Project Overview
Luxury multifamily tower Harper Square will rise 500 feet once constructed, making developer Pearl Properties’ planned tower at 113-19 S. 19th St the tallest apartment rental building in Philadelphia.
PEA, Counterpointe Sustainable Real Estate (CounterpointeSRE), and property owners 19S Partners, LLC & 18 San Partners LLC (managed by Pearl Properties) closed in 2025 on $60 million in C-PACE financing. The assessment covered energy efficiency and water conservation measures for the ground-up construction of Harper Square, providing more than one-third of the luxury development’s total $173 million construction capital stack, alongside $113 million in mortgage financing from Barings.
$60 million
$44,000
Annual energy savings
323 Mt
Annual avoided carbon emissions
Project Details
Overlooking iconic Rittenhouse Square in Center City Philadelphia, the 362,000-square-foot tower will feature 267 luxury apartments alongside 15,000 square feet of lower-floor retail space. The mixed-use skyscraper is designed to integrate high-performance design into Center City’s urban fabric, operating 36% more energy efficient than required by Philadelphia’s building energy code baseline (IECC 2018).
C-PACE funds covered the following building improvements:
- Advanced energy-recovery HVAC systems
- Comprehensive central building automation system (BAS)
- High-performance building envelope insulation and glazing
- High-efficiency interior and exterior LED lighting and controls
- Low-flow plumbing fixtures and water conservation systems
These C-PACE-funded efficiency measures are projected to generate $44,000 in annual utility cost savings and contribute to an annual reduction of 323 metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions over 30 years.