Renderings have been revealed for a new mixed-use development located at 2019-53 East Boston Street in East Kensington. Designed by Designblendz, the project will consist of a renovation of an existing industrial structure and the demolition of a low-slung addition to said building, with a new multi-family building taking its place. The new structure will yield 100 new residential units within its six-story height, while the renovation of the existing industrial building will replace its existing roof with a roof deck, and will add five industrial spaces to the ground floor. The project will include parking for 34 cars and 61 bicycles.
2019-53 East Boston Street. Credit: DesignBlendz.
2019-53 East Boston Street. Credit: DesignBlendz.
2019-53 East Boston Street. Credit: DesignBlendz.
The new addition will feature a modern exterior, accentuating the area’s existing industrial bones while mainly highlighting its own contemporary style. In prominent locations and at the ground floor, the structure will be clad in light red brick which loosely matches that of the adjacent former industrial building. Primarily, however, light gray fiber cement paneling will cover the vast majority of the exterior, with certain box-shaped cantilevers and balconies providing some variation in an otherwise uniform massing. Uniform-sized windows will be arranged in a practical semi-gridded pattern throughout the exterior.
2019-53 East Boston Street. Credit: Google.
2019-53 East Boston Street. Credit: Google.
The building to be demolished is a low-slung add-on to the significantly more notable building next door. Nevertheless, the structure shows some interesting design elements, with its undeniably attractive brick exterior and arched windows. In a perfect world, the development at-hand would consist of an overbuild on top of this structure rather than its full demolition, as it seems to be in a reasonably maintained state and offers a reasonable visual value to the surrounding street scape. The main building will appear virtually unchanged from street level, as its triangulated roof-line is largely invisible from below, and so changes made here should do nothing in terms of harming its stylish brick facade.
2019-53 East Boston Street. Credit: DesignBlendz.
2019-53 East Boston Street. Credit: DesignBlendz.
This project is certainly the right idea for reusing this relatively underused property. It will be a bit disappointing to see the existing industrial building go but overall significant. Though the new structure’s design is somewhat simple and perhaps relies too heavily on cement paneling, it will otherwise offer a massive improvement for the site. Six stories makes a lot more sense in this location in terms of scale, given the Market Frankford Line accessible just blocks away. The added 100 residential units matches that of Previously shared development just next door, and between the two, a massive positive impact will be made on the density in the area. Unfortunately, these positives are tainted by the poor handling of evictions at the next door Viking Mill (industrial building).
2019-53 East Boston Street. Credit: DesignBlendz.
Philly YIMBY will continue to keep tabs on the project moving forward.
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East Kensington is on fire, which is nice to see in this transit rich area.