PHILADELPHIA-Opus East has obtained approvals for a 39-story, 292-unit residential condominium at 1919 Market St., which will include 10,000 sf of ground-floor retail. Officials from the Plymouth Meeting-based developer, which is the mid-Atlantic affiliate of Minneapolis-based Opus Group, estimate the all-in cost at $115 million.
The structure, designed in house, contains six indoor parking levels, three of them below ground. Above the garage-level will be an amenity deck that includes a clubroom, business center and health club with an indoor lap pool and an outdoor garden with a pet walk.
"Units will range in size from 700 sf to 1,800 sf," Craig Guers, VP and general manager for the Philadelphia region, tells GlobeSt.com, "and a parking space in the building will be included in the price." He says the firm is targeting "young professionals, who want to live in the city." He acknowledges some concern over the number of condos coming to market here, and says, "we think the timing and pricing of this property are in our favor."
Opus has imposed a pre-sale requirement of 50% on itself before breaking ground. "We think that will be achieved by May/June 2006," Guers says, and completion will follow groundbreaking by two years. Opus acquired the vacant land in March 2003 from a bank that was holding the mortgage. The firm plans to price units between $299,000 and about $800,000.
Philadelphia Management, a minority partner in the project, will select a marketing team for the condo units. As for the retail segment, Guers says there has been interest from grocers, although they generally want a little more space. "Ideally, we'd like an upscale prepared food operation that would stay open in the evening."
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