A 118-unit apartment tower is proposed for 23rd and Walnut Streets, replacing a Rite Aid

An 118-unit apartment building at 2301-11 Walnut St. received a warm welcome from a city-designated panel of architects and planners at Tuesday’s meeting of the Civic Design Review committee.

The eight-story proposal is slated for land that once housed a suburban-style Rite Aid and its surface parking lot.

The new building would include 46 underground parking spaces, 2,750 square feet of retail on Walnut Street, and 5,675 square feet of amenity space facing an interior courtyard.

The property has long been held by Patriot Development Associates, a company that owns and operates parking facilities throughout Center City.

In 2022, developer Trammel Crow Co., based in Dallas, proposed a 172-unit tower on the site, but the project was scuttled when interest rates began rising sharply.

The new plans show Patriot developing the property themselves. The president of the company, Richard Zeghibe, did not respond to requests for comment.

Philadelphia-based Boxwood Architects is designing the project. The firm is known for high-end restaurant and bar design, as well as multifamily projects.

The architect plans a variety of plant life features, including new street trees, a green roof, and a garden in the courtyard facing Bonsall Street, as well as design detailing on the side of the building.

“We introduced an artistic gesture on Bonsall Street, inspired by the movement of the Schuylkill River, to activate the streetscape and connect the courtyard to the neighborhood through brick screens and sculptural metal railings,” said John Weckerly of Boxwood.

“Gardens and green spaces are situated throughout the project to reduce the heat island effect and create a more welcoming experience for residents and neighbors,” Weckerly said.

The overwhelming majority of the project is comprised of one-bedroom units, with only 13 two-bedrooms.

The proposal does not require any breaks from zoning law, so the developer only had to meet with the local community organization — the Center City Residents Association (CCRA) — in advance of Tuesday’s advisory-only meeting.

“[We] welcome the addition of housing to the neighborhood, additional residents, and retail opportunities for more businesses,” Alex Roederer, head of CCRA’s zoning committee, said at the Tuesday meeting.

He noted that Patriot Development had expanded the bicycle room in response to the neighborhood’s feedback and that the company was considering a Community Benefits Agreement as well. Details are not yet available.

The Civic Design Review committee generally praised the aesthetics of the project and its potential to enliven Walnut Street as it approaches the Schuylkill River.

Multiple street-level businesses in the blocks of Walnut Street leading up to the river have shuttered since 2020.

Some members of the CDR committee encouraged the developer to add more street level commercial space — currently only the Walnut Street side features room for retail — and others urged the architects to bring more definition to the existing street frontage.

Alternatively, they suggested wrapping amenity space, such as a gym, around to Walnut. (Currently, the space faces the courtyard, with residential units lining Sansom and 23rd Streets.)

“I would just love to see how you can … make this more special because right now I’m afraid it’s just a glass surface on the sidewalk,” said Ximena Valle, an architect who chairs the committee. “If they remain empty, which they might, it’s really quite ominous. It would be more of what’s already there” — vacant space.

When asked about specific amenities — beyond a dog park — Weckerly of Boxwood noted that those details have not been fleshed out.

Neither have potential retail offerings, with committee members noting that the current configuration did not appear to have the back-of-house space needed to sustain a restaurant.

However, the committee on the whole praised Boxwood and Patriot Development’s design, a contrast with the reception of Trammell Crow Co.’s project in 2022.

“Sometimes we have developers come in, and they do the absolute minimum to make an apartment, and this is more than that,” said Dan Garofalo, an architect who is the committee’s vice chair.

This is the second major development recently announced this summer on the western edge of Walnut Street. A 372-unit building from PMC Property Group is planned just to the west at 200-10 S. 24th St.

“I was excited to see the project come through. It provides a great opportunity of connecting West Philly and the east side of the Schuylkill,” Valle said. Right now, “I think that pedestrian experience, pre-bridge, heading west is pretty miserable.”