A recent site visit by Philly YIMBY has discovered that foundation work is underway at 200 Race Street, a six-story, 49-unit mixed-use building under construction in the Old City section of Center City. Designed by Ambit Architecture, the development will rise at the southwest corner of Race and North 2nd streets.
200 Race Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. February 2023
200 Race Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. February 2023
200 Race Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. February 2023
200 Race Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. February 2023
The proposal is situated a short block to the south of the turquoise trestle of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and a long block to the southwest of the bridge’s massive stone-clad anchorage. The site is currently home to a pair of undistinguished, single-story retail structures with a parking lot at the side and the rear. The two formerly housed American Kitchen Machines in the corner building and the Food Equipment Service Center in the structure to the south. A similar structure formerly occupied by Swift Food Equipment stands near the southern end of the lot.
When we last visited the site in January of last year, we found that demolition work had not yet begun at the pair of featureless, water-stained buildings that formerly stood at the site. By now, both buildings have been torn down and foundation work is underway.
200 Race Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. December 2021
By contrast, Ambit’s proposal strikes a presence that is at once eye-catching and modern yet deferential to its historic context. The deep-set, brick-clad grid of floor-to-ceiling, loft-style windows resembles contemporary architecture as much as it does prewar factory lofts of the type that once dominated the part of the city to the north. Similarly, the steep slant at the top two stories is as much a Modernist gesture as a homage to the city’s angled mansard roofs, whether of the Colonial, Federal, or Second Empire (e.g. City Hall) variety. A trim of verdure along the parapet suggests a spacious green roof that would offer dramatic views of the skyline and the bridge.
Just as importantly, if not more so, the 6,000 square feet of retail proposed at the ground level would be a much finer fit for the dense, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood than the former equipment service providers and parking lots that currently span the lot.
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You have the wrong rendering of the building
The rendering is wrong. Tbh I like that rendering better than the current one though.
Both the rendering and description of the development are outdated and incorrect. I can only wish that what is chronicled is what’s being built. I believe current construction is for a 6-story building with six residential units, likely condos, with ground floor commercial space, and possibly three automobile parking spots. There have been four prior proposals, all covering 152 N. 2nd St. (a historically protected three-story) to 164 N. 2nd St. (the SW corner of 2nd and Race). The current plan includes only the three parcels at 160 to 164 North 2nd Street.