Construction Progresses at The Box Factory Lofts at 31 East Columbia Avenue in Fishtown

Philadelphia YIMBY’s recent site visit has noted that construction has made significant progress at Box Factory Lofts, an eight-story, 63-unit apartment building at 31 East Columbia Avenue in Fishtown, Kensington. Designed by SITIO Architecture + Urbanism, the building is an expansion for the existing Box Factory Lofts, a four-story prewar industrial building located at 21 East Columbia Avenue, which houses 20 rental units. The new building will contribute 67,342 square of feet of space to the development and will introduce a new shared lobby to be shared by the two structures, as well as a common residential courtyard. The new building will feature ground-level retail, elevator service, full sprinkling, covered parking for ten cars (including three car share and one accessible space) and 30 bicycles, and a roof deck. Permits list Equinox Management and Construction as the contractor and specify a construction cost of $13 million.

The development spans a lot bordered by East Columbia Street to the south, Blair Street to the east, and North Front Street to the west, where it faces the elevated Market-Frankford Line. Prior to construction, the existing loft building, which rises around 60 feet tall and stands on Blair Street on the site’s eastern side, was accessible from its interior western side via a walk across a large parking lot. A low-rise prewar commercial building, decorated with a razzle dazzle mural, stood to the south.

Construction has made significant progress since our last visit in December, when three levels of structural steel had been assembled. Since that time, the structure risen to the sixth floor and been sheathed, though it still awaits installation of the exterior curtain wall. Although two more levels remain to be assembled, the building’s form already clearly matches the renderings, with gentle yet robust cantilevers adding energy to the boxy structure and an angled steel column clearly marking the main residential entrance.

31 East Columbia Avenue. Photo by Jamie Meller. March 2023

31 East Columbia Avenue. Photo by Jamie Meller. March 2023

31 East Columbia Avenue. Photo by Jamie Meller. March 2023

31 East Columbia Avenue. Photo by Jamie Meller. March 2023

The parking lot was a blight on the Front Street corridor, forming a significant gap in its street wall. In turn, the commercial building, which did not reach Front Street, offered minimal preservation value despite its age. As such, the replacement of the two with the new structure will be a boon for the ever-densifying Front Street. The retail space at the corner will further reinforce the pedestrian experience at both Front Street and Columbia Avenue.

31 East Columbia Avenue. Rendering credit: SITIO Architecture + Urbanism

31 East Columbia Avenue. Rendering credit: SITIO Architecture + Urbanism

31 East Columbia Avenue. Rendering credit: SITIO Architecture + Urbanism

31 East Columbia Avenue. Site plan. Credit: SITIO Architecture + Urbanism via the City of Philadelphia

31 East Columbia Avenue. Site location. Credit: SITIO Architecture + Urbanism via the City of Philadelphia

31 East Columbia Avenue. Building section. Credit: SITIO Architecture + Urbanism via the City of Philadelphia

31 East Columbia Avenue. Building elevation. Credit: SITIO Architecture + Urbanism via the City of Philadelphia

31 East Columbia Avenue. Building elevation. Credit: SITIO Architecture + Urbanism via the City of Philadelphia

31 East Columbia Avenue. Site plan. Credit: SITIO Architecture + Urbanism

31 East Columbia Avenue. Building elevation. Credit: SITIO Architecture + Urbanism via the City of Philadelphia

The new residential entry will be situated between the old and the new structures facing Columbia Avenue, where a landscaped plaza will create a pleasant approach for the new common lobby. A dramatic cantilever at the new building, which suspends the structure’s southeast corner two stories above the plaza on a V-shaped support, will create an iconic street-level feature while opening up valuable ground space. The shared courtyard will be situated between the two buildings to the north of the lobby.

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