Things are shaping up at the redevelopment of the Gallery Mall in Market East. The corner of 9th and Market and surrounding blocks are still major construction zones, but the project has taken the first step in the exterior renovation of the mall: The completion of the nearly 70-foot-tall glass entrance to the future Fashion District Philadelphia.
The glass entrance at 9th and Market finished construction at the end of November 2017 and features 170 panels of glass and reaches more than 66 feet in height. The Fashion District Philadelphia architect JPRA Architects calls it “the Cube” and describes it as the highlight of the whole redevelopment of the more than 40-year-old Gallery Mall.
The Fashion District Philadelphia is expected to open in November 2018, according to developer PREIT and Macerich, and has been prepping folks to expect a new kind of shopping experience on the Market East corridor. Along with flagship stores like H&M, the Fashion District will offer amenities like the food hall Market Eats, as well as a dine-in movie theater.
Until then, watch this timelapse video of Shoemaker and Skanska building the glass cube entrance, caught by EarthCam from April 2017 to November 2017 and whittled down to 37 seconds.