Gensler
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Overview

A former corporate tower becomes a light-filled, mixed-use vertical neighborhood, reconnecting Logan Square living, working, and street life.

Location
Client

Opportunity

A substantial existing office tower presented an ambitious opportunity: unlock new value through a flexible mixed-use transformation tailored to contemporary urban life.

PMC Property Group envisioned more than a cosmetic renovation for the former corporate headquarters. The vacant, 24-story tower needed to support residences, offices, retail, and shared amenities within deep floor plates shaped by a central core and structural steel. Its opaque precast façade limited daylight, views, and flexibility, while recessed ground-floor arcades weakened its connection to Logan Square. The challenge was to make the existing structure desirable for new uses today while preserving the ability to adapt its commercial floors over time.

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Why This Matters

  1. 01

    Recover Urban Value

    Repositioning the vacant tower allowed the client to unlock a substantial existing asset while adding housing, commercial space, and neighborhood-serving retail in Center City.

  2. 02

    Make a Downtown Building Livable

    The transformation needed to overcome deep floor plates and limited glazing, creating residences defined by daylight, views, outdoor access, and meaningful shared amenities.

  3. 03

    Preserve Future Choice

    A flexible mixed-use framework protected long-term value by allowing office areas to remain commercially viable or transition into additional residential space as demand changed.

FPO Quote

FPO PersonFPO Role

Solution

A radically adaptive façade unlocked the conversion, reshaping an inward-looking office block into a lighter, more flexible tower calibrated for urban life.

Gensler's redesign uplifts the exterior and lobby spaces, creates 13,000 square feet of street-level retail, and adds a 7,000-square-foot rooftop penthouse space. At the top, the façade pulls inward to shorten residential units and create private balconies. A continuous ninth floor balcony marks the transition from commercial space to homes, while transparent storefronts extend to the sidewalk, replacing dark arcades. Above, former mechanical space becomes a two story amenity pavilion with sweeping city views.

Related Content

600K

Existing tower · sqft

13K

Street-level retail space · sqft

2

Amenity penthouse · stories

Impact

Franklin Tower is a resilient mixed-use asset that converts a former corporate headquarters into housing, commerce, amenities, and renewed street presence.

The project turns a once-insular corporate block into an active Logan Square address, layering homes, storefronts, and shared life into the city.

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What Changed Because of This

  1. 01

    Light-filled City Living

    Floor-to-ceiling glass, operable vents, and private balconies replaced narrow strip windows, bringing daylight, fresh air, and city views into residential life.

  2. 02

    Street-Level Activation

    Street-level retail and transparent storefronts replaced recessed arcades, giving tenants greater visibility while creating a more welcoming relationship with the surrounding neighborhood.

  3. 03

    Shared Life

    Distributed amenity spaces and the rooftop pavilion turned difficult interior and mechanical zones into places for fitness, gathering, work, and outdoor connection.

Robert Fuller

One Franklin Tower offers a proposal to re-engage those buildings and bring them and the areas around them new life.

Robert FullerLifestyle Sector Leader, Principal

FAQ

01

What was Franklin Tower originally designed for?

The tower was constructed around 1980 as an office building and later served as the North American headquarters of pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline.

02

Where is Franklin Tower in Philadelphia, PA?

Franklin Tower Residences is located at 200 North 16th Street in Philadelphia. It is situated in the Logan Square neighborhood of Center City Philadelphia, near 16th and Race Streets.

03

What is Franklin Tower Residences?

Franklin Tower Residences is a 24-story luxury apartment building located at 200 N 16th St in the Logan Square neighborhood of Center City, Philadelphia, PA. It was formerly a concrete office tower (the former GlaxoSmithKline headquarters) that was completely rebranded with a modern, energy-efficient glass façade.

04

What is it like to live at Franklin Tower residences?

The tower includes 550 residences with private balconies and shared amenities, including a two-story rooftop fitness center, kitchen, fireplace lounge, outdoor grilling area, dog park, and flexible gathering spaces.