Residences At The Ritz (Philadelphia)
Encyclopedia
The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton is a luxury residential skyscraper
in Center City
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. At 518 feet (157.9 m), the 48-story skyscraper is the tenth-tallest building in Philadelphia, and the tallest residential tower in the city. The building was erected on the former site of One Meridian Plaza
which was seriously damaged by a deadly fire in 1991. One Meridian Plaza was demolished in 1999 and the property was sold by E/R Partners to the Arden Group the next year. Development of the site by the Arden Group, which owns the adjacent Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia
, was delayed for years as a result of a feud with rival developer Mariner Commercial Properties. Mariner owned the property 1441 Chestnut Street, which sits south of the Residences at The Ritz-Carlton site and intends to build its own residential tower
. The feud began after Arden Group's lead partner Craig Spencer blocked approval of 1441 Chestnut Street because he felt the tower's design would be detrimental to the planned Residences at The Ritz-Carlton tower. This led to several years of dispute between the developers trying to block construction of each others' towers.
After several redesigns, the feud was declared over, and construction on the Residences at The Ritz-Carlton began on May 2, 2006. The blue glass skyscraper opened to residents in January 2009. The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton features 270 condominium
s and penthouses
, which range in price from US$550,000 to US$12 million. The high-rise also features an underground parking garage, a fitness center, a pool, a restaurant owned by chef Eric Ripert
, and a private garden and public plaza called Girard Park.
. In February 1991 One Meridian Plaza was badly damaged by a fire that destroyed eight floors and killed three firefighters. Because of ligation over what to do with the burned skyscraper, it sat vacant for eight years until it was demolished in 1999.
In 2000 the Arden Group settled with One Meridian Plaza's owners E/R Partners to pay more than US$13 million for the site. In 1999 Arden sued E/R Partners for backing out of a deal Arden said it had made with the site owners. E/R Partners had wanted to sell the site to Liberty Property Trust
for a higher amount. Arden had already bought the adjacent Two Mellon Plaza
in 1993. Damaged and vacant since the One Meridian Plaza fire, Two Mellon Plaza was converted into a Ritz-Carlton
hotel in 2000. Also adjacent to the south side of the One Meridian Plaza site is 1441 Chestnut Street. Mariner Commercial Properties bought the property which contained the site of several three-story shops and the eighteen-story Morris Building, all damaged and vacant due to the One Meridian Plaza fire. The buildings were demolished in 2000. The north side of the One Meridian plaza site faces Philadelphia City Hall
across the street. While the One Meridian Plaza site waited for development Arden converted it into an underground parking garage.
asked Arden Group and Mariner Commercial Properties to work together and combine the properties into one building. The two developers briefly held discussions about combining the two sites, but by 2001 no agreement was reached and both developers had decided to move on with their own towers. As they sought to build competing condominium
towers, the relationship between the two developers soon turned into a feud between the firm's lead partners, Craig Spencer of Arden Group and Tim Mahoney of Mariner Commercial Properties. In 2003 Mahoney received permission from the City Zoning Board of Adjustment to build a 50-story residential tower at the 1441 Chestnut Street
site. At the zoning hearing Spencer attempted to block approval by saying the building was too tall and that it would damage his site by blocking views and casting shadows. He also said the tower was "snubbing his nose at the traditional zone of respect around City Hall." Spencer filed a lawsuit to block construction of the building and a Court of Common Pleas
ruled that the Zoning Board erred in approving 1441 Chestnut Street. Mariner appealed the ruling.
In 2004 Spencer and Mahoney announced that the feud was over and that plans for their towers would move forward. Spencer announced that Arden would build a 740 feet (225.6 m), 57-story luxury condominium tower called The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton. The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton would be more than 100 feet (30.5 m) taller than the skyscraper Spencer criticized as too tall in 2003. Spencer said "To develop a world-class building, you need to get people high up in the air."
However the feud quickly restarted as Mahoney criticized the design of The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton's lower floors. The bulky floors were designed to contain a grand ballroom, health club, and 540-car parking garage. Mahoney says the design would unnecessarily lower the values of the condominiums on 21 of the lower floors of his building. Further redesigns to both buildings prevented any condominiums from facing a garage. However the feud continued with lively arguments to block each other plans in courtrooms and Philadelphia city agencies. Chairman of the zoning board, David L. Auspitz, called the feud the "Super Bowl
of zoning battles".
