Folks, we know that real estate development news isn’t your top news priority today. But real estate development in Philadelphia doesn’t rest. And while this might not be the talk around the water cooler (real or virtual), we still feel compelled to share news that potentially portends progress on a project we first covered way back in 2020.

Here’s a look at the northeast corner of 19th & Sansom from a few years back. This view would have been pretty much the same a few months back as well.

Now, here’s a look from last week.

You can see, the buildings at 113-119 S. 19th St. have been demolished, as has a one-story building on Sansom Street which was home for several years to Cavanaugh’s Rittenhouse. We told you to expect something like this in anticipation of a sizable development from Pearl Properties. Incidentally, when we last updated you on the project in 2022, we told you to expect that the buildings on 19th Street would disappear but that their facades would remain. That has not occurred as you can clearly see, and we have to imagine that this was due to some combination of structural and/or economic issues. This means that the renderings that we shared before will change somewhat. But here they are, anyway.

Demolition started here a couple months ago and looks like it will be fully wrapped up soon. Per the Inquirer, the new development will be called Harper Square and will pair with the Harper, Pearl’s project just across the street. Surely the developers are hoping that this one will be another MVP (massively valuable property) in their portfolio. The original plans called for 183 units over 49 stories, but it appears that the building will grow a little taller and denser, with plans for 215 units over 54 stories. The Inquirer also indicated that construction is expected to begin at the end of this year and wrap up in 2027.

Assuming no extensions or trades (heaven forbid), Bryce Harper will still have four years left on his contract when this building is finished. We said it when the Harper was built, getting Bryce there for the ribbon cutting would be a major feather in the developer’s cap. Perhaps we’ll see it at Harper Square?