Permits Issued for Four-Unit Building at 2333 Germantown Avenue in North Philadelphia East

Permits have been issued for the construction of a four-story, four-unit apartment building at 2333 Germantown Avenue near Temple University in North Philadelphia. The structure will replace a vacant lot on the east side of the block between North 7th Street and North 8th Street. Designed by 24/7 Design Group, the wood-framed building will rise 38 feet to the top of the main roof, 41-and-a-half feet to the parapet, and 46 feet to the top of the pilot house. The property will feature a basement and full sprinkling. Permits list Turtle International Incorporated as the owner, Ken Group LLC as the contractor, and a construction cost of $230,000.

2333 Germantown Avenue. Credit: Google Maps

2333 Germantown Avenue. Site plan. Credit: 24/7 Design Group

The structure will measure 18 feet wide and 86 feet long, and will feature a five-foot street-facing setback at the top floor. Permits and the site plan list conflicting area for the total square footage, with the former listing a total of 1,568 square feet and the latter 1,784 square feet (though both numbers seem low for a structure of its dimensions). The building will feature nearly nine-foot ceilings, although, in order to fit such relatively generous ceiling height within the overly restrictive 38-foot height limit, the designers apparently had to sacrifice the base almost entirely, putting the ground floor almost level with the sidewalk and leaving the basement completely windowless.

2333 Germantown Avenue. Building section. Credit: 24/7 Design Group

The area around Temple University, which is situated within a 15-minute walk to the southwest of the proposal at 2333 Germantown Avenue, has seen a dramatic surge in new development over the past two decades. However, the construction boom is only beginning to reach this section of North Philadelphia East, which has been gutted by the postwar plague of depopulation and subsequent demolition. The resulting barren landscape, as well as a steadily increasing stream of development finally flowing into the area, was the subject of YIMBY’s last year Grandeur and Desolation feature.

As recently as 2007, a series of three-story mixed-use rowhouses lined the block, formerly part of the busy commercial corridor along Germantown Avenue, yet almost all have been gradually demolished in the ensuing years.

2333 Germantown Avenue. Looking northeast. July 2007. Credit: Google Maps

2333 Germantown Avenue. Looking north. Credit: Google Maps

Germantown Avenue, with 2333 Germantown Avenue on the left. Looking southeast. Credit: Google Maps

Germantown Avenue, with 2333 Germantown Avenue on the right. Looking northwest. Credit: Google Maps

The proposal at 2333 Germantown Avenue is yet another building block that is helping restore a long-distressed neighborhood to its prewar level of residential density. Such development is beneficial for everyone in the vicinity, including local residents, who see dramatic improvements to their desolate streetscapes, local laborers, who are able to partake in relatively well-paid construction jobs, university students, who continue to seek housing in the vicinity of their alma mater in ever-increasing numbers, and anyone else that sees the potential in this centrally-located and promising neighborhood.

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