Permits Issued for 1444, 1448, and 1450 North 27th Street in Brewerytown, North Philadelphia

Permits have been issued for the construction of three identical three-story single-family rowhouses at 1444 North 27th Street, 1448 North 27th Street, and 1450 North 27th Street in Brewerytown, North Philadelphia. The buildings will rise from a vacant lot on the west side of the street between Master Street and Jefferson Street. Designed by Moto Designshop, each structure will span 1,353 square feet. Permits list the Philadelphia Land Bank as the owner and Spruce Builders as the contractor.

For each building, construction costs are specified at $111,170, of which $5,200 is allocated toward electrical work, $6,000 for mechanical work, and $17,000 for plumbing work.

1444 North 27th Street. Site map. Credit: Moto Designshop via the City of Philadelphia

1444 North 27th Street. Site map. Credit: Moto Designshop via the City of Philadelphia

1444 North 27th Street. Site conditions prior to redevelopment. Looking west. Credit: Moto Designshop via the City of Philadelphia

1444 North 27th Street. Site plan. Credit: Moto Designshop via the City of Philadelphia

1444 North 27th Street. Site plan. Credit: Moto Designshop via the City of Philadelphia

Each of the new buildings will measure 14 feet wide and 36 feet long, with a ]30-foot-deep rear yard. The structures will rise 34 feet to the roof and 35 feet to the top of the parapet. The buildings will not feature a basement nor a roof deck. The lower two floors will be clad in brick, making for a contextual gesture to the surrounding prewar rowhouses (including one next door at 1442 North 27th Street); a stack bond course above the entrance makes for a distinctive accent. The third floor will be set back ten and a half feet from the street, a curious gesture as no other buildings on the street, including prewar ones, feature such setbacks at the third story.

The new buildings will rise on a prime site that faces the four-acre Athletic Square Park. While Brewerytown is seeing a surge of new development, curiously, the 1400 block of North 27th Street, which delineates the park’s western boundary, not only lost all but three of its original prewar rowhouses, making for one of the highest demolition rates of any block in the neighborhood, but has also been slow to redevelop in recent years. While many of the surrounding blocks are awash in new construction, just four new buildings were built along the still largely vacant block in recent years, each one a three-story single-family rowhouse.

1444 North 27th Street. Site conditions prior to redevelopment. Looking southwest. Credit: Moto Designshop via the City of Philadelphia

Given a persistent abundance of large vacant lots along the block, developers ought to see this as an opportunity to build larger multi-family projects along the stretch. The location across from the park would guarantee residents direct access to green space and year-round unobstructed sunlight in the eastern windows.

Route 7, 48, and 49 buses service the surrounding blocks, and route 15 trolley on Girard Avenue runs several blocks to the south. The retail and nightlife hub of Brewerytown lies around ten short blocks to the west along North 30th and North 31st streets. Fairmount Park spans around half a mile to the southwest, situated within a 15-minute walk. Girard College is also situated within a 15-minute walk to the southeast.

1444 North 27th Street. Zoning table. Credit: Moto Designshop via the City of Philadelphia

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