Permits Issued for 3635 Earp Street in Forgotten Bottom, South Philadelphia

Permits have been issued for the construction of a three-story two-family residential building at 3635 Earp Street in Forgotten Bottom, South Philadelphia. The new structure will replace a part of a large vacant lot situated on the north side of the block between South 36th Street and Schuylkill Avenue. The structure will span 3,037 square feet and will feature a cellar and a roof deck. Permits list Kevin O’Neill as the design professional and specify McAleer Construction as the contractor.

Construction costs are indicated at $279,933, lending a total of around $92 per interior square foot. Permits allocate $219,933 toward general construction, $15,000 for electrical work, $15,000 for mechanical work, and $30,000 for plumbing work.

3635 Earp Street. Location map. Credit: Google Maps

3635 Earp Street. Site conditions prior to redevelopment. Aerial view. Looking north. Credit: Google Maps

Permit activity for the site that is available via public databases is rather sparse, yet the earliest construction permit dates to August 2020. Aerial imagery shows that concrete foundations have already been constructed for a rowhouse-sized structure at 3635 Earp Street; identical foundations may be seen next door at 3637 and 3639 Earp Street. Another similar permit, with matching technical stats and design team, has recently been issued for the site at 3639 Earp Street; no such matching permit, however, appears on file for the property at 3637 Earp Street.

Forgotten Bottom is a compact and rather isolated neighborhood situated at the western end of Grays Ferry, sitting on a peninsula formed by a bend of the Schuylkill River and separated from the rest of South Philly by a train trestle and the elevated Interstate 76 aka the Schuylkill Expressway. The neighborhood consists of around seven compact rowhouse blocks surrounded by commercial and industrial facilities.

True to its name, the neighborhood often seems to be rarely visited or even thought of by most of the city’s residents, and generally sits off developers’ radar. However, the development boom currently sweeping the northern portion of South Philly has reached even this neck of the woods, with a number of new residential projects rising on the seven blocks in recent years.

Although seemingly remote, Forgotten Bottom is situated conveniently close to several notable destinations. Grays Ferry Crescent Trail Park runs along the Schuylkill River waterfront at the neighborhood’s northern and western edge. The University City Medical District sits around half a mile to the northeast on the opposite side of the river, directly accessible via the University Avenue Bridge at South 34th Street.

To the west, the Grays Ferry Avenue Bridge connects to Southwest Philadelphia, where the nearest destinations include the 48th and Woodland Playground and the waterfront Bartram’s Garden, as well as route 11 and 36 trolleys. Stinger Park sits within a ten-minute walk to the southeast of 3618 Sears Street. Route 12 and 64 buses run along Grays Ferry Avenue.

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