Murano, the silver bullet of Market Street. Philadelphia developers P&A Properties and Chicago architects Solomon Cordwell Buenz go back, way back to 2002, when they
teamed up to quietly build Philly's tallest residential building, The St James on Washington Square. That building grew before words like
"bubble" and "saturation" and even "kondo krazay" were thrown about. It opened in late spring 2004.
Fast forward a little over two years, though, and the condo market is well past being a secret. Murano takes those condo vocab words and stares them down, letting
its design speak for itself. The 42 story tower will rise 475' above 21st & Market on the former site of Budget Rent A Car. From above, its footprint is like that of
a bullet, flat and flush along 21st Street, with a swooping curve on the west side, where Van Pelt Street will be reintroduced to the grid between Murano's entrance
and the After Six buildling (home to Trader Joe's). Glass is prominently accentuated (and should be particularly attractive at sunset), an homage to the Italian
island it takes its name from.
Murano will have 9,000 sq ft of retail space on its ground floor and its parking will be contained in a separate, standalone structure between the tower and the JFK
Blvd embankment. A private gym and swimming pool will be accessible to residents. The 302 residential units range in size from 1091 sq ft on lower floors to 2626 sq
ft in the penthouse, and from $300k-$3M in price. Completion is expected in third quarter 2007.
A special thank you to Murano's sales staff, P&A Properties and Solomon Cordwell Buenz for use of these images. |
