500 Walnut Secures Construction Loan, Sees Big-Time Sales

It's been full speed ahead for 500 Walnut since the breaking ground in March.

This is the terrace on the penthouse. | Rendering via 500 Walnut

This is the terrace on the penthouse. | Rendering via 500 Walnut

The classy and glassy high-rise behind Independence Hall has moved yet another step forward. 500 Walnut officially broke ground in March, and construction has been humming along since that time. Now, the project has some major funds to ensure that one of the city’s most anticipated developments is realized.

Commercial Observer reports the Scannapieco Development Corporation officially sealed the deal on a $94.2 million construction loan from Union Labor Life Insurance Company (Ullico) to finance the 500 Walnut project. Ullico also financed the construction at Scannapieco’s first luxury tower, 1706 Rittenhouse.

In May, Ullico announced it would be investing $141 million to jump start construction at the East Market project Ullico and, in a separate announcement, another $87 million in financing for 500 Walnut. The latter became official in early August and will ensure that the project is built with union labor.

With an overall cost of nearly $140 million, 500 Walnut has been one of the most talked about projects in the region. The 26-story glass high-rise will feature 38 luxury condos, but it’s the bi-level penthouse that has become the stuff of legend.

In March, rumors swept through social media that Jay Z and Beyoncé had purchased the penthouse, which is said to be priced at $17.6 million. Though reps from 500 Walnut denied the Jay and Bey story, it sure has kept the penthouse front and center, and not only on the local scene.

In their profile of the yet-to-be-built mega-listing, The Wall Street Journal shed a little more light as to what the space will offer, including four bedrooms, four full and three half baths, two living rooms, a library and a media room. Totaling nearly 9,000-square-feet in all, the penthouse will also boast a 2,500-square-foot private roof terrace overlooking Independence Hall.

All of the hype has made for some big time results. A rep confirmed to Property sales at 500 Walnut have already reached $90 million in contracts and reservations, meaning more than half of the project has been sold since breaking ground in March.

The project is set to be completed in 2017.