Murano (skyscraper)

The Murano was announced in 2005 when Philadelphia was experiencing a condominium boom that had begun in the late 1990s;{{cite journal | last=Kostelni | first=Natalie | date=November 11, 2005 | title=Murano will heighten West Market's residential thrust | journal=Philadelphia Business Journal |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2005/11/14/story6.html | access-date=2009-06-30}} between 1998 and 2004 more than 70 Center City office and manufacturing buildings had been converted into rental and condominium apartments.{{cite journal | last=Holcomb | first=Henry J. | date=March 1, 2004 | title=New Philadelphia Apartment Tower Offers Deluxe Addition to City Living | pages=C01 | journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer }} The project was jointly developed by Thomas Properties Group of Los Angeles and P&A Associates of Philadelphia. The planned site of the Murano was on West Market Street in Center City, an area which had not had any residential development until 2002 when 2121 Market Street was converted into apartments. Construction began around the end of 2005.{{cite journal | last=Saffron | first=Inga | date=September 30, 2005 | title=Changing Skylines: Two Condos that Hit the Mark | journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer }}

File:Murano philadelphia construction.jpg

Built by construction firm Turner Construction Company, the US$165 million Murano was completed in 2008 with residents first moving in on June 18. The building was completed with seventy percent of its units sold.{{cite journal | last=Parmley | first=Suzette | date=April 29, 2007 | title=Going Vertical | journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer }}{{cite journal | last=Kostelni | first=Natalie | date=May 25, 2007 | title=Condo project pared | journal=Philadelphia Business Journal |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2007/05/28/story2.html?jst=s_cn_hl | access-date=2009-04-01}}{{cite journal | last=Leach | first=Solomon D. | date=July 2, 2008 | title=Developing Situations: Spreads Luxe Living West | journal=Metro Philadelphia }} As of December 31, 2008, sales on 111 units had been closed and an additional 14 units were under contract of sale.{{cite journal|last=Thomas Properties Group |date=March 29, 2009 |title=Form 10-K |url=http://ir.tpgre.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=178549&p=irol-SECText&TEXT=aHR0cDovL2NjYm4uMTBrd2l6YXJkLmNvbS94bWwvZmlsaW5nLnhtbD9yZXBvPXRlbmsmaXBhZ2U9NjIxOTcyNiZhdHRhY2g9T04mc1hCUkw9MQ%3d%3d |access-date=2009-04-21 }}{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

In 2008 and 2009, the late-2000s recession hurt the condominium market, with citywide sales declining 64 percent and high-end condo sales declining 24 percent.{{cite journal | last=Parmley | first=Suzette | date=June 28, 2009 | title=Economic Realities | journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/classifieds/real_estate/20090628_Economic_Realities.html?viewAll=y |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131141853/http://www.philly.com/philly/classifieds/real_estate/20090628_Economic_Realities.html?viewAll=y |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 31, 2013 | access-date=2009-08-06}} Analysts believed the Murano was overpriced based on the neighborhood, with potential buyers unwilling to take a chance on the developing West Market Street neighborhood during a recession.{{cite journal | last=Heavens | first=Alan J. | date=July 12, 2009 | title=Murano auction fails to spark condo market | journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20090712_Murano_auction_fails_to_spark_condo_market.html | access-date=2009-08-06}} In 2009, Thomas Properties Group was looking to quickly fill up the tower to help pay for condo fees and maintenance costs. On June 27, Thomas Properties Group auctioned off 40 units in the tower. The 40 units went for between US$335,000 and US$796,000, priced at nearly 20 percent less than the units sold before the auction. Thomas Properties Group priced the 137 remaining unsold units according to what similar units went for during the auction.{{cite journal | date=July 18, 2009 | title=Lessons from the Murano Condo Auction in Philadelphia | journal=PR Web |url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/07/prweb2651214.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090722084358/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/07/prweb2651214.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 22, 2009 | access-date=2009-08-04}}

Located at 21st and Market Streets, the 43-story, {{convert|475|ft|m}} Murano is named after Murano, Italy, a town famous for its glass. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and Associates, the Murano has 302 condos that include one to three bedroom condos that range from {{convert|740|sqft|m2|sigfig=2}} to {{convert|2625|sqft|m2|sigfig=2}}. Also included are penthouses that range from {{convert|1660|sqft|m2|sigfig=2}} to {{convert|2625|sqft|m2|sigfig=2}}. The condominiums are designed to be loft-like and each feature a balcony.{{cite journal |last=Ceaser |first=Jennifer |date=March 27, 2007 |title=Ring the Bell: Philly Catches Up With Condo Revolution |journal=New York Post |url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/03292007/realestate/give_me_liberty_realestate_jennifer_ceaser.htm?&page=1 |access-date=2009-04-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090308073541/http://www.nypost.com/seven/03292007/realestate/give_me_liberty_realestate_jennifer_ceaser.htm |archive-date=2009-03-08 }} The curved facade features floor-to-ceiling blue windows separated at intervals by bands of white concrete. The Murano contains {{convert|570000|sqft|m2|sigfig=2}} including {{convert|9000|sqft|m2|sigfig=2}} of ground floor retail space.

Adjacent to the building on 21st Street is a parking garage. The developers planned to put ground level retail in the parking garage but say they were dissuaded by residents who feared the shops would attract the homeless.

Philadelphia Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron praised how the concrete bands break up the glass and "serve as a bridge, linking the Murano visually to its older neighbors". However, she criticized how the building doesn't connect physically to its neighbors, such as lack of access to John F. Kennedy Boulevard and lack of shops on the ground floor of the parking garage. Saffron believed shops in the parking garage would have helped create a connection between West Market Street and the Logan Square neighborhood.{{cite journal|last=Saffron |first=Inga |date=March 20, 2009 |title=Changing Skyline: Brick city accepts glass |journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer |url=http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20090320_Changing_Skyline__Brick_city_accepts_glass.html |access-date=2009-04-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325121830/http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20090320_Changing_Skyline__Brick_city_accepts_glass.html |archive-date=March 25, 2009 }}

• List of tallest buildings in Philadelphia

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• [http://www.themuranocondominium.com/ Murano website]
• [http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=38663 SkyscraperPage]
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070217012245/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=streetmurano-philadelphia-pa-usa Emporis]}}

{{Philadelphia skyscrapers}}

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Category:Market Street (Philadelphia)

Category:Residential buildings completed in 2008

Category:Residential skyscrapers in Philadelphia