One South Broad Street

One South Broad Street, formerly the 28-story headquarters of the Philadelphia National Bank, was built in the early 1930’s and renovated in 1955. The current building owners, JP Morgan, selected Sydness Architects after the successful re-design of Morgan’s Asset Management Headquarters in New York. The owners were seeking to re-position the property in the Philadelphia market. Sydness Architects was commissioned to extensively re-design the base of the building and create a new lobby, which would connect to the neighboring office building. After studying the building, the architects recommended extensive alterations to the existing elevator configuration which allowed a more efficient operation, lower maintenance costs, and more open lobby plan. The exterior is now finished in a warm limestone with a granite water table base, which complements the existing limestone facade. The storefront windows pay respect to the existing tower windows. The building was successfully re-positioned and leased up immediately upon completion of the renovation.