1111-unit residential new construction, zoned CMX5.


A 16-story apartment tower with 1,082 units is under construction at 1001 S Broad Street, cleared to build in August 2021 under the ownership of BW Property Owner LLC. Originally approved for 1,111 units, the project was trimmed slightly in early 2022 alongside broader layout and parking revisions, but it remains one of the largest residential projects in the city by unit count. The development spreads across a 51,948-square-foot lot and employs a dual-construction-type strategy—Type IA for the lower podium levels and Type IB for the residential tower above—with ground-floor commercial shells set aside for future tenants and a leasing office carved out last year.
The CMX5 zoning here is exactly the sort of by-right allowance that makes projects of this scale feasible without rezoning theatrics, and the address sits at the fuzzy seam between Bella Vista and Queen Village, depending on who's drawing the map. The site's footprint and height leverage Broad Street's commercial corridor status, though the immediate surroundings tilt residential and modestly scaled. BW Property Owner LLC acquired the parcel in 2021, the same year approvals came through, suggesting a streamlined acquisition-to-construction timeline.
The tower dwarfs its nearby competition—45 units at 614 S 13th Street is the next-largest within a half-mile, with the rest of the local pipeline ranging from nine to 13 units. Altogether, those smaller projects contribute just 77 units nearby, making this Broad Street development a clear outlier in density and ambition. The sheer scale here reflects confidence in South Broad's rental appetite, but it also raises the stakes for absorption in a submarket that hasn't traditionally seen towers of this magnitude.
For neighboring underused parcels along Broad and the side streets east toward 10th, the tower sets a ceiling—literally and figuratively—for what's achievable under current zoning. Whether similar projects follow depends on whether this one leases up without prolonged vacancies, but the massing and unit count make a strong case that the corridor can support density well beyond the neighborhood's historic grain. The adjustments to layout and unit mix over the past few years suggest the team is calibrating to market realities as they go, a pragmatic approach given the project's outsized risk profile.
📄 View the project's plan drawings (PDF)As this density arrives, InvestPHL is tracking 83 under-built parcels within a half-mile that a developer could still acquire and build — each carrying a builder's max bid. Addresses and figures are members-only.
Unlock the 83 nearby opportunities →Major (8+ unit) new-construction projects filed within a half-mile since 2022 — the density gathering around this site.