so here we are and doesn't that eagle look lonely uh this is the grand courtyard it's the place that
our grandparents may have taken us to at Christmas time, special occasions in the crystal tea
room. The subject property is such a beloved Philadelphia institution. It's about 115 years
old, 12 stories tall. People of Philadelphia miss this treasure. So why are we here? The proposal
before the board calls for special exception relief, as the vice chair mentioned, to permit
eating and drinking establishments, potentially multiple eating and drinking establishments
within this landmark building. We could anticipate sit-down restaurants, takeout restaurants,
specialty prepared food shops, among other permitted uses. What's really unique about
the property is the vastness of this building, the infrastructure that exists, truly dating back
to john wanamaker who was um he was at the forefront of retail and commerce and rethinking
everything he was the one who came up with actually having price tags on merchandise that
was a novel concept back then um but there is still state-of-the-art loading trash venting
when i was preparing for this i thought there's so many questions that come up normally when
you're talking about restaurant uses of this type and i don't have a lot to say to you because
It's all built in.
It's out of the public eye.
We know that Wanamaker and Macy's and Hex and all the others that were in there after
Wanamaker function quite well with the largest department store in Philadelphia.
function quite well with the largest apartment store in Philadelphia, and this building has
that infrastructure in place. Separate and apart from what we're seeking today, please rest assured
the Crystal Tea Room is continuing. It's active right now. It actually has expanded a little bit.
That is separate from what's before the board today. Again, the zoning allows these types of
uses. But we are seeking to permit other food and beverage uses throughout the building. I'll get
into that a little bit more. We want to be ready for the creative concepts that befit this
property. This would restore life and public access, importantly, to the Wanamaker building,
particularly the grand court and lower floor spaces. But there's also possibility for some
upper floor as well. This would balance, I think, the public-facing commercial with the already
approved residential, which will be primarily the upper floors, as you'll see in a moment.
We really want to get the public back inside these hallowed halls to meet at the Eagle to hear the
grand organ. So here, here's a teaser for you. This is what it could be. This could be a
reimagined space i'm not saying that this is what it will be but it could it could work um
imagine that imagine that uh dining around the eagle uh experiencing the majesty and maybe maybe
you're there for a 7 p.m reservation and maybe the organ plays at 7 30 who knows but we want to have
those options to to come back come back uh to to this landmark landmark property as i mentioned
cmx5 zoning district if it was just cmx5 we wouldn't be here i'd be happy to talk to you
but we wouldn't have to be here uh the center city overlay district is in place the chestnut
and walnut street area west that generates the need as you know for the special exception relief
Notedly, members of the board, the contemplated uses that I've outlined would support the
central district plan's vision of creating, quote, a vibrant mix of uses, end quote, that
provide, quote, an energetic and creative environment for residents, workers, and visitors,
end quote.
There's the notice of refusal.
I've gone over that with you.
What's our proposal?
There are existing vacant former retail spaces throughout this building.
I mean, Wanamaker built the entire building for his temple to retail.
There's a lot of space.
There's fascinating space.
I've toured it several times.
Even when you go in, members of the board, to the back rooms where trades people would only normally see it, the intricate work is amazing.
uh the the moldings and such so this would allow for for those spaces to be used again
um here's a potential stacking plan and you can see uh at the uh we have the floor numbers on
the left and potential uses on the right these are potential i just wanted to give you a sense
So certainly those lower spaces make sense for the public to come in for the connectivity with street life traffic and Philadelphians and our visitors as well.
There's a little room for office space, again, not before the board,
but I want to give you the full picture going up, the residential.
But also towards the top, there are some pretty neat opportunities
for either food or beverage or experiential uses, which is fantastic.
We need the flexibility throughout to make this work.
And I just wanted to give you a few ways to see how the spaces could potentially be divided up.
We're thinking about this.
We're talking locally and nationally with great operators.
We want a mix of local, but also Philadelphia deserves to have the best in the country,
and the Wanamaker Building can be that site.
You could see here a different way that the Grand Court on the left could be used.
And I'm just taking you through a few different concepts.
taking you through a few different concepts.
This is really neat.
