Permits have been issued for the a mixed-use renovation of an eight-story prewar building at 5627-33 Germantown Avenue in Germantown, Northwest Philadelphia. A commercial space will still be located on the ground floor, with 47 residential units added above. In total, the project will span 90,515 square feet of interior space. The renovations will cost an estimated $7.75 million.
Aerial view of 5627-33 Germantown Avenue. Credit: Google.
The building features a beautiful exterior, and it will be great to see it preserved and restored. Its cast stone exterior makes a stately presence at the intersection, with pilasters and other historicist details situated throughout the facade. Large, albeit partially covered up, windows are situated throughout the ground floor, and will hopefully make a return with the coming construction. Windows on upper floors are much smaller, but will still allow for a good amount of natural light.
The new development will be a major improvement for the site. Germantown continues to assert itself higher on the chain of Philadelphia’s development, with a continually growing number of new projects promising to add hundreds of new residential units. These developments, which include the renovation project discussed in this article, will continue to improve upon the neighborhood’s downtown area, which has the potential to become one of the most desirable commercial sectors in the city.
The nearby Germantown station of the SEPTA Regional Rail, as well as numerous bus routes, offer ample transit access. Hopefully, with the increasing density of the neighborhood and the rising populations along the transit arteries, the frequency of both rail and bus will be increased, with Regional Rail one day approaching the
rapidity and convenience of subway service.
No completion date is known for the project at this time, though renovation work may be complete by 2022 or 2023.
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This used to be a high end department store named Rowans and it catered to wealthy people living in mansions a couple of blocks north of Chelten & Germantown Ave.
As the population changed, Rowans tried to change to deal with a much different customer base to no avail. In 1975 Rowans was sold to a black developer and he tried to make it profitable to no avail.
Eventually it closed along with a well known drug store.
Now they hope people will come to live in new residential units while walking over to Germantown Station to take the train downtown. We hope it will draw more people to populate Germantown and improve it’s shopping base.
*Rowell Department Store
Slowly moving affordable housing out of Germantown and preparing it to be unaffordable for those who have lived there all their lives. Follow omg Chestnut Hill.
I believe the store was Rowell’s, not Rowans. I used to shop there and at Allen’s fifty years ago when I lived in Gtn as a student (don’t recall residing in a mansion). Gentrification is a problem seemingly without a good solution, at least one that someone has proposed. The building is a handsome one, and in this case no residents will suffer displacement, as I understand it. Germantown contains a vast quantity of houses little and large, many needing rehab, so there is the possibility of maintaining a community with persons of varying economic standing. – Steven PS: We need more trains on the CH West Line!
CORRECTION: The exterior is limestone, NOT “cast stone.”