New 18-Story Office Tower to Replace a Parking Lot at 23rd and Market

Outside of the two Comcast buildings, we have not seen any new office towers rise in the central business district for a long time. The most recent significant office development on west Market St. was Aramark’s new office on the top five floors of 2400 Market St. The whale mural on the riverside building gave way to modern cladding and additional floors for Aramark and the ritzy new Fitler Club at the end of last year.

It looks like west Market St. may finally see another office tower rise. Morgan Lewis, a global law firm headquartered in Philadelphia, announced today that it plans on moving from its 289,432 square foot office at 1701 Market St., where its lease expires in 2021, to a new tower at 2222 Market St. The law firm said it is close to signing a letter of intent to move into the new building.

2222 Market St. is a CMX-4 parcel owned by Parway Corp., a magnate in the Philadelphia parking industry. Parkway Corp. has operated the parcel as a parking lot for as long as we can remember. In March, Parkway Corp. applied for a $5 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant for the tower at 23rd and Market. At that time, we were not sure how serious the proposal was. We have seen other developers in Philadelphia apply for similar grants year after year and never break ground. Now, with an anchor tenant nearly locked up, we are confident that this project will move forward baring any drastic circumstances.

Although this tower will not have a huge impact on the skyline, we are extremely excited to hear about the project. The new office building’s proximity to 30th Street Station will be a huge benefit for employees. We are also pleased to see another parking lot on a prime Center City lot bite the dust. In such a central location, the storage of automobiles is definitely not the highest and best use of land. The development will help make the 2200 block of Market St. more pedestrian-friendly. We look forward to the day that the parking lot across the street in front of the PECO substation is also developed.

UPDATE 7/9/19 – Rendering have been released for the project. We think they look fantastic. The design, completed by Gensler, is unlike anything else we have seen in Philadelphia. The project is estimated to cost more than $175 million. Nearby neighbors have given the plan positive feedback. How do you feel about the project?