33 N 22nd StCleared to build

A 29-story, 341-unit tower is cleared to build at 33 N 22nd Street in Rittenhouse, one of the larger residential projects set to reshape the neighborhood's northern edge near the Parkway. The high-rise will include accessory amenity spaces and both accessory and non-accessory parking across a 32,739-square-foot site—substantial enough to accommodate the tower's footprint while keeping ground-level programming in play. At that height and density, this one will cast a long shadow down 22nd Street and stand as one of the taller residential additions to the neighborhood in recent years.

The site is held by PMC 33 N 22nd Street Associates, which acquired the property in 2012, well before the current wave of Rittenhouse infill kicked into gear. Zoned CMX-5, the parcel sits in a district that allows considerable height and density by right, and the developer is making full use of it. The scope calls for a 30-story structure—likely 29 occupied floors plus mechanical—built to 2018 IBC standards with full sprinklers and standpipes, signaling a serious, code-compliant ground-up effort rather than a speculative land play.

The project lands in a neighborhood already absorbing a steady flow of new units. Within a half-mile radius, roughly 205 units are in the pipeline or recently delivered, including a 121-unit building at 2012-14 Chestnut and an 84-unit project at 1813 Ranstead. That's a meaningful but not overwhelming addition to Rittenhouse's rental and condo stock, concentrated mostly in mid-rise and high-rise formats that cater to a similar demographic: professionals, downsizers, and investors banking on the neighborhood's enduring appeal.

What this tower demonstrates is that larger assemblages in Rittenhouse—especially those held for nearly a decade—are now penciling out at scale. For other underused sites in the surrounding blocks, particularly surface lots and low-slung commercial buildings, the math is increasingly clear: CMX-5 zoning and stable demand make vertical plays viable, and the window for land banking is closing as construction costs stabilize and financing returns to multifamily projects of this size.