Permits have been issued for the construction of a five-story, 96-unit residential building at 7165 Keystone Street in Tacony, Northeast Philadelphia. The plan appears to be a slight downgrade from the six-story, 102-unit development submitted to the Civic Design Review last year and covered in our October article, but since the siting and scale generally remain very similar, we are displaying them here to give the reader an idea of the overall development. In addition to residences, the project will also include a 11,208-square-foot commercial component. Permits list 7165 Keystone Investments as the owner, Brett Harman of Harman Deutsch Ohler Architecture as the design professional, and High Tower Penn as the contractor. Construction costs are listed at $15 million.
7165 Keystone Street. Credit: Harman Deutsch Ohler Architecture
7165 Keystone Street. Credit: Harman Deutsch Ohler Architecture
Although no updated renderings are available, permit stats indicate that little has changed in the latest revision. The permit-listed architect is consistent with the Civic Design Review submission, meaning that the design will likely remain very similar. The permit also calls for balconies, meaning that the feature has not been removed during the redesign process. An area reduction from the originally planned 115,252 square feet to 100,508 square feet in the latest submission is consistent with the reduction in height and unit number.
The fact that the development still calls for 35 parking spaces as before indicates that the ground layout is likely the same or very similar, as well, as any alteration in outdoor parking space by default necessitates site layout changes. The ground footprint of 36,256 square feet also appears consistent with prior plans.
7165 Keystone Street. Credit: Harman Deutsch Ohler Architecture
7165 Keystone Street. Credit: Harman Deutsch Ohler Architecture
Permits also specify elevator service, space for 49 bicycles, and full sprinkling. The roof deck will offer sweeping views of the skyline due to the building’s prominence above its neighbors and will likely feature views of the nearby Delaware River and New Jersey on the other side, the relatively distant Center City, and the Roxborough antenna array, which features the tallest structures in the Philadelphia area, to the northwest.
In all, so far it appears that the building’s scale reduction comes not from a major site plan or massing alteration, but rather from a simple height chop. If this turns out correct and if it were carried out to allay complaints from local NIMBY interests, it would be a frustrating and rather futile turn of events, especially since the original sixth floor was set back from the parapet and would have been barely, if at all, visible from the street level nor would have cast any notable shadows on the surroundings.
Despite the regrettable reduction in housing units, the proposal is a boon for the neighborhood. The development would add significant density to a desolate industrial edge of a residential neighborhood, enhancing its appeal and safety via added pedestrian presence. The structure would close a major gap between the renovated Keystone Lofts to the east and a residential row to the west, replacing an inhospitable parking lot with pleasant street frontage. One of the most significant improvements to come with the redesign is the apparent replacement of the original industrial component at the ground level with commercial space, which will further energize the surrounding area.
7165 Keystone Street. Credit: Harman Deutsch Ohler Architecture
7165 Keystone Street. Credit: Harman Deutsch Ohler Architecture
The site sits at the southern fringe of Tacony, a neighborhood situated in the southern portion of Near Northeast Philadelphia, a few blocks to the east of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. The Tacony Station on the SEPTA Regional Rail Trenton Line, located roughly halfway between the proposed complex and the bridge, provides direct commute to central Philadelphia. The Delaware River waterfront sits a few blocks to thee south, although it is difficult to access due to the barrier formed by Interstate 95 and a rugged industrial zone.
In a highly unexpected turn of events, the area, which is considered off-the-beaten-path even by local Philadelphia standards, was recently thrust into national spotlight. Last year, on November 7th, four days after the presidential election, President Donald Trump’s legal team, led by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, held a press conference in the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping, a small business sited at 7347 State Road in the rough-and-tumble industrial district two blocks to the southeast of the planned development at 7165 Keystone Street.
Rudy Giuliani at the Trump press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping. Credit: Chris McGrath via Teen Vogue
Trump’s and Giuliani’s team offered few comprehensive reasons for their choice of this highly unexpected venue to air allegations of election irregularities, which the team bills as an issue of historic proportions. Perhaps more light will be shed on the reasons for this site selection in the MSNBC-produced documentary Four Seasons Total Documentary, which, in another curious coincidence, comes out on November 7, a few days from today and just a week after the permit filing at 7165 Keystone Street.
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Sick nimbys cut it from 6 to 5 stories unless it was ZBA DiCicco to shut uo everybody and get this built.
So you have no idea but need to blame someone