Another day, another new building is set to rise Front Street. Permits have been issued for the construction of a 35-unit multi-family dwelling at 2043-51 North Front Street in Fishtown. Designed by CANNOdesign, the building will rise six stories tall and will feature commercial space on the ground floor and 35 bicycle spaces, providing a 1:1 ratio of bike spaces to units that will help encourage green forms of transportation. Tester Construction is listed as the contractor.
Aerial view of 2043-51 North Front Street. Credit: Google.
The building will replace a lot formerly occupied by an auto repair shop nestled into a tight lot bordered by three streets. The building stands just one story tall, with a bland, red-painted exterior with large garage doors beneath a sign for the shop. The rest of the lot is used to store vehicles awaiting pickup and repairs. While this sort of business may have made some sense at the corner years in the past, it is astonishing to see a property along this corridor still serving this use.
The new building will greatly improve this short stretch of Front Street via the long-overdue removal of an eyesore and its replacement with a new mixed-use building. The addition of 35 residential on a site that is currently occupied by zero will provide a positive density boost that will only further support businesses in the area. The addition of a new retail space on the ground floor will also help increase pedestrian traffic along the street.
Transit access is located a short walk away from the site to the Market-Frankford Line, which runs into Center City, University City, and beyond, and is one of the major draws for development occurring in the neighborhood. The site sits within walking distance of Frankford Avenue and the numerous businesses and restaurants operating within the surrounding area.
The density within the project was achieved through a mixed-income bonus, which allows develop to incorporate affordable units into their projects, as well as through a green roof bonus.
Rumors of the development at this site have been circulating for some months, and these permits help finalize plans for the site. However, no renderings are available for the project at this time.
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This is actually East Kensington, but yes, this corridor is popping off.