On the Market: Eurostyle Contemporary Condo on Rittenhouse Square

Comfortable furniture and wood and stone accents lend warmth to what otherwise might have been an austere modernist condo. The skillful blending of elements won the architects who designed these rooms with a view at 202-10 W. Rittenhouse Square #2106-07, Philadelphia, PA 19103 an AIA Award of Merit in 2019. | Photos: Oskar Mikols, OM Media, via Kristen Foote & Co. Compass

Are you one of the millions of people who have really gotten comfortable with working from home?

I mean, “comfortable” as in, “I work in my pajamas and just throw on a shirt and jacket for Zoom meetings”?

Now, does that describe your significant other, also?

Well, then. If this describes the both of you perfectly, or even close enough for jazz, I’m sure you will absolutely love the condo being featured today.

This Rittenhouse Square Eurostyle contemporary condo for sale sits 21 stories above the square itself, in the building that houses The Rittenhouse hotel and condominium.

Front entrance to The Rittenhouse

That building has an interesting history itself: Begun in 1970 by developer Jack Wolgin, who was to Philadelphia in the 1970s what Willard Rouse, Bart Blatstein and Carl Dranoff put together have been to it in the decades since, this 33-story, 314-foot-high tower remained unfinished for more than a decade. Wolgin’s first lender called in its loans after he decided the prime lot on the Square could support a taller building than the apartment house he had originally planned; then, after he found a second bank willing to finance the resumption of work in 1983, that bank also foreclosed two years later, producing a mess of lawsuits and a concrete-and-steel shell hulking over the square.

The developer who bought the lot from Wolgin in 1986 had a much easier time of it, finally completing the building in 1989 as a luxury hotel-condominium complex. Both the hotel and the condominium have done well since they opened. In recent years, however, the owners of many condos at The Rittenhouse have opted to update or even totally make over their units, which had come to resemble 1980s period pieces.

These two units got combined and rebuilt in 2016. No longer period pieces, they now represent the epitome of that mid-century modern, minimalist-yet-comfortable Scandinavian/German aesthetic. This condo, designed by Alfred Dragani and Concetta Martone of Dragoni Martone Studio (dMAS), received an AIA Philadelphia Award of Merit in 2019.

The white, hand-plastered walls make this residence bright and airy by reflecting the abundant natural light that pours through its many windows. Meanwhile, polished stone and wood accents give it warmth.

Foyer

Its foyer opens onto a spacious living room with furniture you will want to sink into. (If that appeals to you, you may want to inquire with the listing agent whether the seller is willing to part with it.)

Kitchen

One side of the living room flows directly into the dining area and kitchen. As befits a modern, open, European-style condo, you will find no formal dining room here. Instead, a dining table that seats four is built into the Angela Pulizzi-designed Poggenpohl kitchen. Its cabinets sparkle from the combination of lacquer and glass and whose Wolf, Sub-Zero and Bosch appliances are as top-drawer as the designer/manufacturer.

And speaking of appliances, its Sub-Zer0 wine fridge, pictured above, holds 175 bottles.

Kitchen seating area and breakfast nook

Beyond the kitchen, a dining counter facing the square seats two, and a breakfast nook next to it seats four more. A second nook next to the breakfast nook could be outfitted for formal dining as well.

A hallway leading past the living room connects the foyer to the condo’s two bedrooms.

Primary bedroom

The primary bedroom is set up to encourage working in your pajamas.

Primary suite home office and sitting area

Primary suite home office

Just roll out of bed, cover up the big-screen TV and head to your respective home offices — it has two.

Primary bathroom

Primary bathroom

It also has two walk-in closets and two bathrooms, one of them featuring a soaking tub and glass wall that let you take in the view of the square.

All those nooks, views and windows come courtesy of the building’s ziggurat-like exterior, a feature that makes it almost unique among Philadelphia high-rises. (“Almost” because after starting this building, Wolgin decided to give the hotel he built at Broad and Locust streets, now the Doubletree, similarly serrated outer walls.)

And since this Rittenhouse Square Eurostyle contemporary condo for sale shares its building with the Rittenhouse Hotel, living in it also lets you use the hotel’s fitness center, spa, pool and Paul Labrecque Salon. It also gives you discounted access to all the hotel’s amenities and services, including housekeeping, room service, laundry service, catering and banquet services. The building also has doorman and concierge service and a chauffeur-driven town car.

And when you feel like going out, some of the finest dining and libations the city has to offer are just an elevator ride away: Lacroix, Scarpetta, the Mary Cassatt Tea Room, the Library Bar and Bar 210. Of course, you can also venture out and enjoy all the other dining, drinking, socializing and shopping options that ring Rittenhouse Square.

Given all this, the two parking spaces that come with this condo seem unnecessary. But I’ll bet that there’s at least one car between the two of you, which means the parking will come in handy. One of the spaces is located in The Rittenhouse Garage across 20th Street.

But given also that you will enjoy not only luxurious modern living but also the services of a four-star hotel here, should you buy this Rittenhouse Square Eurostyle contemporary condo for sale, you may never want to get out of your pajamas, let alone leave the building.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 2

BATHS: 3 full, 1 half

SQUARE FEET: 3,489

SALE PRICE: $4,795,000

OTHER STUFF: The $4,057 monthly condo fee covers maintenance and insurance of the buildings and common areas as well as use of the common facilities and discounted services. Valet parking is also available in the garage for $375 per month. Four years remain on its property tax abatement. This condo is also being offered as a rental for $30,000 per month.

202-10 W. Rittenhouse Square #2106-07, Philadelphia, PA 19103 [Kristen Foote | Kristen Foote & Co. | Compass]