to break ground later this summer on One Water Street, an apartment building just north of the Ben Franklin Bridge. Now the company is proposing two more new Logan Square projects: an 11-story expansion of 1900 Arch, and a 26-story tower at the corner of 23rd and Cherry streets.

It’s not done yet, but 1900 Arch is already 40 percent pre-leased — better than PMC expected, according to Executive Vice President Jonathan Stavin. The proposed addition would sit on the building’s west side, and would house 55 units, bringing the complex’s total to 303. The addition would include a private courtyard on the first level, as well as a green roof and other sustainable features.

It would fit between the rest of the complex and several older buildings on the western end of the block, and run all the way down the site from Arch to Cuthbert. The architect is Varenhorst of Philadelphia, and the design is of a piece with the rest of the building. A vertical band of glass would visually separate it from the larger 14-story mass covering much of the southern end of the site. Its exterior would be clad with the same metal and stucco panels.

A cross section of 1900 Arch, with the expansion on the right.

PMC is bringing in the project for Civic Design Review on July 1, but that will be advisory only—no changes could be forced. (You can view the project’s application here.) Stavin said PMC hopes to begin construction on the addition by the end of the summer, around the same time the company breaks ground on One Water Street.

Virtually no details of the proposed tower at 23rd and Cherry have been released. But according to the Logan Square Neighborhood Association’s zoning committee, PMC has “decided to move forward with its plans to build a 26-story tower along 23rd street with 15,000 feet of green space.” PMC will likely present the project at the association’s September board meeting.

Stavin declined to comment on the project, saying only that it was “much further in the distance.”

The tower would likely replace the parking lot on the northeast corner of the intersection. The southwest corner is the site of NP International’s proposed River Walk development extravaganza, so there could be some tough competition for apartment tenants if both projects get off the ground.

Judging by PMC’s history, there’s a good chance Varenhorst would be the new tower’s architect. Indeed, we’ve found a mention online of Varenhorst doing work at that site, though it’s very vague.

Images via 1900 Arch’s Civic Design Review application.