In July 2005, Spencer announced a redesign of The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton shrinking the building from 57 floors to 44 floors. Among the facilities removed in the redesign were the ballroom and some of the parking. Afraid the high-rise would miss the city's hot condominium market, the redesign sidestepped the legal challenges because it would not need special approval by the Zoning Board to exceed a certain height. Mahoney vowed to continue fighting the building saying "If [Spencer] needs so much as a curb-cut
permit, we're going to block it." In March 2009, Mahoney and Spencer reached an agreement that ended all legal challenges between the buildings. Now at 48 stories, The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton was far enough from Mahoney's 1441 Chestnut Street that 1441 Chestnut Street had views of Philadelphia City Hall, while the 58-story 1441 Chestnut Street upper portion was redesigned in a way that allowed views on the south side of The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton.
. By September 2006 one-third of the buildings units had been sold. The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton was topped off
in July 2008, and the high-rise opened for residents on January 13, 2009. The skyscraper was officially dedicated with a ceremony on June 8, 2009.
and designed by Handel Architects the rectangular skyscraper is the tenth tallest building in Philadelphia and is the tallest residential tower in the city. The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton has a blue glass curtain wall
and the east side of the building is pointed allowing views of Philadelphia City Hall. The building features 270 one - three bedroom condominiums and penthouses
that range between 890 square feet (82.7 m²) to 2045 square feet (190 m²). The condominiums and penthouses range in price from US$550,00 to US$12 million.
The building's amenities include hotel services, a fitness club, and a 60 feet (18.3 m) lap pool. The lobby features a restaurant named 10 Arts owned by chef Eric Ripert
, who also owns a condo in the building. Between The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is Girard Park. Girard Park is split into a gated garden for residents and a public space facing the street. A memorial for the three firefighters who died during the One Meridian Plaza fire was unveiled on October 21, 2009. Designed by the Philadelphia Fire Department
, the memorial is located by the building's entrance and contains the firefighters' names on plaques.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
architecture critic Inga Saffron says the glass skyscraper is a "shocking" contrast next to the white marble of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Saffron said she liked the blue glass and that the "angled aluminum cap over the first floor is an especially sleek finish, and ties nicely into the aluminum bands that organize the facade into horizontals and verticals." Her negative opinions of the building included the public space of Girard Park which she describe as a "barren, virtually unusable piece of concrete".
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
in Center City
Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. At 518 feet (157.9 m), the 48-story skyscraper is the tenth-tallest building in Philadelphia, and the tallest residential tower in the city. The building was erected on the former site of One Meridian Plaza
One Meridian Plaza
One Meridian Plaza was a 38-story high-rise office building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The tower was designed by Vincent Kling & Associates and completed in 1972. The building was demolished in 1999 as a result of damage of a fire that began on February 23, 1991...
which was seriously damaged by a deadly fire in 1991. One Meridian Plaza was demolished in 1999 and the property was sold by E/R Partners to the Arden Group the next year. Development of the site by the Arden Group, which owns the adjacent Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia
The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia
The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia is a 394 feet 30-storey skyscraper located south of City Hall in the Center City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1930-1931 as the Girard Trust Building. The tower was actually an addition to a domed low-rise building which was constructed in 1908. It...
, was delayed for years as a result of a feud with rival developer Mariner Commercial Properties. Mariner owned the property 1441 Chestnut Street, which sits south of the Residences at The Ritz-Carlton site and intends to build its own residential tower
Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Philadelphia
Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Philadelphia was a proposed skyscraper in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The project comprised a /58 floor tower located at 1441 Chestnut Street and was to be completed by Waldorf Astoria Philadelphia by the year 2012...
. The feud began after Arden Group's lead partner Craig Spencer blocked approval of 1441 Chestnut Street because he felt the tower's design would be detrimental to the planned Residences at The Ritz-Carlton tower. This led to several years of dispute between the developers trying to block construction of each others' towers.
After several redesigns, the feud was declared over, and construction on the Residences at The Ritz-Carlton began on May 2, 2006. The blue glass skyscraper opened to residents in January 2009. The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton features 270 condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s and penthouses
Penthouse apartment
A penthouse apartment or penthouse is an apartment that is on one of the highest floors of an apartment building. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features.-History:...
