What do you get when you take a 400,000-square-foot warehouse built in 1918 and turn it into an ultra-modern apartment complex with luxurious office space and top-of-the-line amenities?

The Poplar.

The building was originally constructed over 100 years ago for the Strawbridge & Clothier department store. The renovations are intended to preserve the building’s unique historical character, while also offering contemporary amenities—such as a 10,000-square-foot gym once used by trains to load and ship goods; a music studio; rooftop pool; dog run; and playrooms for children that feature reading nooks, art studios, and soft surface seating. In addition to the tenant amenities, the building includes 50,000 square feet of office space and ground floor retail.

The cornerstone of our design was an approach that seamlessly added these modern conveniences, while successfully retaining the character of the original warehouse. We maintained many of the existing components of the building, such  as exposed concrete and mammoth ceilings, as well as interior walls with large adjoining windows, sheer glass, and marble floors to elicit the structure’s industrial past.