LANCASTER, PA | The Mosaic @ W Vine and S Queen | 244 FT | 20 FLOORS

[mville1]

Willow Valley proposes 20-story, $90M high-rise in downtown Lancaster; would be taller than Griest Building

By: Tim Meekel | LNP

Willow Valley Communities on Monday announced plans to develop a 20-story apartment building in downtown Lancaster, across the street from Southern Market Center.

The 244-foot-high building would be the tallest in Lancaster County, surpassing the 19-floor Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square a block away by 34 feet.

Named Willow Valley Mosaic, with an estimated cost exceeding $90 million, the upscale development would consist of 147 apartments as well as a host of resort-quality amenities for its residents, who would be ages 55 and up.

The city Zoning Hearing Board has allowed the unique height, approving Willow Valley’s request for a variance to go 94 feet above the 150-foot height limit spelled out in the city zoning ordinance.

The CEO declined to disclose the total cost of developing the Mosaic. However, the cost of other high-rise projects suggests the Mosaic’s pricetag would exceed $90 million.

With that total pricetag, Mosaic would represent the largest privately funded investment by a single business in a single downtown project in the city’s history.

https://lancasteronline.com/business...14827363f.html


Architect: Gensler

Building Size: 481,000 Square Feet

Overall I am excited about this project and it is great to hear many of the cities' leaders are enthusiastically supporting it. The design is pretty good. When I heard Willow Valley was planning on constructing the tallest building in Lancaster city, I was concerned about the quality of design given what their current campus looks like in Willow Street.

I am little surprised there appears to be no balconies, but hiring Gensler was a really solid get for Willow Valley and Lancaster. My only real compliant with this project is that it is not expected to be completed until 2025! Here is to hoping this gets built as is

[shakman]

Love Lancaster, PA. Really excited for this.

Sorry. I am glad there are no balconies.

[MN/WI]

Looks nice

[summersm343]

Great project! Lancaster is a great little city, so it's good to see some highrise development love there

Here is the rendering from the article:

[deja vu]

That is pretty incredible for Lancaster. This would make a nice little triangle of "talls" around the city center.

Lancaster really punches above its weight, doesn't it? I love following development trends in cities such as this. How many other US cities of ~60,000 are proposing towers like this? I'm sure being near Philly metro helps, but still - it can't be many.

[mville1]

Smaller resort cities like Coeur d'Alene, Panama City Beach, FL or Orange Beach, AL, have seen several ~190ft or taller buildings proposed or built in the last 15 years.

Other than resort cities, I am not sure if any other examples exist. It is indeed rare for older cities with a population of 60,000 or less to see proposals like this. The new federal courthouse in Harrisburg, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2021, is the only other example I can think of at the moment. I believe it is already topped off at around 215ft.

And the view from Penn Square will look totally different 5 years from now. Hopefully, the proposal by Berger Communities at the corner of W Chestnut and N Queen comes to fruition as well.

[mville1]

Originally Posted by shakman

Love Lancaster, PA. Really excited for this.

Sorry. I am glad there are no balconies.

Balconies can be hit or miss for me. It really depends on how well the balconies are integrated into the design of a building's façade. I was just surprised to see Gensler/Willow Valley not include them in this building given how common they are in today's residential high rise design. Examining this initial rendering, I think balconies would have detracted from the building's overall design in a cheap and tacky way. Although, I am curious to see how the western face of the building is designed.

[mville1]

Willow Valley's proposed 20-story building in downtown Lancaster clears 2 municipal hurdles

By: Tim Mekeel | LNP

By a pair of 6-0 votes, the city Historical Commission recommended that City Council approve the demolition of two empty buildings on the site, formerly used by LNP Media Group, and the construction there of the county’s tallest building.

The 147-unit high-rise at South Queen and West Vine streets, opposite Southern Market Center and the Lancaster County Convention Center, would cost more than $90 million, have about 260 residents and create 100 to 125 jobs.

The 244-foot-high building would be the tallest in Lancaster County, surpassing the 19-floor Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square a block away by 34 feet. However, Vine Street is 27 feet lower than Penn Square, lessening the new structure’s impact on the city skyline. The Griest Building, also on Penn Square, stands 192 feet tall, or 14 floors.

https://lancasteronline.com/business...b4ebd0520.html

Glad to see the Historical Commission giving this project unanimous approval. I would imagine city council will follow suit possibly next month or in April, which fingers crossed means demolition should start by the end of the year.

[SouthCentralPA]

Originally Posted by mville1

Willow Valley's proposed 20-story building in downtown Lancaster clears 2 municipal hurdles

By: Tim Mekeel | LNP



https://lancasteronline.com/business...b4ebd0520.html

Glad to see the Historical Commission giving this project unanimous approval. I would imagine city council will follow suit possibly next month or in April, which fingers crossed means demolition should start by the end of the year.

That's good news! Like you said, hopefully the rest can move quickly so they can start this project this year.

[DetroitSky]

Cool project! What's currently on the site?

