Construction Nearly Complete at 1164 South 18th Street in Point Breeze, South Philadelphia

A recent site visit by Philly YIMBY has revealed that construction work is nearly complete at a four-story, four-unit residential building under construction at 1164 South 18th Street in Point Breeze, South Philadelphia, as Philly YIMBY’s recent site visit revealed. Designed by 24/7 Design Group, the development will rise at the northwest corner of South 18th and Federal streets. Building features will include full sprinkling and a private roof deck accessible to a single unit. Permits list Federal 4 LP as the owner, Casey Lafferty as the contractor, and a construction cost of $400,000.

Aerial view of 1164 South 18th Street. Credit: Google Maps

1164 South 18th Street. Site plan. Credit: 24/7 Design Group LLC via the City of Philadelphia

1164 South 18th Street. Building section. Credit: 24/7 Design Group LLC via the City of Philadelphia

1164 South 18th Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. December 2022

1164 South 18th Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. December 2022

The development replaces a three-story prewar rowhouse that housed the Welcome Galilee Community Baptist Church on its ground floor. In 2017, a single-story addition was considered for the structure; however, the building was demolished by 2018, and a partially assembled plywood frame has sat at the site for over a year. Our visit has revealed that foundation work is currently underway on the new structure.

A building section submitted to the city’s planning commission shows that the ground floor will sit two feet above the sidewalk level and that floor-to-floor heights will span nine feet, meaning that floor-to-ceiling heights will likely measure around eight-and-a-half feet. The ground level elevation, relatively low in comparison to traditional Philadelphia rowhouses, and relatively low height ceilings are the unfortunate result of the city’s overly restrictive height limits. The building’s main roof rises 38 feet high, to the maximum allowed height in this, and numerous other, areas of the city (the nine-foot-tall pilot house, which brings the total structural height to 47 feet, does not count in the zoning calculation).

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