Hidden City architecture critic Jason Lempieri summons the spirit of Frank Furness in this appraisal of Philly’s newest urban forms

Plans to replace the Royal Theater with a 5 story luxury apartment complex and retail space will go before Historical Commission’s Architectural Committee next week. Universal Companies and Dranoff Properties has proposed partial demolition of the historic, African American venue, preserving only the building’s facade

Philadelphia, meet SLS International. With a press conference today at the Kimmel Center, developer Carl Dranoff—and a cast that included architect Gene Kohn, hotelier Sam Nazarian, Councilman Mark Squilla, and Mayor Michael Nutter—officially announced the 47-story hotel-condo tower planned for Broad & Spruce Streets

After a series of South Broad Street developments which have drawn mixed reviews—Symphony House, 777 South Broad, SouthStar Lofts—Dranoff Properties is raising its game by bringing a pedigree architect and a hot hotelier to Broad & Spruce. But for it to happen, Brad Maule reports, a major piece of Philly music history must first be cleared

With an Act 135 petition to give conservatorship to developer Ori Feibush looming and a state grant gone, Universal Companies’ drive to redevelop the Royal Theater has a renewed urgency. Bradley Maule talks with project adviser Carl Dranoff and others about the challenges ahead, after a Monday night public meeting

As proposed, Dranoff Properties’ One Riverside has raised a number of concerns, most notably how it will affect its nearest neighbors, the Schuylkill River Trail and Park and the community garden. Brad Maule considers its impact on the classic Philly skyline view from the South Street Bridge

With the proposed 21-story One Riverside Park, Dranoff Properties has the potential to redeem itself for Symphony House and provide Philadelphia with a 21st Century riverfront architectural icon. Not all Center City residents, however, are very excited about it

Rachel Hildebrandt reminds us what South Broad Street was like before the major projects of the 2000s…not that long ago and yet seemingly erased from memory