, which range in price from US$550,000 to US$12 million. The high-rise also features an underground parking garage, a fitness center, a pool, a restaurant owned by chef Eric Ripert
Eric Ripert
Eric Ripert is a chef, author and television personality specializing in modern French cuisine and renowned for his work with seafood. His flagship restaurant, Le Bernardin, located in New York City, is routinely ranked among the best restaurants in the world by Restaurant magazine's and S...
, and a private garden and public plaza called Girard Park.
History
The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton stands on the former site of the 38-story One Meridian PlazaOne Meridian Plaza
One Meridian Plaza was a 38-story high-rise office building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The tower was designed by Vincent Kling & Associates and completed in 1972. The building was demolished in 1999 as a result of damage of a fire that began on February 23, 1991...
. In February 1991 One Meridian Plaza was badly damaged by a fire that destroyed eight floors and killed three firefighters. Because of ligation over what to do with the burned skyscraper, it sat vacant for eight years until it was demolished in 1999.
In 2000 the Arden Group settled with One Meridian Plaza's owners E/R Partners to pay more than US$13 million for the site. In 1999 Arden sued E/R Partners for backing out of a deal Arden said it had made with the site owners. E/R Partners had wanted to sell the site to Liberty Property Trust
Liberty Property Trust
Liberty Property Trust , based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, USA is a real estate investment trust. Liberty Property Trust owns over of office and industrial space in 20 markets throughout the United States and the United Kingdom .-History:...
for a higher amount. Arden had already bought the adjacent Two Mellon Plaza
The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia
The Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia is a 394 feet 30-storey skyscraper located south of City Hall in the Center City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1930-1931 as the Girard Trust Building. The tower was actually an addition to a domed low-rise building which was constructed in 1908. It...
in 1993. Damaged and vacant since the One Meridian Plaza fire, Two Mellon Plaza was converted into a Ritz-Carlton
Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton is a brand of luxury hotels and resorts with 75 properties located in major cities and resorts in 24 countries worldwide...
hotel in 2000. Also adjacent to the south side of the One Meridian Plaza site is 1441 Chestnut Street. Mariner Commercial Properties bought the property which contained the site of several three-story shops and the eighteen-story Morris Building, all damaged and vacant due to the One Meridian Plaza fire. The buildings were demolished in 2000. The north side of the One Meridian plaza site faces Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia City Hall is the house of government for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At , including the statue, it is the world's second-tallest masonry building, only shorter than Mole Antonelliana in Turin...
across the street. While the One Meridian Plaza site waited for development Arden converted it into an underground parking garage.
Feud
Looking for a new headquarters ComcastComcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
asked Arden Group and Mariner Commercial Properties to work together and combine the properties into one building. The two developers briefly held discussions about combining the two sites, but by 2001 no agreement was reached and both developers had decided to move on with their own towers. As they sought to build competing condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
towers, the relationship between the two developers soon turned into a feud between the firm's lead partners, Craig Spencer of Arden Group and Tim Mahoney of Mariner Commercial Properties. In 2003 Mahoney received permission from the City Zoning Board of Adjustment to build a 50-story residential tower at the 1441 Chestnut Street
Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Philadelphia
Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Philadelphia was a proposed skyscraper in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The project comprised a /58 floor tower located at 1441 Chestnut Street and was to be completed by Waldorf Astoria Philadelphia by the year 2012...
site. At the zoning hearing Spencer attempted to block approval by saying the building was too tall and that it would damage his site by blocking views and casting shadows. He also said the tower was "snubbing his nose at the traditional zone of respect around City Hall." Spencer filed a lawsuit to block construction of the building and a Court of Common Pleas
Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas
The Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas are the trial courts of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania .The Courts of Common Pleas are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in the state....
ruled that the Zoning Board erred in approving 1441 Chestnut Street. Mariner appealed the ruling.
In 2004 Spencer and Mahoney announced that the feud was over and that plans for their towers would move forward. Spencer announced that Arden would build a 740 feet (225.6 m), 57-story luxury condominium tower called The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton. The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton would be more than 100 feet (30.5 m) taller than the skyscraper Spencer criticized as too tall in 2003. Spencer said "To develop a world-class building, you need to get people high up in the air."
