Pennsport apartment tower secures $150 million construction loan, plans to break ground next year

A 36-story apartment tower planned for 1341 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd. in South Philadelphia has secured a $150 million senior construction loan, New York-based developer Brevet Capital announced Tuesday.

The financing from Mexico City-based Banco Inbursa is an important step for the 620-unit tower project, which is expected to break ground in the first quarter of 2027.

Construction on the project Brevet Capital calls “Wharton Piers” is anticipated to last two years, finishing in the first quarter of 2029.

At a meeting of the Pennsport Civic Association in October, Brevet Capital representatives said that the company hoped to develop two further residential towers on the site, which sits between the Delaware River and the neighborhood. Future high-rises may be taller than the 380-foot tower financed by Banco Inbursa.

“Wharton Piers represents the first phase of a larger master plan that has the potential to support significant additional development over time,” said Mei-Li da Silva Vint, head of Brevet’s real assets group, in a statement.

Brevet declined to comment on what proportion of the project’s total cost would be covered by the loan.

This development site has a long history of ambitious but ultimately unrealized proposals, which makes the construction loan a noteworthy sign of Brevet’s intent.

In 2023, New York-based Silverstein planned a two-tower project. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Maryland-based developer Jeffery Kozero’s K4 Associates presented a 2,000-unit project spanning 10 towers. The K4 plan, in particular, was met with skepticism by neighborhood groups and urban planners.

“We’re happy to see a meaningful development of this property in a way that seems to respect the collective vision for the waterfront,” Patrick Fitzmaurice, president of the Pennsport Civic Association, said of the Brevet Capital project.

In exchange for building taller and denser than the land’s zoning allows, Brevet will pay into the city’s housing trust fund — which supports affordable development — and will repair and maintain the Delaware River Trail down to Reed Street.

Conditions along the bike and pedestrian trail have deteriorated below Washington Avenue, with cracked pavement and unkempt weeds. People have also been camping along the path, and moving between the patchwork of properties owned by different entities to avoid sweeps by the city.

“Our focus is on executing this initial phase to a high standard while creating a vibrant, publicly accessible waterfront,” da Silva Vint’s statement reads.

Most of the current tower proposal’s apartments will be on the smaller side, with half of them one-bedroom units and a further 35% being studios.

For parking, 187 spaces will be located on the third through fifth floors, with space for a further 100 vehicles on a neighboring surface lot.

When the project was presented to the Pennsport Civic Association in October, neighbors called for more parking. But the developer’s representatives noted that many new apartment towers don’t have full garages.

The project will also include 15,000 square feet of amenity space on the fifth floor, including a pool, and a mix of commercial and office space on the ground floor.

A neighboring one-story building will be built with the project, featuring an additional 20,650 square feet of retail space. Brevet representatives told the civic association that the smaller building would serve as a “place holder” for a future tower.

“Closing this financing is an important milestone for the development of Wharton Piers and reflects continued momentum behind a project that we believe will be transformational for Philadelphia’s waterfront,” said Douglas Monticciolo, CEO and founder of Brevet Capital, in a statement.

Brevet Capital has built real estate projects in major markets of Florida, Texas, and California. Wharton Piers would be its first development in Philadelphia.