Permits Issued for Vertical Expansion at 1939 South 5th Street in Wharton, South Philadelphia

Permits have been issued for a renovation and vertical extension of a two-story building at 1939 South 5th Street in Wharton, South Philadelphia. The development is situated at the northeast corner of South 5th and McKean streets. Designed by Toner Architects, the new overbuild will add a third story and 1,216 square feet to the existing 2,657-square-foot building. The resulting mixed-use structure will span 3,873 square feet and feature ground-floor commercial space, an artist studio, two residential units, and a single-car garage. Permits list Gina L. Romano as the contractor and specify a total improvement cost of $490,000, of which $375,000 comprises the construction cost.

1939 South 5th Street. Site map. Credit: Google Maps

1939 South 5th Street. Site plan. Credit: Toner Architects via the City of Philadelphia

1939 South 5th Street. Site plan. Credit: Toner Architects via the City of Philadelphia

1939 South 5th Street. Floor plans. Credit: Toner Architects via the City of Philadelphia

1939 South 5th Street. Building section. Credit: Toner Architects via the City of Philadelphia

The renovated structure will feature storage space in the basement, a cafe and a garage at the ground floor, a two-bedroom apartment and an artist studio at the second floor, and another two-bedroom residential unit and building maintenance space at the third story.

The existing building is a fine example of classic South Philly mixed-use vernacular. The brick-faced, cornice-topped structure boasts a retail space at the corner, which features a classic column-fronted diagonal entrance.

1939 South 5th Street. Aerial view prior to redevelopment. Looking northeast. Credit: Google Maps

1939 South 5th Street. Street view prior to redevelopment. Looking northeast. March 2023. Credit: Google Maps

1939 South 5th Street. Building elevation. Credit: Toner Architects via the City of Philadelphia

Fortunately, the renovation will preserve and restore most of the original facade, aside from the bracketed roof parapet and corner finials (we also hope that the star bolts retained on the facade, as they are not shown on the rendering). While we wish that the feature would have been incorporated into the new design, another cornice band will thankfully take its place, serving as the base for a mansard-styled third story addition.

While the Second Empire-styled mansard floor with dormer windows will look rather out-of-place among its flat-topped Federal style rowhouse neighbors, the design selection is arguably the most effective solution for the location. In its current form, the vertical addition will maintain the block’s existing cornice line and will gently recede from the street wall at the third floor in a rather natural manner. Besides, while not present in the immediate vicinity, Parisian-styled mansard roof have a definitive place in Philadelphia’s built environment, most famously manifested at City Hall.

1939 South 5th Street. Building rendering. Credit: Toner Architects via the City of Philadelphia

1939 South 5th Street. Building rendering. Credit: Toner Architects via the City of Philadelphia

In either case, a strong case may be made that such a historicist addition is a much better fit for the predominantly prewar area than a contemporary-styled addition would have been otherwise. Moreover, despite the imperfections of the current design (such as the aforementioned not-fully-contextual fit, as well as the oddly out-of-place white-clad eastern section), the historicist vertical expansion is a far more urban context-friendly alternative to a complete demolition and replacement with a similarly-sized building. The latter is a trend that is becoming alarmingly common in a number of predominantly prewar neighborhoods, such as Graduate Hospital.

1939 South 5th Street sits rather distant from the subway (the Snyder Station on the Broad Street Line is located within a 20-minute walk to the west); route 47, 57, and 79 buses comprise the local transit service.

Dickinson Square Park and Mifflin Square Park are situated within a roughly seven-minute walk to the north and to the south, respectively. Delaware River-adjacent “big box” retailers are situated within a ten- to 15-minute walk to the east, and a section of the Delaware River Train is accessible via a 25-minute walk to the northeast.

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