However the feud quickly restarted as Mahoney criticized the design of The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton's lower floors. The bulky floors were designed to contain a grand ballroom, health club, and 540-car parking garage. Mahoney says the design would unnecessarily lower the values of the condominiums on 21 of the lower floors of his building. Further redesigns to both buildings prevented any condominiums from facing a garage. However the feud continued with lively arguments to block each other plans in courtrooms and Philadelphia city agencies. Chairman of the zoning board, David L. Auspitz, called the feud the "Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
of zoning battles".
In July 2005, Spencer announced a redesign of The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton shrinking the building from 57 floors to 44 floors. Among the facilities removed in the redesign were the ballroom and some of the parking. Afraid the high-rise would miss the city's hot condominium market, the redesign sidestepped the legal challenges because it would not need special approval by the Zoning Board to exceed a certain height. Mahoney vowed to continue fighting the building saying "If [Spencer] needs so much as a curb-cut
Curb cut
A curb cut , curb ramp, dropped kerb , pram ramp, or kerb ramp is a solid ramp graded down from the top surface of a sidewalk to the surface of an adjoining street. It is designed for pedestrian uses and commonly found in urban areas where pedestrian activity is expected...
permit, we're going to block it." In March 2009, Mahoney and Spencer reached an agreement that ended all legal challenges between the buildings. Now at 48 stories, The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton was far enough from Mahoney's 1441 Chestnut Street that 1441 Chestnut Street had views of Philadelphia City Hall, while the 58-story 1441 Chestnut Street upper portion was redesigned in a way that allowed views on the south side of The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton.
Construction
Construction began on May 2, 2006 with a ceremony that featured Pennsylvania Governor Ed RendellEd Rendell
Edward Gene "Ed" Rendell is an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003...
. By September 2006 one-third of the buildings units had been sold. The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton was topped off
Topping out
In building construction, topping out is a ceremony held when the last beam is placed at the top of a building. The term may also refer to the overall completion of the building's structure, or an intermediate point, such as when the roof is dried in...
in July 2008, and the high-rise opened for residents on January 13, 2009. The skyscraper was officially dedicated with a ceremony on June 8, 2009.
Building
The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton is a 48-story 518 feet (157.9 m)-tall residential skyscraper owned by the Arden Group and its partners Gencom Group and Colgate Development. Financed through Lehman BrothersLehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...
and designed by Handel Architects the rectangular skyscraper is the tenth tallest building in Philadelphia and is the tallest residential tower in the city. The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton has a blue glass curtain wall
Curtain wall
A curtain wall is an outer covering of a building in which the outer walls are non-structural, but merely keep out the weather. As the curtain wall is non-structural it can be made of a lightweight material reducing construction costs. When glass is used as the curtain wall, a great advantage is...
and the east side of the building is pointed allowing views of Philadelphia City Hall. The building features 270 one - three bedroom condominiums and penthouses
Penthouse apartment
A penthouse apartment or penthouse is an apartment that is on one of the highest floors of an apartment building. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features.-History:...
that range between 890 square feet (82.7 m²) to 2045 square feet (190 m²). The condominiums and penthouses range in price from US$550,00 to US$12 million.
The building's amenities include hotel services, a fitness club, and a 60 feet (18.3 m) lap pool. The lobby features a restaurant named 10 Arts owned by chef Eric Ripert
Eric Ripert
Eric Ripert is a chef, author and television personality specializing in modern French cuisine and renowned for his work with seafood. His flagship restaurant, Le Bernardin, located in New York City, is routinely ranked among the best restaurants in the world by Restaurant magazine's and S...
, who also owns a condo in the building. Between The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is Girard Park. Girard Park is split into a gated garden for residents and a public space facing the street. A memorial for the three firefighters who died during the One Meridian Plaza fire was unveiled on October 21, 2009. Designed by the Philadelphia Fire Department
Philadelphia Fire Department
The Philadelphia Fire Department provides firefighting and Emergency Medical Services within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, the memorial is located by the building's entrance and contains the firefighters' names on plaques.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
architecture critic Inga Saffron says the glass skyscraper is a "shocking" contrast next to the white marble of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Saffron said she liked the blue glass and that the "angled aluminum cap over the first floor is an especially sleek finish, and ties nicely into the aluminum bands that organize the facade into horizontals and verticals." Her negative opinions of the building included the public space of Girard Park which she describe as a "barren, virtually unusable piece of concrete".