What You Should Know

An AI-generated overview of this parcel — zoning context, recent activity, and what matters most for redevelopment.

Zoning & Land Use

Zoning DistrictCMX5 - Center City Core Commercial Mixed-Use

Building TypeOFF BLD W/COM GAR MASONRY

CategoryOFFICES

Year Built1928

Valuation & Sales

Market Value (TY2027)$35,982,000

Last Sale Price$31,615,000

Last Sale DateOctober 14, 2005

Taxable Land$7,196,400

Taxable Building$28,785,600

Homestead ExemptionNone

Physical Characteristics

Total Lot Area24,880 sq ft

Livable Area355,036 sq ft

Frontage80 ft

Depth236 ft

Stories22

UnitsN/A

BedroomsN/A

BathroomsN/A

Exterior ConditionAverage

GarageN/A

Ownership

Owner1500 Walnut Acquisition P

Owner 21500 Walnut Enterprises

Political Representation

City Council DistrictN/A

City Council MemberN/A

Ward8

PA House DistrictN/A

PA House RepresentativeN/A

PA Senate DistrictN/A

PA Senate RepresentativeN/A

Congressional DistrictN/A

Congressional RepresentativeN/A

Census Tract8

Activity Timeline

Nearby Activity

Comparable Sales

Two different questions, answered together: what this property is worth as built, and what the land underneath it is worth on its own. Not an appraisal.

Building value

Arm's-length sales of similar nearby homes — prices the structure.

Land value

Vacant-land and teardown sales — prices the lot on its own.

Sale-by-sale detail

Buildable CapacityBeta

CMX-5Commercial Mixed-Use

Zoning Envelope

Max Height: No limit
Lot Coverage: 90%
FAR: 12.0x; 1200%
Max GFA: 298,560 sf
Max Units: 398; FAR-based

Mixed-Income Bonus (§14-702 — Elective, Current Law)

Available if the project provides moderate-income units under §14-702(7). Floor-area track, moderate-income tier; exempt from the §14-702(4) bonus cap (§14-702(4)(i)).

Bonus Floor Area: +74,640 sf; 300% of lot area
With All Bonuses: Max Units: 497; Base 398 + 99 Mixed-Income

What This Lot Can Hold (Current Law)

Option	Units	Floor area	Height	Cost per unit	Rent needed
By right §14-701 base zoning	398	298,560 sf	—	$255k–$272k land $13k–$30k	$1,820–$1,940 1.19×–1.26× area
With the Mixed-Income bonus §14-702 Mixed-Income Housing, moderate-income tier · requires affordable units	497	373,200 sf	—	$252k–$266k land $10k–$24k	$1,850–$1,960 1.20×–1.27× area

Break-even density: Doesn't pencil at any legal density. Even the densest option (with the Mixed-Income bonus, 497 units) needs rents 20%–27% above the area's.

Rent needed vs. what the area pays

By right

$1,820–$1,940 vs $1,540

With the Mixed-Income bonus

$1,850–$1,960 vs $1,540

what a new building here gets LIHTC rent cap, 60% AMI ($1,540) pencils only if land is cheap doesn't

Bars are the monthly rent per market-rate unit each option needs to pencil, from the low to the high end of the land price. The market tick is Zillow's rent for the area with the new-building premium. Zillow rents trail the market and blend all bedroom sizes, while rent needed uses this building's own units, so the comparison is approximate on the market side. Light rows are hypothetical, not current law.

Cost per unit by building height

$341k

$292k

$265k

$276k

$264k

$285k

$280k

$275k

$272k

$269k

$267k

stories

land construction (darker = podium, concrete or steel) soft costs taller than current law allows

4 to 5 stories: +$11k per unit (+4%), where the building becomes podium type and an elevator.
6 to 7 stories: +$21k per unit (+8%), where the building becomes concrete or steel.

The same footprint and unit sizes, one story taller each time, with land at $8,276k for the whole lot (the middle of the range above). Units and floor area scale with stories from the by-right building, so light columns show what a taller building would cost, not what zoning would allow. Planning-level only, like the pro forma.

Land: $5,037,480–$11,514,240 — the city's assessed land value, 0.7×–1.6×, where half of recent lot sales landed against it. The assessment is a fixed share of total value, not a land price; enter a better figure if you have one

Use my land price:

Cost per unit is land, construction and soft costs from the pro forma at each option's units, floor area and construction type, divided by its units. Rent needed is the average monthly rent per market-rate unit for a 6.0% yield on cost, the pro forma's "pencils" line, against what a new building in the area would get (neighborhood rent with the new-building premium, at delivery). On the Mixed-Income option the affordable units stay at their 60% AMI rent. Planning-level only, like the pro forma.

