Construction work is partially complete at Carrie’s Court, a townhome development located at 2616 South 18th Street in Girard Estates, South Philadelphia. Designed by Designblendz, the development entails the construction of 22 homes, each three stories high. The homes will be arranged in two rows, with a drive aisle and parking space situated in the middle.
Rendering of 2616 South 18th Street. Credit: Design Blendz.
The homes feature industrial loft-styled exteriors, with a heavy use of brick in the two upper floors, framing large windows. This brick stretches to the sidewalk. At the ground floor, the material palette transitions to cast stone, helping create a more welcoming entrance to the homes.
Former aerial view of 2616 South 18th Street. Credit: Google.
The homes are replacing a low-slung industrial structure. While Girard Estates is a largely residential neighborhood, certain properties closer to Oregon Avenue transition to other land uses, with this being one of such properties. The duo’s white exterior certainly did not contribute much to the streetscape, and the building’s demolition seems reasonable.
2616 South 18th Street. Credit: Colin LeStourgeon.
2616 South 18th Street. Credit: Colin LeStourgeon.
Presently, half of the homes are essentially complete. The 11 homes at the southern portion of the property (closer to Oregon Avenue) have passed through the framing, interior and exterior processes and now showcase the final prod out of this development. It is refreshing to see that the reality of the project retains many if the materials and design elements shown in initial renderings, such as the cast stone, brick, and industrial-styled windows.
2616 South 18th Street. Credit: Colin LeStourgeon.
Unfortunately, there is not much sign of progress on the northern group of the residences, so it will likely be a while longer before the additional 11 homes will be added to the market. Given the site’s configuration, selling the residences in phases does not seem to be completely ideal, as the proximity to construction on the opposite end of the drive aisle brings into question the quality or even feasibility of living in the more recently constructed homes. As such, it is unknown when the added housing stock will truly begin to impact the surrounding neighborhood and alleviate existing demand.
The project is certainly an exciting step for the neighborhood. While the more inner core of the area does not offer much potential in terms of prime sites for construction, there persists a large variety of untapped parcels along Oregon Avenue which can house hundreds of residential units through single-family, multi-family, and mixed-use development. Moving forward, it would be ideal to see many of the properties be redeveloped and transform this corridor, which could in turn be transformed into a more urban-forward and pleasant street itself.
YIMBY will continue to monitor progress on the project moving forward.
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It appears to be a slowly situated project in agreement with the neighbors on how the 22 house project will happen. The neighbors allowed only the first 11 houses to be built and the developer will have to petition for permission to build the final 11 houses on site.
That is one of the problems of councilmantic privilege as it can be abused by the councilman on behalf of the neighbors.
There was an zoning approval of 22 houses to be built and it is not fair for the developer to have to beg to build the final homes.
Do you have anything for low income
James thanks for the update. Agree totally with the problems with Councilmanic Privilege.
Any updates on the other side?