The Arthaus high end condo building in on South Broad Street, which has been experiencing slower sales as a result of a shrunken market for very expensive units post-pandemic.Tess Waldman says the community at Arthaus, one of Philadelphia’s ultra-luxury condominiums, is so tight-knit that she’s fairly certain she’s met everyone in the building.
“We see nothing but optimism in the next couple of years,” he said, speaking from a library for residents lined with leather bound books inside Arthaus that looks over the Kimmel Center. “We’re not anticipating any [price] adjustments. We’re in the driver’s seat right now. We have inventory, it’s fully [property tax] abated, and the project is built so we have no additional costs. We just have to wait for the market to wake up.
But the overall picture is not wholly gloomy. Some other top tier downtown buildings have seen stronger sales. “These are historic numbers,” Foote said. “People are getting comfortable with spending that kind of money in the city.” But Tom Bock, president of the group, said it’s hard to generalize about the market. “You’re buying the neighborhood; you’re buying the experience,” said Bock, who owns a unit in the building.
Brian Emmons, a vice president with Southern Land, said the company hedged its bets on the city’s condo market, with the lower half of the tower dedicated for 184 rental units. Those are already over 90% rented.