Construction Permits Issued for Townhouse at 6115 Osceola Street Unit 12 in Germantown, Northwest Philadelphia

Construction permits have been issued for a three-story single-family residence at 6115 Osceola Street in East Germantown, Northwest Philadelphia. The building is planned as part of a proposed 12-building townhouse complex, where it is labeled as Unit 12 within the development master plan. The complex will rise upon a vacant lot sited on the northeast side of the block between Herman Street and East Tulpehocken Street. Unit 12 will span 2,498 square feet and will include residential features such as a basement, a roof deck, and an outdoor parking space for one vehicle behind the building. The project team includes KJO Architecture as the designer and BF Capital Developers as the contractor.

Permits list a total construction cost of $286,862, which computes to approximately $115 per proposed interior square foot. Within this total, $222,696 is allocated for general construction work, $10,000 for electrical work, $10,000 for mechanical work, $15,000 for plumbing work, and $29,166 for excavation work.

6115 Osceola Street. Building rendering. Credit: KJO Architecture via the City of Philadelphia

6115 Osceola Street. Building rendering. Credit: KJO Architecture via the City of Philadelphia

6115 Osceola Street. Project map. Credit: Google Maps

6115 Osceola Street. Site plan. Credit: KJO Architecture via the City of Philadelphia

6115 Osceola Street, Unit 10. Site plan. Credit: KJO Architecture via the City of Philadelphia

6115 Osceola Street. Site plan legend. Credit: KJO Architecture via the City of Philadelphia

Like the rest of the townhouse ensemble, the semi-detached building will sit at a two-foot stagger in relation to its adjacent neighbor to the northwest, lending a dynamic rhythm to the overall composition. The structure’s footprint will measure 16 feet wide and 51 feet long. The building will rise 34 feet to the top of the main roof and 37-and-a-half feet to the top of the parapet.

The first floor will sit at an elevation of three feet above the ground plane. Ceiling heights will span nine feet at the above-ground floors and eight feet in the basement.

6115 Osceola Street. Aerial view prior to redevelopment. Credit: Google Maps

6115 Osceola Street. Site view prior to redevelopment. Looking northeast. May 2025. Credit: Google Street View via Google Maps

6115 Osceola Street. Building section. Credit: KJO Architecture via the City of Philadelphia

The structure will be styled as a contemporary interpretation of Germantown’s traditional prewar housing stock. Small front yard will sit in front of five-foot-deep covered porches. The bichromatic color scheme will consist of white vertical siding at the upper floors and the mansard roof, while dark gray accents will be used at the ground-level brick, porch awning, and peaked gable roof lining.

The ground floor will recede into the structure at the rear elevation, creating space for a partially covered rear deck and a single-car parking space, accessed via a shared mid-block drive aisle. The floors above will be cantilevered at a slight slant ascending toward the roof.

The townhouse complex at 6115 Osceola Street will make for a promising, context-deferential addition to the neighborhood, adding a significant number of new residences to a parcel that has sat empty for well over a decade. Route 23 and 81 buses service the vicinity, with the former running along Germantown Avenue, the neighborhood’s primary commercial thoroughfare, which extends within a five-minute walk to the southwest.

A number of public green spaces are available within a 15-minute walking radius, the largest among which is the Awbury Arboretum, situated within a 12-minute walk to the northeast. Other nearby green spaces include the Morton Playground to the southeast, the Waterview Recreation Center to the east, and Carpenter Park to the northwest, which features a large, play-themed mural. The Washington Lane regional rail station sits by the arboretum, within a 16-minute walk to the northeast of the proposed development.

6115 Osceola Street. Zoning table. Credit: KJO Architecture via the City of Philadelphia

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