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BEST REAL ESTATE DEALS 2002
REHAB & RENOVATION WINNER: THE PHOENIX
-Jim Cory
Philadelphia Business Journal
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In the past five years, demand for apartments in Center City has soared, spurring developers to put old buildings – warehouses, factories and offices – to new use. But renovating a warehouse and renovating, say, a 20 story 1920’s office tower are not the same process.
Michael Prifty, an architect at Bower Lewis Thrower, points out that rehabbing office buildings is, in some ways easier than turning warehouse or industrial space into apartments. Buildings such as the former INA headquarters at 16 th and Arch Streets were well-maintained.
“The level of structural quality, and interior details, and the condition of the envelope, is usually much higher,” he said
They also have their challenges. Especially when the building is a Philadelphia landmark, and when every aspect of the design requires oversight and approvals to earn the historic preservation tax credits that, as Bower Lewis Thrower puts it, “drive the train.”
Designed by Philadelphia architecture firm Stewardson and Page, and erected in 1925, the INA building exemplifies a style called Georgian Revival. Georgian Revival is characterized by symmetrical composition enriched with classical detail.
INA, the nation’s first publicly traded insurance firm, clearly spared no expense in erecting not just an office building, but a citadel of affluence and taste. Outside, nine-foot eagles on globes – the INA corporate symbol – stand watch. Inside, ornate bronze elevator lobbies, Kubota marble walls and floors, Dorie-columned alcoves and polychrome-coffered ceilings speak to solidity and deep pockets.
INA vacated the 500,000-square foot building in 1989, seven years after it merged with Connecticut General to become Cigna. The building changed hands several times in the ‘90s, and a variety of tenants, including the city, leased space there. In 1998, a developer’s plan to transform the INA building into 50/50 office and residential – with Keating Building Corp. as contractor and Bower Lewis Thrower as architect – came apart when a major tenant pulled out. After a search for partners, Keating Building Corp. became the owner and developer and retained Bower Lewis Thrower to create a new plan in which the building would be primarily luxury apartments, with 60,000 square feet of retail and office space on the first four floors.
The challenge for Bower Lewis Thrower, a leader in adaptive reuse, was to both modernize and restore. The office space on the upper floors could be demolished and rebuilt, since there was little to preserve. But the envelope and portions of the interior, such as lobbies, had to be resolutely respected, preserved, and/or restored.
The architecture company’s team of designers often had to find ways to balance code requirements with those of historic restoration. For instance, the parapets surrounding the platform atop the building by themselves did not meet the 42-inch modern code requirement, yet historic preservation dictated that the exterior of the building be left intact. Architects specified attaching slip metal railings that are unobtrusive and satisfy requirements. Many such details had to be worked out.
“There’s the program for the building, and the dollars to build it,” said Graves. “Add to that the historic requirements and the multiple reviews.”
With renovations nearly complete, the building is 44 percent rented according to Dennis Martin of Keating Development. He projects 100 percent occupancy by February. The Phoenix offers 267 apartments ranging from studios to two-story townhouse units. With valet parking, 24-hour concierge, a state-of-the-art business center and a decked terrace on the top floor, The Phoenix is the INA building reborn for another purpose.
SHORT OF IT
PROJECT: The Phoenix
ADDRESS: 1600 Arch St.
DESCRIPTION: Conversion of the former Insurance Company of North America office building into luxury apartments
SIZE: 560,000 square feet
COST: $73 million
OWNER/LANDLORD: SAS-1600 Arch St. LP, Bala Cynwyd
DEVELOPER: Keating Development Co., Bala Cynwyd
ARCHITECT: Bower Lewis Thrower Architects, Philadelphia
ENGINEERS: Mark Shulman of Giovanetti-Shulman Associates, Drexel Hill, and Keith Choper of Keating Environmental Management, Exton
PROJECT MANAGER: Keating Building Corp., Bala Cynwyd
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Keating Building Corp., Bala Cynwyd
FINANCIERS: Union Labor Life Insurance Co., Washington D.C.; Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., Philadelphia; Mellon Bank, Philadelphia; Wilmington Trust of Pennsylvania, Villanova; Fleet Bank, Philadelphia
LAW FIRM: Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, Philadelphia
DATE COMPLETED: Work in progress