MidAtlantic City Scoop: Construction Starts in Philadelphia

City Scoop: Philadelphia — Total Construction Spending Projected to Decline by Nearly 20% after Last Year’s Dramatic Rise

Lincoln Square, Philadelphia — A nearly 300,000-sq-ft mixed-use development in Philadelphia called Lincoln Square is currently under construction.

*RENDERING COURTESY OF BLT ARCHITECTS*

Keast & Hood is the structural engineer for the $365-million Fashion District Philadelphia project currently under construction.

*PHOTO BY JEFFREY TOTARO, COURTESY OF KEAST & HOOD*

City Grill

Phil Moses
Principal and Vice President
INTECH Construction Inc.

While several multifamily residential projects are under construction in Philadelphia, Moses says that sector has seen a decline from previous years, a trend he expects to continue. Still, the multifamily market accounted for approximately 30% of INTECH’s work in 2017.

INTECH is currently building Lincoln Square on a previously vacant corner at South Broad Street and Washington Avenue. The nearly 300,000-sq-ft mixed-use development will have 322 apartments, 100,000 sq ft of retail and 50,000 sq ft of amenities.

Moses says the residential market is being bolstered by private student housing on or near college campuses. INTECH is building The View - Phase II, a 470,000-sq-ft project adjacent to Temple University’s campus. Valued at $199 million, it will include 984 beds and 30,000 sq ft of retail.

Camden, N.J.’s ongoing revitalization is also benefiting area firms. INTECH completed the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex there in 2016 and is currently building Subaru’s National Service Training Center, which is also based in the city.

Moses expects the K-12, higher education, corporate, health care and hospitality sectors to stay solid into 2019. He adds, “We are busy across a variety of market sectors.”

Firm in Focus

Keast & Hood Structural Engineers
400 Market St., Ste. 1250, Philadelphia
Employees: 32
Founded: 1953
What’s New: Keast & Hood is the structural engineer for the $365-million Fashion District Philadelphia project currently under construction. The work includes a complete renovation of an existing 1.5-million-sq-ft urban mall that encompasses several buildings. Spanning three city blocks, the development will be the “largest cohesive retail project in downtown Philadelphia,” the firm says. The redesign will transform the space from an enclosed, subterranean shopping and transit center into an accessible and light-filled destination for retail and entertainment, the firm says.

Besides its Philadelphia office, Keast & Hood has an office in Charlottesville, Va. The firm, which includes 18 registered engineers, is known for building diagnostics and the preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of historic structures.