Managing Construction,
Redefining Luxury

1706 Rittenhouse Square is a 31-story, high-rise condominium, just one block from historic Rittenhouse Square. With only one residential unit per floor, the building has redefined luxury living in Philadelphia. Our firm constructed and fit-out the building on a phased schedule.

The project had complicated logistics that the team managed seamlessly. For example, there was a tower crane servicing the concrete operation, two mast climbing machines installing the podium limestone, a dual construction hoist and new steam service into the building all at the same time. Also, the windows advanced directly under the concrete zone, which included debris nets on the entire perimeter.

Automated Parking Garage

The building is on a small footprint of 6,700sf. Given the high-end residences, parking on site was a must. A solution was developed to build the first and only fully automated parking garage in Philadelphia—one of only four in the world.

Cars are stored in an underground rack system, which is 45ft below grade. The construction of the garage presented significant challenges because it required the excavation of 45ft below grade. This was sensitive due to the required underpinning and bracing of the adjacent historic carriage houses. Additionally, the excavation extended seven feet below the water table, mandating that two dewatering pumps be buried beneath the seven foot thick matt slab to continue dewatering until construction was above grade.