Permits have been issued for the construction of multiple rowhouses in Point Breeze, South Philadelphia. The project will total five homes at 2231 Cross Street, 2232 Cross Street, 2235 Cross Street, 2249 Cross Street, and 2252 Cross Street. Each structure will rise two stories tall so as to fit in with the rest of the block, and each will cost an estimated $102,500 to build.
Aerial view of the block. Credit: Google. Lots highlighted in red are where future homes will rise.
The new homes will not rise directly adjacent to one another. Instead, unlike most townhouse developments, the homes will be built on properties scattered throughout the block. Each property is a vacant lot, so no existing structures will be torn down to make way for the future buildings.
These vacant lots are the only such properties that still exist on the 2200 block of Cross Street. In the postwar era, many neighborhoods, including Point Breeze, saw a long string of teardowns where rowhouses were reduced to vacant lots during the mass exodus to the suburbs. Now, the opposite is happening rapidly in many sections of the city. Point Breeze is now one of Philadelphia’s leading neighborhoods for construction activity. I(n recent years, many new homes have already been added to the block and to the immediate surrounding neighborhood. The proposed buildings will complete the block’s revitalization, returning the stretch to a densely built out condition that existed many years ago. This is a major accomplishment that signifies just how much the area has bounced back from its prior period of decline.
No completion date for the homes is known, though construction may be finished by 2022.
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Really interesting and cool. Instead of investing in one property on a block that still has vacants, why not invest in all of the vacant properties and bring the whole block back? Love it. I wonder how difficult it would be to gain control of all the vacant properties in a general area. Something tells me this is not easily done.
The properties are owned by Philly land bank who gives them to a builder (spruce builders)for 500$ or some stupid amount like that. They then build a two story house without basements and without gas to sell to as deed restricted low income properties. They did this at the 26xx block or reed and they look better than the empty lots but they are tiny and do little to the property values of the residents. I would much rather see more interesting builds from varied builders than building the cheapest structure possible .
Has this project been completed or has construction started?