Permits Filed for Seven Structures at 1602-1614 North Bodine Street in Olde Kensington

Permits have been filed for the construction of seven four-story residential structures at 1602-1614 North Bodine Street in Olde Kensington. Each building will feature a single-vehicle garage and a roof deck. Venco Builders Inc. is the listed contractor and Brett Hartman is the design professional. Both are specified for every structure. The owner listing is missing from house numbers 1602, 1604, and 1606, and Pando Property Group LLC is the listed owner for buildings at numbers 1608, 1610, and 1612.

The complete list for address filings is as follows: 1602 North Bodine Street, 1604 North Bodine Street, 1606 North Bodine Street, 1608 North Bodine Street, 1610 North Bodine Street, 1612 North Bodine Street, and 1614 North Bodine Street.

The buildings will replace an overgrown lot at the northwest corner of North Bodine Street and West Oxford Street. 1602 North Bodine Street is the largest structure of the group, and will span a footprint of 6,312 square feet, hold 28,200 square feet of interior space, and run a projected construction cost of $2,760,000. Oddly, the structure is listed as a single-family household. If the listing is correct, the structure would be vastly outsized in comparison to a typical building of this type.

Each of the remaining buildings will span a footprint of 789 square feet and hold 3,525 square feet of interior space, with a projected construction cost of $345,000. These structures are also listed as single-family residences. While less implausible than the proposal at 1602, the buildings’ dimensions are still well in excess of the average.

The block of the narrow North Bodine Street is dilapidated, and the sidewalk next to the proposal site is almost entirely overgrown. Hopefully the construction will bring about much-needed streetscape upgrades.

Olde Kensington has seen much development in recent years. An extensive three- to four-story residential complex rose to the south across Oxford Street between 2014 and 2018. The site sits within a ten-minute walk to the Girard Av station on the Market-Frankford SEPTA line and the Girard Avenue trolley. Temple University is located within a fifteen-minute walk to the northwest.

North Bodine Street, with 1602-1614 North Bodine Street on the right. Looking south toward West Oxford Street. Credit: Google

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