All About the Amenity Floor at 3025 JFK Blvd at Schuylkill Yards | Brandywine Realty Trust

3025 JFK Blvd, the 570,000 square foot mixed-use building dubbed “The West Tower” at Schuylkill Yards, recently reached a monumental milestone as construction moved above its amenity floor. The amenity floor, totaling nearly 30,000 square feet, features fluid indoor and outdoor experiences that will provide convenience and flexibility for both office and life science tenants and residents. Delivering in June 2023, 3025 JFK will add a mix of residential rental units developed in partnership with Gotham, life science and innovation office space, retail, and indoor and outdoor amenities to Schuylkill Yards, Brandywine’s master-planned neighborhood in University City. 

With the concrete pour completed on the amenity floor and construction continuing to progress for the building, we wanted to know more about the design behind 3025 JFK Blvd’s luxury interior and amenity spaces. We chatted with Ximena Rodriguez, Principal and Director of Interior Design at CetraRuddy, to learn more about her and her team’s design and what makes 3025 JFK Blvd’s amenity floor so unique.

Q: In your own words, how would you describe 3025 JFK? What is unique about 3025 JFK from other projects you have worked on?
Ximena: 3025 JFK is a case study in the future of urban living. It’s a fully integrated mixed-use community with residential, life sciences, retail and lifestyle opportunities all in a single building, and as part of Schuylkill Yards, this project really is a city within a city that also happens to be in one of Philadelphia’s most exciting neighborhoods. Being able to experience a vertical community like this within the middle of a dynamic urban environment is the best of both worlds, and it sets 3025 JFK apart.

Q: Were there any moments during the project design process that stand out to you as particularly memorable?
Ximena: One aspect that really stands out is the collaboration with Brandywine, the Gotham Organization, and the other project partners during the design process. Working together to craft a vision for this building—and being able to collaborate effectively even during the pandemic—was very rewarding, and it was particularly exciting and memorable to watch that vision unfold as the amenity program came together. Once we created the initial design for the amenity floor, it was instantly clear this was going to be a special building.

Q: Who do you envision using the amenity floor space? How did you decide what features to include?
Ximena:  We envisioned many different residents using the amenity floor space in a variety of ways over the course of the same day—and we also thought about the experience of an individual resident who might want to engage with the building’s offerings in one way at 9 am, and then in another way at 5 pm. Flexibility is really the key to urban living, so we felt it was essential that every aspect of 3025 JFK should support an adaptable and dynamic lifestyle. 

This approach drove our decisions around what specific features to include on the amenity floor, for example, areas devoted to productivity such as conference and co-working spaces as well as areas devoted to recreation, such as the pool and terrace. But there’s also a continuum between work and play, so we included lounges and other spaces that help residents choose their own experience without feeling locked in to someone else’s decision about how they should use the amenity floor.  Ultimately, the residents at 3025 JFK can feel that they have control over their environment and how they engage with it.

Q: Were there any specific opportunities or challenges you wanted to address through the interior design? What features did you incorporate to address those?
Ximena:  Our homes hold so much potential for supporting our mental and physical wellbeing, so at 3025 JFK Blvd, we really wanted to ensure that the interior design vision prioritized health and wellness, and that every decision we made would contribute in some way to elevating the resident experience. We set a very high baseline by making sure the interiors would be optimized for fresh air intake, filtration, and circulation thanks to state-of-the-art mechanical systems. In a similar vein, we also prioritized access to outdoor space and natural light, both of which are proven to enhance wellbeing.

We think it’s crucial to understand how people are using their homes today, and what they need from their residential communities in order to feel supported in their daily lives. With that in mind, we approached the interior design in a way that reflects an evolving live/work lifestyle with features such as flexible unit layouts and a wide array of collaborative spaces on the amenity floor.

Q: What are some of your personal favorite aspects of the 3025 JFK amenity floor? What are you most excited about?
Ximena: We love how many different ways there are to experience the amenity floor. There are opportunities for passive and active entertainment both indoors and out, as well as for working, for fitness, for making food, for socializing with friends or just being on your own. 3025 JFK’s amenities have been thoughtfully planned and laid out to be exciting, diverse, and flexible. They offer something for everyone, and a bit of everything for someone whose schedule and desire for differing levels of engagement evolves over the course of a given day. 

What I might be most excited about, though, is the pool! It’s a rare treat to get outside and into the water on an upper floor of your apartment building, with skyline views all around.