Superstructure Rises for 29-unit Apartment Building at 214 Vine Street in Old City

In March of last year, YIMBY reported that permits were filed for a 29-unit apartment building at 214 Vine Street in Old City. Since that time, construction has made notable progress, as revealed in our recent site visit. Designed by Moto Designshop, the development unites four parcels at 214 through 220 Vine Street, spans a 5,403-square-foot ground footprint, and will hold 26,550 square feet of interior space, which translates into an average of just over 900 square feet per unit. Permits list Vine New Associates LLC as the owner and Spruce Builders LLC as the general contractor.

214 Vine Street. Credit: Moto Designshop

Permits specify a total construction cost of work at $600,000, as well as $174,000 for fire suppression/sprinkler work (with B. M. Consulting Services Inc. as the contractor), $162,000 for HVAC work (with Fred Dinardo Jr. as the contractor), and $15,000 for plumbing work (with Thomas Uhl of Tommy’s Plumbing Services LLC as the contractor). The latter permit also indicates that every unit will be equipped with a washing machine.

214 Vine Street. Photo by Jamie Meller

214 Vine Street. Photo by Jamie Meller

214 Vine Street. Photo by Jamie Meller

214 Vine Street. Photo by Jamie Meller

214 Vine Street. Photo by Jamie Meller

214 Vine Street. Photo by Jamie Meller

214 Vine Street. Photo by Jamie Meller

The development rises on the south side of the block between South 2nd and South 3rd streets (not counting the two alley-like cross streets in between), in the northeast corner of Old City and Center City as a whole, a short block to the south of the Vine Street Expressway and within a five-minute walk to the Delaware River waterfront.

The building’s exterior of undulating gray brick is thoroughly modern yet is deferential enough as not to clash with the numerous historic structures situated throughout the area. The building’s scale also matches that of its surroundings, such as the six-story building constructed next door to the west at 222 Vine Street in 2018, and the six-story apartment complex planned across the street to the north at 207-11 Vine Street.

While the building’s curvy exterior will make for an attractive contribution to the streetscape, just as important is the fact that it replaces a parking lot, which created an unwelcoming presence in this fine-grained, historically significant and pedestrian-friendly neighborhood. We hope to see further redevelopment of parking lots in the area in the near future, particularly the lot adjacent to the gas station down the block at the corner of 2nd and Vine streets.

214 Vine Street. Credit: Google Maps

214 Vine Street. Credit: Google Maps

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