Michael Pestronk Oct28

Michael Pestronk

Over the last eight years, Michael and Matthew Pestronk, CEO and President of Post Brothers Apartments, have created a unique brand of Class A apartments for the Philadelphia market. Their latest major project is no exception. Presidential City, a John McShain project built in the early 1950’s that Post Brothers acquired in 2012 for $51 million, needed a fresh start. Updates had never been made to the 1,038 apartment interiors, and as Michael Pestronk says, “it just had not had any love in a really long time.” Kitchens were three decades old, bathrooms dated a half-century back. The first of four apartment towers was delivered this fall and is completely occupied. The $210 million redevelopment project is a complete renovation and reimagining of Presidential City. Each tower will have a unique theme and character, and the former Pool Club is undergoing a transformation to a world class spa and health club. “We’re making something that’s truly world class,” Pestronk says. Read on for more insight on Presidential City. This is a huge project. Can you put the size and scale in context? Pestronk: This is the largest residential development in the city of Philadelphia. Not just in the city proper, but also in the surrounding region. It’s located at the intersection of two of the heaviest trafficked highways in the region. It’s also very physically prominent. John McShain was from Philadelphia and built most of the monuments in Washington, D.C. He originally had a master plan to do 48 towers with something like 20,000 Philadelphia apartments. He built the first four, and eventually sold off the rest of the land. What is the overview of the renovation plan? Pestronk: We are not just renovating, but completely redeveloping. The outside façade of the properties looks...