Former Trump Tower site on Delaware River lists for $12.3M

A 2.13-acre parcel on the Delaware River that was once slated for a tower developed by Donald Trump is now on the market for $12.3 million.

Owners Shovels Ready Projects are offering the land at 709-717 North Penn Street, along with plans for a 41-townhouse development called Pier 53 1/2, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

NakedPhilly first reported about the listing back in November 2015, when for sale signs surrounding the property advertised a $12.5 million price tag. The new Inquirer report now includes a smaller price tag and the townhouse development plans.

Rendering by Cecil Baker + Partners

The offer comes more than a decade after Trump first proposed to build Trump Tower, a 45-story condo-hotel on the pier in 2004. That proposal fizzled when the economic recession hit, and eventually Shovels Ready acquired the property in 2015 and have invested $5.5 million.

Shovels Ready worked with architecture firm Cecil Baker + Partners on the townhouse development plan, which calls for 2,800-square-foot luxury residences. It’s zoned CMX3 and allows development of up to 400,000 square feet. The developer told the Inquirer that it’s a more practical project for the site than a residential tower.

If the future owner of this site goes with the proposed townhouse plan, “the developer of this site will realize a nearly 40 percent return once all 41 town homes are built and sold,” Shovels Ready said in an announcement.

It also stated that multiple developers, including some foreign-based, have expressed interest in the property and are putting together bids.

The site’s location places it within the Delaware River Waterfront’s proposed master plan for Central Delaware, which is essentially a proposed framework that encourages future development that increases accessibility to the waterfront.

Rendering courtesy of DWRC

The for-sale land on North Penn Street is not defined as one of the plan’s priority sites, but it is located next to one: Festival Pier. That said, while developers aren’t required to adhere to the master plan, whoever eventually buys the triangular-shaped property will likely to be encouraged by the plan’s supporters to take the proposed framework into consideration.

• Riverfront site of failed Trump Tower Philadelphia for sale as townhouse project [Inquirer]
• From Trump Tower to Townhomes for Pier 35 1/2? [Naked Philly]
• Pier 35 tract on Delaware River set for development [Inquirer]
• Delaware River Waterfront Master Plan for Central Delaware [DRWC]