If you can imagine walking from either Market or Chestnut
into the Grand Court along the sides,
the design team has envisioned a way
to create individual spaces that don't feel closed in
with the glass and the metal.
It looks like it belongs there forever.
It reminds me of European destinations, grand hotels and things like that with retail shops and tea shops.
I remember stepping into the Ritz Paris, and they have, like, you can only, I can only window shop there, but, like, just to see the amazing places that they have.
And here are some more concepts on how it could be broken up.
We're not proposing any signage.
It's too soon, but we wanted to give you a sense of how to rebrand the Wanamaker and make it work.
And this is just to give you a sense of that.
As Chairman Bergman, you mentioned the project received the unanimous non-opposition of the coordinating RCO, Washington Square West Civic Association.
and council member squilla i can assure you has carefully been reviewing and has been helpful
in helping to reposition this property for which we are grateful the proposal certainly fits in
our opinion into the surrounding neighborhood as evidenced by the neighborhood support
it speaks to the granting of relief being of benefit to the public and within the spirit of
zoning code fully meeting the requirements for certificated relief uh thank you um do you want
to have yes please sure uh connor burke of altara property group is here uh mr burke uh please could
you please state and spell your name first connor burke c-o-n-n-o-r but you swear or affirm to tell
the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. I do. Counsel. Thank you, Mr. Burke. I know that
you've been present with me during the pendency of this hearing before the City of Philadelphia
Zoning Board of Adjustment, correct? Correct. And would you adopt and affirm the testimony
that I've offered as your own? I do. Thank you. Just to clarify, Counsel, he is not a representative
of the owner. He could just do it on behalf of the developer, correct? He is a representative
of the minority uh ownership uh okay yes okay i thought we had clarified before okay maybe
i beg your pardon okay just clarify on the record that's what they are if he can testify to that
just so we make sure yes mr burke have i described altara property groups uh participation in this
project accurately you have thank you thank you council for questions from the board
okay so all right off track but still are we keeping the organ absolutely i should let you
answer mr all right us at the same time we're keeping the organ yeah right okay and there used
to be i think it was there or was that the was there was there uh uh what is it the trains
so i think that's at the i think that's at the please touch museum now the trains that
you run through the trains yeah on in the toy department yeah decades ago i believe it's that
Ah, all right. Okay. So then I guess my other questions, is this historically certified, the building?
And is it just exteriors or are there any interiors that are certified?
The portion, the ground court is protected.
Where the eagle is.
Yes, yes.
All right. So that makes sense. All right. And then...
One of very few in Philadelphia.
Right. Exactly. Yeah. There aren't a lot of interior designations.
Right. Tiffany, parish mural, things like that.
Gotcha. Okay. So when you talk about these eating and drinking establishments through here, the way that the building is kind of, well, chopped up in terms of for shopping.
okay um so you're talking about having some of these on the ground floor but then in other
spaces throughout that's right yes yes it in some ways um
i quickly thinking i mean over the past couple of days it reminded me most of some places in new
York, like Hudson Yards on the Upper West Side, which is which is because it's not the
It's not the Reading Terminal. The Reading Terminal is a beloved institution that we're not competing with. It is more to go into a space and have a option to sit down for an Asian restaurant, to sit down for Philadelphia favorites, and then maybe there's a chocolatier in a prepared food shop that's there as well.
Redding Terminal.
The Redding Terminal is a beloved institution that we're not competing with.
Jean-Georges did it at the Tin Building, which was the old Fulton Street Fish Market in New York, which isn't there anymore, but had that type of feel.
Or like the Boer's Building used to be?
At a higher level, I would respectfully speak.
Okay. But yeah, like that. And even at the, at the, at the Litz building where they used to have the, there was a whole like food court-y kind of place and you could, you could shop.
Yeah, I was going to say, sorry to interrupt.
Sort of in that, sort of in that vein.
