Joseph G. Lichman

Pearl Condominiums

Philadelphia,PA

Building Statistics

Part 1

General Building Data 

Building Name: Pearl Condominiums
Location and Site: 9th and Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 190107
Building Occupant Name:  90 Condominiums Units and 10 Retail units
Occupancy or function type:  The building is a mixed use development housing including retail on the ground floor and apartments on
the upper floors.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Size: 111,570 S.F.
Number of stories above grade: 6

Primary project team:

• Owner - Parkway Corporation
• Architect – Blackney Hayes Architects
• Construction Manager – JJ Deluca Company Inc.
• Structural Engineer – Pennoni Associates Inc.
• Civil Engineer – Valimer Associates, LLP
• Mechanical Engineer – M.P. Hershman, PE, Inc.
• Electrical Engineer – DGW Electrical Engineers, Inc.
• Geotechnical Engineer – David Blackmore and Associates
• Plumbing and Fire Protection – Pan Am Consulting, Inc.

Date of Construction: Start Date : March 30,2006 – Finish Date: October 2007
Actual cost information: $21.5 million dollars
Project Delivery method: Design-bid-build

Architecture

Architecture:  The architecture of Pearl Condominiums can be described as modern and sophisticated. The materials for the
exterior are composed of corrugated metal panels, glass, stucco panels, aluminum storefronts and CMU knee walls and piers
at the ground floor.

Major national model codes:

• International Building Code 2003
• City of  Philadelphia Building Code
• ASTM Standards
• ACI Standards
• AISC Standards
• ASCE Standards

Zoning: C-4 Commercial
Historical requirements:  none
Design Consideration: site location existing above SEPTA commuter rail tunnel

Building Envelope
Wall system:

• At the ground floor the wall is composed of  reinforced Concrete Masonry Units (CMU)
• The areas with Stucco or Metal Panels are composed of the panel vapor barrier, 6” metal studs, insulation and
  Gypsum wall board.
• The glass system is composed of Aluminum frame and glass window used at the storefronts and the residential units
  which also include Aluminum louvers for the thru-wall HVAC unit

Roof System:

•  Main structural support system -  Steel joists at 48” on center
•  Composed of single ply membrane, rigid insulation, steel deck, and gypsum wall board

Part 2

Structural System
The primary support for the foundation is the use of drilled piers. To help distribute the load to the drilled piers the use of grade beams was employed. The slab on grade is 6” reinforced with 6x6 W2.9xW2.9 WWR. The columns in the building are steel HSS tube columns and steel wide flange shapes. There are masonry and concrete piers present on the basement and level one. The load bearing walls are comprised of 8” metal stud at 16” and 12” on center. The floor system for level 2 thru 6 is comprised of a 10” Precast Concrete Plank with a ¾” concrete thick topping. Level two acts as a transfer level, which requires the use of wide flange beam (W36) to be implemented around the area near the Open Entry Drive on the first floor. The Lateral System in the building is comprised of two types: concrete masonry unit shear walls and metal stud shear wall. The concrete masonry unit shear walls are used around the elevator and stairway towers. The metal stud shear walls are composed of 8” metal studs varying in thickness. The main structural element in the roof system is the use of 24” deep steel joists at 48” on center.

Construction Management
Pearl Condominiums was built using Design-Bid-Build process. The projected completion of the project is scheduled for the end of October 2007. The project team spent about a year for analysis of the site for the possible uses and building types to construct. This was the result of the existing SEPTA commuter rail tunnel running below the site.
The previous use for the site was a parking lot. The final decision was made to construct a mixed use development building to the left side of the commuter rail tunnel bearing on deep caissons and a parking lot for the rest of the site.

Electrical/Lighting System
The lighting in the building is primarily fluorescent. The system runs on a 120/208 V, three phase, four wire system from the utility company transformer. The main bus in the building runs off of this system with a maximum amperage of 3000 Amps. Pearl Condominiums has a diesel generator system, which can supply 80 Kilowatts and 100 Kilo volt-amperes for 24 hours.

Mechanical System
The mechanical system for the retail areas consists of Markel HF series heating coil and Skymark Packed Air –Cooled Air Conditioning unit, both systems produce a range of 1200 to 4000 CFM (cubic feet per minute). In apartment units, GE Zoneline terminal AC units is used to produce a maximum of 310 CFM, 14,000 BTU (British thermal unit) cooling capacity and 13,200 BTU heating capacity for each apartment. The corridors of the building are supplied by a two Engineered Air rooftop units produce a minimum of 3500 CFM, 293,000 BTU cooling capacity and 341,000 BTU heating capacity.

Fire Protection
The building is designed with a fire alarm system and a fully automatic sprinkler system, with2 ½” hose connections and control valve assembly at each floor.  The main fire pump is capable of supplying 750 GPM (gallons per minute) with 150 head psi and at the roof level 100 psi. 
The fire ratings are as followed: Consisting of 1 hour rating are the exterior corridors, exterior walls, and the roof system. The 2 hour rating consist of the exterior stairs, interior bearing walls, floor system, structural members, shafts and the elevators.

Transportation
The transportation elements in the building are comprised of two stairways and a elevator, both which have exterior egress. The elevator is located in the center
of the building, while the two stairways are distibuted throughout the building, one to the north and to the south side of the building.