[mville1]

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0363...7i16384!8i8192

That is the street view of the main building on the site that will be demolished. I think it was built in the 1950s and is rather forgettable. There is another smaller building known as the Jasper Yeates House (circa 1765) along North Queen Street, which will be preserved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper_Yeates_House

[DetroitSky]

Originally Posted by mville1

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0363...7i16384!8i8192

That is the street view of the main building on the site that will be demolished. I think it was built in the 1950s and is rather forgettable. There is another smaller building known as the Jasper Yeates House (circa 1765) along North Queen Street, which will be preserved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper_Yeates_House

Definitely looks like it’ll be a huge improvement.

[SouthCentralPA]

https://wdac.com/lancaster-city-coun...-of-high-rise/

Found this article from back in March. Looks like City Council gave approval for demolition of the current buildings but it still needs two more city approvals, so no timetable for demolition and construction.

[mville1]

Originally Posted by SouthCentralPA

https://wdac.com/lancaster-city-coun...-of-high-rise/

Found this article from back in March. Looks like City Council gave approval for demolition of the current buildings but it still needs two more city approvals, so no timetable for demolition and construction.

When the project was initially announced back in December of 2020, Willow Valley announced they were not expecting the project to be completed until either the first or second quarter of 2025. With that in mind, I would think demolition will probably start spring of 2022 with excavation and foundation work beginning in the summer or early fall of 2022.

I would imagine the construction timeline is contingent on meeting certain sales goals of having so many units under contract before construction can begin.

[SouthCentralPA]

Originally Posted by mville1

When the project was initially announced back in December of 2020, Willow Valley announced they were not expecting the project to be completed until either the first or second quarter of 2025. With that in mind, I would think demolition will probably start spring of 2022 with excavation and foundation work beginning in the summer or early fall of 2022.

I would imagine the construction timeline is contingent on meeting certain sales goals of having so many units under contract before construction can begin.

That seems to match somewhat closely to this:

https://www.constructionjournal.com/...bc22b7307.html

I didn't know if it was accurate so I didn't initially post it.

[mville1]

Originally Posted by SouthCentralPA

That seems to match somewhat closely to this:

https://www.constructionjournal.com/...bc22b7307.html

I didn't know if it was accurate so I didn't initially post it.

That seems to be accurate from what I have been hearing. I have a source at Willow Valley who is not directly working on the project, but knows some of the people who are. As a result, I periodically get bits and pieces of information. The construction timeline you posted basically matches up with what I have been hearing.

It sounds like most of the major renovation work at the Southern Market, which Willow Valley is spearheading, will be wrapping up by this fall/early winter. It is expected to open to the public this January.

https://southernmarketlancaster.com/

[SouthCentralPA]

Originally Posted by mville1

That seems to be accurate from what I have been hearing. I have a source at Willow Valley who is not directly working on the project, but knows some of the people who are. As a result, I periodically get bits and pieces of information. The construction timeline you posted basically matches up with what I have been hearing.

It sounds like most of the major renovation work at the Southern Market, which Willow Valley is spearheading, will be wrapping up by this fall/early winter. It is expected to open to the public this January.

https://southernmarketlancaster.com/

That's good to hear! I'll have to check out the Southern Market sometime once it opens.

[SouthCentralPA]

Construction of Willow Valley Communities' 20-story downtown building to begin after sales of its apartments

https://lancasteronline.com/business...N_907Qw1j-cJkg

After getting several key approvals, the final plan for Mosaic is still subject to review by the city planning commission, which John Swanson, CEO of Willow Valley Development Corp., said could come in the next several months. Although Willow Valley could soon have the final go-ahead, the earliest construction might start is late this year since Swanson said Willow Valley first wants to get commitments on at least 70% of its units.

“Our process is to sell and then build, not build and then try to sell,” Swanson said.

[chimpskibot]

Originally Posted by SouthCentralPA

Construction of Willow Valley Communities' 20-story downtown building to begin after sales of its apartments

https://lancasteronline.com/business...N_907Qw1j-cJkg

Is there demand for this type of building in lancaster? Lovely city just dont see how it will work out economically? Anyone have insight on the demographics of the city? I had some friends move there, but they have since moved back to ChesCO for work and school.

[SouthCentralPA]

Originally Posted by chimpskibot

Is there demand for this type of building in lancaster? Lovely city just dont see how it will work out economically? Anyone have insight on the demographics of the city? I had some friends move there, but they have since moved back to ChesCO for work and school.

This will be an upscale retirement community. Per this article: https://lancasteronline.com/business...14827363f.html

the upscale development would consist of 147 apartments as well as a host of resort-quality amenities for its residents, who would be ages 55 and up.
...
Mosaic’s spacious apartments, all of them two or three bedrooms, would range in size from 1,600 to 3,300 square feet. Besides the restaurants and stores, amenities would include rooftop gardening and dog-run areas, a wine cellar and tasting room, a ballroom and a small movie theater, among others.
...
As a Willow Valley community, Mosaic would have another popular attribute – residents would have lifecare contracts, Swanson said. Lifecare contracts guarantee that if residents ever need personal care, skilled care or memory care, they get it for their existing monthly fee.

I can't imagine what the price would be to live here but I have to guess it would be a lot! Willow Valley already has a large campus in Lancaster County south of Lancaster City (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wi...!4d-76.2750818).

There are lots of retirement communities in Lancaster County - it was named one of the best places to retire to in the country in some list. Although, I have no idea what the market is for an upscale, urban retirement community! But Willow Valley seems to think there is a market, so I'd wager yes?