The Eyesore At 2012 Chestnut Street, i.e., The Old Philadelphia Housing Authority HQ, Is FINALLY Going To Go Away

The former PHA building has been a blight on Chestnut Street for well over a decade.

Residents at the high-rise luxury 2116 Chestnut Street Apartments building have long moaned about the 2000 block of Chestnut street. In between residential-focused businesses such as restaurants and nail salons is the old Philadelphia Housing Authority building and a few other long-vacant businesses.

Back in 2019 the PHA moved from four separate locations to a $45M new headquarters in Sharswood. OCF Realty reports that Philly-based architecture firm JKRP is now leading a redesign of a luxury residential high-rise building that will include street-level retail. And affordable units aka “workhouse units,” because, tax breaks (we’re assuming).

In this area of Rittenhouse there are fewer places to create high-rise buildings so this is great news. Unfortunately, it will take a while – demolition has even’t begun, as you can see in the photo. And yes, those are Teletubbies that someone painted on the facade 😂.