Is Something in the Works at the Castleway Tower Lot?

Here’s the lot. | Photo: James Jennings

Crews are on site taking soil samples at the long vacant lot on the 1900 block of Walnut Street. If you’ve been following along for better part of the past decade, it’s the site of the ambitious boutique hotel/condo tower project from Irish developer Castleway Properties.

Could one of our predictions for 2015 soon become a reality?

Previous plans for the site were derailed by the recession in 2008. However, a Center City District report issued in May said that Castleway planned to pursue the hotel/condo project yet again:

The 200,000-square-foot hotel would face Walnut Street between 19th and 20th Streets and behind it, looking over Sansom Street, would be the 350,000-square-foot condominium tower with 150 units…

The condo tower site is currently a surface parking lot between Sansom, Moravian and 20th streets.

We reached out to Jeff Braff, President of the Center City Residents Association, who said that plans “haven’t come to the community yet.” Braff directed us to Castleway’s Southern Land Company’s attorney, Neil Sklaroff of Ballard Spahr LLP. When asked about the soil samples and Castleway’s plans for the property, Sklaroff responded, “nothing that I can discuss at this time.”

02/11/15: This post was updated to reflect that Neil Sklaroff is the attorney for Southern Land Company.