Philly YIMBY’s recent site visit has observed that construction work is nearing completion at a 29-unit development at 214 Vine Street in Old City. 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 roughly translates into just over 900 square feet per unit. Permits list Vine New Associates LLC as the owner and Spruce Builders LLC as the general contractor.
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.
During our visit we discovered that construction work is in its final stages, with the structure substantially complete and current work focused at the sidewalk level and on interior finishes. The finished product is quite different from the originally proposed avant-garde structure where dark brick undulated across round window bays and balconies. Although we wish to see the original design built elsewhere, the current iteration is arguably better suited for the location. Although the red brick building appears rather plain from a distance, a closer look reveals intricate brickwork with gently coffered vertical window bays. Not only is the design choice well-suited for the historic neighborhood, but the craftsmanship of brick articulation reaches a level very rarely seen in contemporary construction in the city.
214 Vine Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. February 2023
214 Vine Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. February 2023
214 Vine Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. February 2023
214 Vine Street. Credit: Moto Designshop
214 Vine Street. Credit: Moto Designshop
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.
Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail
Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews
I remember the Historical Society making developer change color of bricks to red brick.
How to turn a once great place to live and create into a bedroom community full of boring people
How dare more people live in old city
Went right over your head, now go back to the suburbs you boring a$$ transient
Perhaps the best aspect of this project is that it replaces a long extant large surface parking lot. And it’s good to see Old City densify. The intricate brickwork is indeed beautiful. However, the windows are too small, even more so without side windows and when compared with neighboring mid-rises. The lack of a cornice detracts from this structure’s appearance. Given the increasing population of the immediate area, ground floor retail and/or restaurants would thrive.
Retail would never work at location and an increase of a hundred or so tenants would guarantee the success for a restaurant either over the last 20 years there have been three restaurants on that block including a very popular byob that moved there from the 200 block of Arch street. It didn’t last a year.
The same…