Back in December 2022, we were excited to report that 1701 Market St. was in store for a residential conversion by developers Alterra Property Group. Back then, longtime office tenant Morgan Lewis was slated for a move to their new digs at 2222 Market St., so Alterra put the property under agreement with an eye toward repurposing the building. By February, those plans were nixed, leaving the state of this property in the heart of Center City up in the air.

In news that caught us off guard, it seems as if a residential conversion may be back on the table, at least if a recently issued zoning permit is any indication. According to the zoning report, a permit was issued for a conversion to 325 residential units, along with roof deck and amenity improvements. Additionally, plans call for ground floor commercial space, rounding out this mixed-use project that also includes 252 above ground parking spaces already thanks to a somewhat recent upgrade by Parkway. No details are available beyond this, and no recent sales seem to have taken place, so we’re not sure if the current owners are moving ahead with a residential lean, if Parkway might step in for a joint venture situation, if Alterra might be back in the picture, or if some other developer is stepping up to the proverbial plate.

With a LoopNet listing indicating that every single space is available at 1701 Market, we have to believe that something is indeed imminent on the conversion front. And that might be a forward-thinking play, if this recent article from the Philadelphia Business Journal is any indication. With millions of square feet of Center City office space likely to be empty (or greatly downsized) in the next few years, it only makes sense to try to get ahead of the trend. With work from home now a firmly established hallmark of American (and global) work culture, despite the hopes and dreams of Comcast, we suspect we’ll see other office to apartment conversions in downtown Philadelphia come down the pike in the coming years.