Elective: the project must provide moderate-income units under §14-702(7).

Building Code (IBC Ch. 5)

Construction Type: Type IV-A; mass timber · ~$138/sf base
Stories to Realize FAR: ~14; No height cap — FAR ÷ coverage
Net Realizable Units: 398; 80% net-to-gross vs. 398 gross

Realizing this zoning envelope needs about 14 stories — above the 4-story wood-frame limit — so it requires Type IV-A (noncombustible or mass timber). Zoning permits the density; the building code raises the hard cost to reach it.

Model a specific massing to see the construction type it requires (zoning capacity above is unchanged):

StoriesFloor plate (SF)

By-right capacity based on Philadelphia Zoning Code §14-701. Actual development potential may vary based on overlays, variances, setbacks, parking requirements, and site conditions.Utilization and redevelopment potential data will be available after the next data update.

Bonuses and Policy ScenariosBeta

Toggle a bonus or policy scenario to see how it affects feasibility. Selections here update the Pro Forma card below, including its Excel export. Not law today scenarios are hypothetical only — not something available under current Philadelphia zoning code.

Select a scenario above to compare against the base case

3D Massing

Development Pro FormaBeta

Yield on cost:−Doesn't Pencil10-yr IRR:−Doesn't Pencil

Market data: Citywide submarket

Total Dev Cost

$103.7M

$260,460/unit

Stabilized NOI

$4.8M

Yield on Cost

4.7%

Below 6% threshold

Equity Multiple

1.15x

398 units / Type I/II Concrete/Steel

Revenue

Gross Potential Rent$7.3M

Blended Market Rent (at delivery)$2.56/sf/mo

Effective Gross Income$6.8M

Development Cost

Land & Acquisition$7.4M

Hard Costs$68.7M

Soft Costs$27.5M

Total Development Cost$103.7M

10-yr IRR

1.6%

Below 15% threshold

Cash-on-Cash

2.1%

DSCR

1.18x

Target: 1.20x+

Year 10 NOI

$5.1M

Net Sale Proceeds

$33.2M

at 6.5% cap

LIHTC Screening Beta

4% + Bonds

Screening-level LIHTC feasibility based on the market-rate pro forma above. Not a substitute for a qualified LIHTC consultant.

Income Mix Preset

30/50/60% AMI — strong PHFA scoring

Affordable %

Investor $/Credit

Grants / Subsidies

Receives federal assistanceHOME, CDBG, HOPWA, HTF, project-based vouchers. Triggers §504 (5% accessible + 2% hearing/vision). The credit alone does not.Elevator buildingBrings every unit into Type B scope instead of the ground floor only. Defaulted from the modeled story count.

Prevailing wageApplies once a project receives $100K+ in city financial assistance (e.g. City Gap Financing, the typical LIHTC subsidy source).Land Bank disposition ($1 nominal)Models this parcel as if acquired via the Land Bank at nominal cost — not yet an active City program for LIHTC deals.

9% Annual Credit

$9,438K

$84.9M total equity

4% Annual Credit

$4,195K

$37.8M total equity

Eligible Basis

$104.9M

100.0% applicable

Surplus (9%)

$25.1M

Fully funded

Recommendation

398 units — 4% bond deal is non-competitive (automatic allocation, 25% test per OBBB). Produces $37.8M equity. 9% would produce $84.9M but requires competitive PHFA application and is impractical at this scale.

Income Averaging (IRC §42(g)(1)(C))

Compliant

Avg AMI: 52% (max 60%)

Affordable Units: 398 / 398

Applicable Fraction: 100.0%

Sources of Funds

LIHTC Equity (9%)

$84,939,318

Permanent Debt

$52,506,954

Total Sources$137,446,272

Surplus$25,145,627

Accessibility requirements398 units

Type A (fully adaptable)

IBC §1107.6.2.2.1 — 2% above 20 units

Type B / Fair Housing

IBC §1107.6.2.2.2 — elevator brings all units into scope

398

§504 mobility-accessible

not applied — no federal assistance declared

n/a

§504 hearing / vision

not applied — no federal assistance declared

n/a

QCT/DDA 130% basis boost not yet implemented — check HUD QCT map manually.

100% affordable — eligible for landscape buffer exemption (§14-705(1)), reducing site costs.