It's been a bit of a slow burn on the southeast corner of 15th & Walnut, where a new building is finally rising after years of planning. We first told you that three buildings on this corner would be demolished back in 2012, and brought you a rendering of the project from Bohlin Cywinski Jackson about a year later.
When we visited the site in May, the old buildings had been demolished for the most part, and a large hole in the ground was all that was left at the site. In the months since, contractors have been hard at work and now the three story steel structure that will make up the building looks like it's approaching completion.
We've known for quite some time that Cheesecake Factory would be coming to the second floor and the rendering above suggests that an LA Fitness and and Top Shop could be coming too. From what we heard several months ago, neither retailer will be coming to this building after all- aside from the Cheesecake Factory we confess we haven't heard anything definite about other tenants. Have you?
And now seems like as good a time as any to reiterate our chief complaint about the project, that we wish it were a bit taller (we wish it were a baller). Considering the location and the footprint, we'd think a bunch of floors of apartments would have worked just fine at this location. On the plus side, even without the height and density, the architecture of the new building will look mighty sweet.