Permits have been issued for the construction of a two-story building at 2100 Diamond Street in North Philadelphia. The new development is planned for use as a police station and community center and will replace a long-vacant site at the northeast corner of Diamond Street and North 21st Street. Daniel J. Keating Company is listed as the contractor, with architecture led by Ballinger. The approved scope calls for a fully sprinklered, two-story structure classified as an emergency services facility. The total construction area spans 30,621 square feet.
Construction costs are listed at $36 million.
2100 Diamond Street Site Plan via Ballinger
The future building will be divided into multiple occupancy types, including 11,733 square feet and 9,615 square feet allocated to office (B Business) use and 9,274 square feet designated for assembly (A-3), which likely corresponds with the community center component.
2100 Diamond Street West Elevation via Ballinger
The design takes a contemporary institutional approach, balancing form and function. Elevations reveal a clear separation between volumes with tall glazed panels on the community-facing sides and smaller openings on the flanks, optimizing natural light while maintaining privacy and security.
2100 Diamond Street South Elevation via Ballinger
The north façade is punctuated with a series of full-height windows, while the southern face integrates vertical rhythm with clean masonry lines. A double-door entry framed in glass marks the main point of access. Drawings also indicate a “future mural” on the building’s east elevation, hinting at efforts to tie the facility into the surrounding neighborhood fabric.
Construction is anticipated to start soon. No official timeline has been made public.
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Very nice development. 😁
Two-thirds of the footprint is occupied by surface parking. There’s one lot between N. Lambert St. and N. 21st St. and two lots between N. Van Pelt St. and N. 22nd St.
Love all the street trees.
This is an area in need of housing and community development that has been intentionally deprived of any investment for decades. Historical designation is not just about the building but what was there, who, when and why. You can’t erase the red lined communities from history. Peoples lives and stories are there. To use this land mass for anything other than much needed housing for families, enhanced development of a community that has weathered the storm is an affront to those of us who live here. Lack of continued community engagement is what brought this facility. Other neighborhoods get schools, libraries, rec centers with fully funded programming, our community is getting more police. It doesn’t build a tax base, community, togetherness, housing or places for children and people to not feel surveillance at all time, even though we know we are.
If true development occurred in this neighborhood like others, folks who do not live here would know that housing, jobs and businesses build neighborhoods.
Decades of intentional divestment due to those who were supposed to listen to the tax payer voices, the community voices but we see how far that gets us.
I love the idea of combining Police Station with Community Space. What are the local community’s thoughts?