Philly YIMBY’s recent site visit has revealed that construction has still not begun on a 12-story, 375-unit mixed-use project at 1223-45 Washington Avenue in Hawthorne, South Philadelphia. The property spans a nearly 50,000-square-foot lot bound by Washington Avenue to the south, South 13th Street to the west, and Kimball Street to the north. Designed by BKV Group, the building will rise to a height specified at 154 feet and span 372,721 square feet. The project will include commercial space on the ground floor along Washington Avenue as well as an underground parking garage and space for 184 bicycles. Permits list Post General Contracting as the contractor and specify a construction cost of $62 million.
1223-45 Washington Avenue will boast an attractive exterior with large windows separated by a grid of predominantly white mullions, crafted in an understated yet sophisticated and urbane-looking manner.
1223-45 Washington Avenue. Photo by Jamie Meller. February 2023
1223-45 Washington Avenue. Photo by Jamie Meller. February 2023
1223-45 Washington Avenue. Photo by Jamie Meller. February 2023
1223-45 Washington Avenue. Photo by Jamie Meller. February 2023
1223-45 Washington Avenue. Photo by Jamie Meller. February 2023
Although permits were issued in 2021, upon our visit we found the site much as it appeared during our previous visit last October, with a parking lot still crowded with vehicles and containers and site prep work not yet started. This is rather unfortunate, as the project promises to be a fine addition to the neighborhood, with a scale and density more than appropriate for its location on the wide avenue, proximity to Broad Street (which runs one block to the west) and Center City (South Street runs within a nine-minute walk to the north), and transit adjacency (the Ellsworth-Federal Station on the Broad Street Line is situated within a five-minute walk to the southwest). We hope to see the start of construction work in the near future.
1223-45 Washington Avenue. Credit: BKV Group
1223-45 Washington Avenue. Credit: BKV Group
1223-45 Washington Avenue. Credit: BKV Group
1223-45 Washington Avenue. Credit: BKV Group
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Will these the apartments or condominiums?
Apartments.
This is a 3 phase project and this is the final phase. They’re using the lot for this building to stage construction for the first two phases. I’d guess that this 3rd phase won’t commence for several years.
The described project is the third and final phase of a mega-development by Bart Blatstein’s Tower Investments and Matthew and Michael Pestronk’s Post Bros. Phase I, located on the western half of the block bounded by Broad St., Washington Ave, 13th St. and Carpenter St., is currently under construction after breaking ground in December 2021. Phase I is scheduled for completion in 2024 with pre-leasing beginning in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Phase II is located on the eastern half of the same block as Phase I. Phase III is across 13th St. from Phase II, on the western half of the block bounded by Washington Ave, 13th St., Kimball St., and 12th St. All three phases are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.
The $750 million, 1.9 million square foot project includes 1,457 apartments (wow!), more than 65,000 square feet of ground floor retail, of which 40,000 square feet is devoted to a Giant supermarket, and a 510-auto and 713-bicycle space underground parking garage. In addition, there is 185,000 square feet of amenity space, including a spacious gym, recovery rooms, two entertainment lounges, co-working space, a kids’ playroom, a glam room (I had to look that one up), several pools and hot tubs, a pool deck, and three courtyards.
As I have mentioned previously, the site groundwater and soils underlying the site are contaminated by a fire and explosion event that occurred in 1974. The site was a chemical dye works at that time and 2 Phila firefighters lost their live and 2 more were seriously injured and permanently disabled at that event. The groundwater sampled in 2006 was a bright green color. There could be a substantial cleanup cost for the site prior to development. Don’t live in the basement of the finished building!
My above comment applies to the Phase III site located on the east side of 13th Street
The Hawthorne Community Black and Browns will loose their Properties Value. I was bullied in those meetings for these projects the RCO Board. That made decisions for this used people out of our boundaries to get these buildings built.And the Developers threatened homeowners that they will be sued if this monstrosity don’t be built. Nothing for Veterans, nothing for Seniors, or low income. He even said Us Blacks and Browns Will not live in any or either these new High rise Projects that’s all these are. For everyone else except Blacks and Browns….