Permits have been issued for the construction of a four-story multi-family building at 620 North 37th Street in Mantua, West Philadelphia. Upon completion, the building will offer 21,855 square feet of space and a roof deck. G.A.C. Construction Development is listed as the contractor. Construction costs are specified at $2.5 million.
Aerial view of 620 North 37th Street. Credit: Google.
Like almost all new developments in the neighborhood, the new building will be replacing a vacant lot. The lot sits at the street corner, with a small wooden fence separating the mowed grass from the street, a common feature used throughout the city to help spruce up vacant parcels left over after the mass urban exodus in the postwar period, a process which has since been largely reversed.
Replacing the gaps formed across neighborhoods through the aforementioned exodus is always a positive thing to see, with the extra perk of added density. The addition of 15 residential units on a property that is currently occupied by none is a massive increase that will prove beneficial for the continued growth in the surrounding area. As seen in many other neighborhoods throughout the city, adding new residential units and added density has led to new businesses and restaurants emerge in these areas, making the neighborhood’s more vibrant and desirable, which only encourages further development. With the numerous multi-family projects underway and proposed in Mantua, it seems that this process is inevitable, as hundreds to thousands of new residents are being added to the area.
No completion date is known for the project at this time, though construction may be finished by 2022 or 2023.
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It was not mass urban exodus – the demographic in this neighborhood had no where to go. Indeed, this area was disinvested, community devalued and destroyed via urban renewal area. YIiMBY needs to correct its narrative.