Last summer, we gave you the heads up that construction would soon be underway for the first part of Cira Centre South, a new tower on Chestnut Street. At the time, it was predicted that owners Brandywine Realty Trust would be breaking ground in the fall, a timeline that appears was off by only a couple of months. We were in the area the other day and snapped a couple of photos of the site.

Existing garage on Chestnut

Looking down

Lots of dirt moving around

Last week, new specifics emerged about this project, which has been dubbed The Grove at Cira Centre South (hereafter TGACCS). According to Phillydeal$, Brandywine will be partnering with Campus Crest Communities to construct the thirty-three story tower that will ultimately contain units for 850 residents in apartments that start at $1300/mo. The Daily Pennsylvanian posits that the upscale building will generally target grad students and young professionals, and not undergrads due to the location and the price point. The DP also posted some renderings that came from Brandywine, which show a fancy, if perhaps somewhat uninspired structure.

Building from a distance

Retail component on Chestnut, pretty much the same view as above.

Green space on top of the existing garage, we'd imagine. The skyline in the distance looks like Super Mario Bros.

Our opinion of the aesthetics notwithstanding, it’s a wonderful thing to see the Cira project finally continue on its long-planned southern trajectory. For a few years, it appeared as though this would never get built, and it’s a testament to the strength of the residential market in Philadelphia that it’s finally moving forward. When the commercial/office market will be strong enough to support the construction of the final tower on Walnut Street, however, is a question for another day.