700-30 North Delaware Avenue

Last month, Philly YIMBY visited the site of a half-million-square-foot, 488-unit mixed-use complex planned at 700-30 North Delaware Avenue on the Delaware River waterfront in Northern Liberties, North Philadelphia. Designed by JKRP Architects, the complex will consist of two seven-story buildings, one spanning the east half of the lot at 700-30 North Delaware Avenue and another to the west at 711-35 North Front Street, with a retail-fronted pedestrian promenade between the two offering public space. While our recent site visit focused on the progress (or lack thereof) at the location, today we dig deeper into the design, its advantages, pitfalls, and still-extant opportunities for further improvement.