Construction Tops Out at 608 South American Street in Queen Village, South Philadelphia

A recent site visit by Philadelphia YIMBY has noted that construction has topped off at a four-story, nine-unit residential building underway at 608 South American Street in Queen Village, South Philadelphia. The new structure replaces a joined pair of prewar rowhouses on the west side of the block between South Street and Bainbridge Street. Designed by Gnome Architects, the new building will span 9,173 square feet and will feature a basement and two private roof decks. Permits list Cassidy McGrath as the contractor and specify a construction cost of $1.2 million.

608 South American Street. Credit: Google Maps

608 South American Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. June 2023

608 South American Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. June 2023

608 South American Street. Zoning submission. Credit: Gnome Architects via the City of Philadelphia

608 South American Street. Building elevation. Credit: Gnome Architects via the City of Philadelphia

608 South American Street. Site location. Credit: Gnome Architects via the City of Philadelphia

608 South American Street. Site plan. Credit: Gnome Architects via the City of Philadelphia

608 South American Street. Zoning table. Credit: Gnome Architects via the City of Philadelphia

608 South American Street. Site plan. Credit: Gnome Architects via the City of Philadelphia

A mention of development at American Street evokes images of sprawling mid-rise residential complexes rising along a broad post-industrial thoroughfare. However, while the description rings true for the street’s section above Girard Avenue, which runs extra wide as it once accommodated rail traffic that served the manufacturing district that once spanned the area, development sites below, particularly those in South Philly, tend to be in scale with the rest of the predominantly smaller-scaled new construction in the area. Likewise, the building proposed at 608 South American Street will also be relatively compact, measuring 25 feet at its widest point and extending 91 feet into the block. The building shape leaves space for a five-foot-wide side court leading from the street to a 16-by-13-foot central courtyard, as well as a compact, nine-foot-wide yard in the rear.

The courtyard splits the structure into something of a dumbbell shape, where the primary front and rear portions are connected via a narrow section in the center. Although floor plans are not available at the moment, the layout leads us to believe that the structure will hold around two apartments per floor, with each offering ample sunlight given the building’s extensive, if narrow, light wells.

As is generally the case with new development in densely built neighborhoods with a strict height limit, the new building will be barely larger than the structure it is replacing. The new building will rise 45 feet to the main roof (49 feet to the parapet and around 55 feet to the top of the two bulkheads), a height made possible by a low-income density bonus that garnered the developers a 50 percent boost in the unit count (three extra apartments) and seven feet of additional height.

608 South American Street. Site condition prior to redevelopment. Credit: Gnome Architects via the City of Philadelphia

608 South American Street. Site condition prior to redevelopment. Credit: Gnome Architects via the City of Philadelphia

608 South American Street, prior to redevelopment. Looking west. November 2020. Credit: Google Maps

South American Street, with 608 South American Street on the left, prior to redevelopment. Looking north. November 2018. Credit: Google Maps

South American Street, with 608 South American Street in the center right, prior to redevelopment. Looking south. November 2020. Credit: Google Maps

608 South American Street. Photo by Jamie Meller. June 2023

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