Toll Brothers tweaks facade in new proposal for Jewelers Row tower

After much back-and-forth between Toll Brothers and the Civic Design Review (CDR) over a controversial Jewelers Row tower, the firm has come back with a new design, which brings more glass to the brick-laden street.

The luxury home builders submitted the new design this week ahead of a CDR meeting next month. With the new plan, the home builders seek to iron out some of the issues the design committee had with a previous design, which the CDR deemed “undercooked” at a meeting last month.

The primary change comes with the front of the building, which faces Sansom Street. On the lower levels, where the home builders had previously proposed a brick facade, they now suggest glass instead, imitating the rest of the towering glass structure. They also added several balconies to the front of the tower.

“In response to feedback received from Civic Design Review and other stakeholders, Toll Brothers City Living has submitted a revised design for our 702 Sansom Street project,” wrote Timothy Spreitzer, spokesperson for Toll Brothers City Living.

The changes could be a nod to comments in the meeting last month, during which the CDR criticized the disconnect between the masonry and glass retail podium and the rest of the structure.

Toll Brothers

Apart from these changes, much of the new plan remains the same as the one considered last month—a 24-story glass tower with just over 135,500 square feet of space and 85 condo units, that sits at nearly 300 feet tall. Like before, the new plan still calls for the demolition of four buildings along Jewelers Row and one on 7th Street.

But both proposals differ greatly from the original, which was first proposed just over a year ago, and which called for 29 stories and a combined masonry-and-glass facade that stretched to the top of the entire structure.

Despite the year of tweaks and changes, the CDR and some residents have expressed concerns over Toll Brothers’ decision not to keep the original facades of the Jewelers Row buildings.

The new proposal is scheduled to go before the CDR on April 3.

• February, 2018 design [Toll Brothers]
• CDR tells Toll Brothers to try again [Curbed Philly]
• April, 2018 design [Toll Brothers]
• Toll Brothers reveal design for tower [Curbed Philly]
• Toll Brothers reveal shorter tower [Curbed Philly]