Report: Rental building boom now spreading beyond Center City

In case you haven’t noticed, Center City is booming. Construction sites and soaring cranes are abound, and at last count, more than 4,000 residential units were under construction.

But while much of the building boom in Philly is concentrated in Center City, a new JLL Philadelphia report reveals that the growth of multifamily market is starting to spread to other neighborhoods, including University City, Old City, Brewerytown, and up and down Broad Street.

In University City, there are 598 new rental units in the works for 2017, a clear signifier that the neighborhood’s multifamily market is on the move. This may not come as a surprise, given that University City is home to multiple universities and is the middle of its own skyline rebirth.

Instead, JLL notes that the boom on Broad Street—both North and South—is the real game changer. “If successful in lease-up, the volume of new residents on Broad Street is likely to have a catalytic impact on future development along this corridor.”

Indeed, the Lincoln Square mixed-use development at South Broad and Washington Avenue is on the rise and will deliver 322 apartments next year. Meanwhile, multiple developments are under construction along North Broad, including Hanover North Broad, which is finishing up construction and will bring 339 apartments to the corridor.

Here’s JLL’s snapshot of multifamily market construction, by neighborhood.

Courtesy of JLL Philadelphia

• New construction starts suggest multifamily market momentum spreading out from the core of Center City [JLL Philadelphia]