High Rise Condominiums (HRCs) can be defined here in Center City Philadelphia as buildings between ten and thirty stories tall. There are a number of options for that buyer here in town- from the existing buildings, to a slew of new construction projects already under way. The primary benefit of an HRC that most buyers will hone in on is security. Generally speaking, a twenty-four hour front door man is on premises to insure some type of buffer between residents and the street. A doorman also helps to take delivery of packages, and someone to make sure that guests are announced prior to arriving at your doorstep. So HRCs with their sense of security are certainly a selling point for many buyers in town. Also, many buyers choose high rises because on the higher floors views can be very nice. For those who travel a great deal, HRC living can be just the ticket as the building does maintain itself regardless of one’s presence. In addition, many HRC buyers see their living situation as being one that is fully managed: from hallway cleaning, to building maintenance, these buyers prefer to have it all done for them. For a price higher condo fee, they see this trade off as a positive benefit.
HRCs tend to have higher condo fees because they have more services. They tend to have the doorman, the elevator, the elevator man, the parking garage, the parking garage attendant, and some even return your videos and walk your dogs. Most of the time, HRCs are -full amenity buildings,- meaning parking, swimming pools, community rooms, ATMs, restaurants, barbershops, drugstores, etc. So the convenience of a high rise certainly makes it attractive for a lot of buyers. A lot of buyers aren’t interested in paying these high condo fees however warranted or justified they may be for the services that the building provides. A number of other buyers may not like the individuality, or the architectural elements or details, in some of the newer high rise buildings. Additionally, sometimes pet policies can keep people out of HRCs, as in most of the big high rises do not allow dogs. High condo fees, lack of individuality, and pet restrictions could be considered drawbacks to HRCs.
Examples of high rises in Center City can be found in two popular squares – Rittenhouse Square and Washington Square – and lately we’ve seen a lot pop up in Old City and the Art Museum area as well. The -newness- is another appeal for buyers in Philadelphia for two reasons: the newness itself, and also because the newer buildings benefit from the ten-year tax abatement. And the newer buildings all seem to be offering available parking with the units (usually at an extra cost). Some high rise buildings are exclusive in nature. Marked by a majority of larger sized units, some of the HRC’s have no studio units and a severely numbered amount of one bedroom units. These buildings have a tendency to be higher priced in nature, and generally in very strong perceived locations. Other HRC’s have a general mix of studio, one and two bedroom units. It should be no surprise that these buildings are generally lower in dollar per square foot prices, and cater to the -masses- as far as unit availability is concerned.
High rise living is very popular with a fair number of condo buyers. And will continue to be attractive as some of our lives become more complicated, mobile, are shared between (for some of us) more than one place where we call -home-.