Maybe more upscale, but still.
exactly it's more of um think of it as like a for the grand court especially like a four-day
part breakfast lunch dinner maybe after dinner drinks it's the the place that you go to congregate
again where someone says hey meet me for breakfast at Wanamaker or meet me at dinner or there's a
at the Crystal Tea Room rather than running all let's let's meet at the Eagle and let's do let's
do it there so that that's more so stay than just the sort of food stall if that makes sense
understood and then this would be in different parts of the building this is not just on this
what i just described is what's envisioned for the grand court and being worked through there's also
other restaurant that's more called a traditional restaurant um more think of the peripheries of
the building with actual exterior frontage what i just described is actually for the grand court
all right okay thank you other questions yeah i have two questions one i just know having
worked there i was a block away from there for many years um that's a hard corridor for food
businesses so i guess my question to you all is like what is going to be the plan because i don't
think like the use itself is an issue in the building but more so what's the plan to ensure
that, like, it's going to be marketed, it's going to be visible,
because that's not what that building was known for before?
I'm happy to take this one.
I could tell you.
Although I'd love to.
Go ahead.
So the building that's being completely reimagined
in terms of the activity and the life, I think,
between some of the office tenancy or lack of tenancy in the building
over the last really 10 years,
plus the slow fade-out of Macy's business,
I think, frankly, that corner and that building itself wasn't contributing to the vibrancy of the block.
With the addition of the multifamily that's already in process, the reduced but growing occupancy of office tenants,
and then all of this new reinvestment in the retail and food and beverage, the interest is already shown from both national and local users.
So we're working through all of that right now.
I totally hear it, because if you go down Chestnut Street two or three years ago, there might not have been a ton of activity during the day, but that was also when –
There still isn't.
And that was when Macy's was there, and there was an active activity.
It was just at Starbucks.
Exactly.
I mean, Wawa didn't make it, so –
Exactly.
The whole block was.
And then since, what was it, 2024, 2025, just the closed department store.
So a lot of that lack of vibrancy, I'll call it, is actually a root cause of why that building is being repositioned and redeveloped.
And then I think my second question is, because Starbucks was the only sort of food business in the building, I guess it's that and the 7-Eleven, how is trash going to be handled?
Because I think, you know, food trash is very different than retail trash.
So what is the plan for that?
Yeah. So 13th Street has, I always mix up if it's seven or eight, but an entire elevation of loading docks there where there are, I mean, Adam said it earlier, the building was really future proofed by John Wanamaker for all of the base building infrastructure. So there's a plethora of dumpsters and trash staging areas for all of the different uses of the building. That's all contained within the enclosed loading area.
Okay. And then I think my last question is really around like moving people through the building because this is not a corridor that's known for lots of stopping. There's lots of busts and like public transit on the Market Street side. I think what's going to be the plan for, I think, moving people from the street, ride share, cars.
I think moving people from the street, ride share, cars into the building, because even when Macy's was there, that was not the best transition.
And it's a pretty crowded area at night now.
I mean, there's a lot of street activity because of the bars that have opened up, the 13th Street Corridor, the transition to Midtown Village, and the Gaborhood.
How are you guys planning to accommodate that?
Yeah, Adam, would you mind if we pull up the ground floor plan?
I would be happy to.
So there's really two entrances and paths of travel to get people into, I'll call it the Grand Court in this case.
One is on the west side of the building where, if you think of like the office lobby is today, where people go to Passero's and things like that.
We're recreating the new entry from the west side that gets you right into Grand Court.
From 13th.
From Juniper Square.
Juniper.
Juniper Street.
So that sort of gives you the path and access from, call it the west and the north of the building.
And then on Chestnut Street, there's that arcade concept, we're calling it, where you have this stretch of space to get you into the Grand Court.
Yes, exactly, the entry arcade on the right there.
The second entrance on the west side isn't shown on this plan, but that is what we're creating.
But the larger entrance is also off of Chestnut, where Adam had previously showed this sort of arcade kiosks as you sort of reorienting the entrance.
So, like, instead of the main entrance for most people being on Market Street, you're really trying to push the public to the Chestnut Street entrance and then the residents to the Juniper Street.
So, residence, office, and an option to the Grand Corps will be on Juniper.
And then Market Street will still be retail, but larger format.
Right, but you're going to walk directly, assuming, into that store.
Hopefully, yes, right into the store.
And not leave.
Exactly right.
And not cut through.