A recent site visit by Philadelphia YIMBY has noted that demolition still not started at the site of a proposed seven-story mixed-use building at 1321 North Front Street in Fishtown, Kensington. Designed by NORR, the building will span 31,167 square feet and will contain 2,545 square feet of retail and 36 apartments. Permits list East Columbia and Memphis A. as the owner, Peroni Management Inc. as the contractor, and a construction cost of $4 million.
Our recent site visit reveals that the shuttered property still looks much as it did during our last visit in March 2022, albeit covered in a denser patina of graffiti.
1321-23 North Front Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. December 2022
1321-23 North Front Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. December 2022
1321-23 North Front Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. December 2022
1321-23 North Front Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. December 2022
1321 North Front Street. Site plan. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
1321 North Front Street. Building elevation. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
1321 North Front Street. Building elevation. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
1321 North Front Street. Building elevation. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
1321 North Front Street. Building elevation. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
1321 North Front Street. Building elevation. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
1321 North Front Street. Building elevation. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
The building, also known under its full address of 1321-25 North Front Street, will rise on the east side of the block between West Thompson and Master streets, across from the elevated trestle of the Market-Frankford Line, situated on a through-block lot that stretches to Lee Street to the east. Notably, the building takes advantage of its location by providing a through-block pedestrian arcade between the two streets. The arcade will serve as a miniature version of Liberties Walk, a public-private promenade located in Northern Liberties to the southwest.
The promenade will consist of an open area on the west side of the side facing Front Street, and a covered arcade connecting to Lee Street to the east. Two commercial spaces will animate both Front Street and the new promenade, which, in turn, will improve pedestrian circulation in the area.
1321 North Front Street. Ground level plan. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
1321 North Front Street. Floor plan. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
1321 North Front Street. Floor plan. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
1321 North Front Street. Floor plan. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
1321 North Front Street. Roof plan. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
1321 North Front Street. Zoning table. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
1321 North Front Street. Zoning table. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
Fishtown Bikes N Beans at 1321-25 North Front Street. Mural by Busta. Poto credit: streetsdept.com
The promenade will also preserve the view of the adjacent mural to the south, painted for the Bikes N Beans shop that formerly stood at the site (we discuss the unusual business retailer in greater detail in an earlier article).
Notably, the proposed combination of a relatively tall building (the structure will rise 89 feet to the top of the parapet and 96 feet to the top of the bulkhead) with a commercially-fronted, through-block arcade, which also preserves an adjacent mural, is reminiscent of the alternate site layout YIMBY suggested a few days ago for The Frankford at 1120 Frankford Avenue, a six-story, 150-unit development proposed several blocks to the southeast. As such, the project at 1321 North Front Street serves as proof that such layout may work even on relatively small, non-centrally-located sites, and not only at marquee developments such as at the Mural West tower proposed at 523 North Broad Street in Callowhill.
1321 North Front Street. Existing site plan. Credit: NORR via the City of Philadelphia
The mural at Lee Street at 1321 North Front Street. Looking northwest. August 2019. Credit: Google Maps
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Public space is always good.