Old City

Rendering of 36-38 South 2nd Street. Credit: CANNOdesign

Excavation Underway at 36-38 South 2nd Street in Old City

Construction is beginning to make progress at 36-38 South 2nd Street, site of a future mixed-use development in the Old City section of Center City. Designed by CANNOdesign, the building will stand seven stories tall, an appropriate height for Old City. Commercial space will sit on the ground floor and 61 residential units will be located above. The building will hold 51,623 square feet of space and include a roof deck. Tester Construction is the contractor behind the project. Construction costs are estimated at $10.5 million.

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230 Vine Street. Rendering credit: Atrium Design Group

Vertical Extension Anticipated at Mosaic-Clad Painted Bride Art Center at 230 Vine Street in Old City

Construction of new buildings is typically the salient manifestation of positive urban progress in any city. However, on numerous occasions it also paints a bittersweet story of trade-offs, where buildings with architectural, historic, and/or artistic value sometimes make way for new development. Thankfully, we may be getting a happy resolution to what almost became one such tale of needless destruction, where, after a long-standing threat of demolition, a low-rise building clad in a facade-spanning artwork will now become the base for a residential expansion. Located at 230 Vine Street in the Old City section of Center City, Painted Bride Art Center, adorned with artist Isaiah Zagar’s whimsical mosaic, will be topped by a 64-unit residential extension. Philadelphia YIMBY’s recent site visit has revealed that the building currently stands shrouded in black netting, with construction not yet started at the site.

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502 Wood Street Rendering via JKRP Architects

Construction Anticipated for 50-Unit Apartment Building at 502 Wood Street in Old City

In the near future, construction is expected to begin on a six-story, 50-unit apartment building at 502 Wood Street in the Old City section of Center City. Although Philadelphia YIMBY’s recent site visit revealed no signs of construction, with a parking lot still operational at the location, we expect work to begin soon as a construction permit was issued last December. Designed by JKRP Architects, the slab-like structure will span the block between North 5th Street and North Randolph Street, situated directly across from the elevated Interstate 676 aka the Vine Street Expressway. The building will feature two elevators, full sprinkling, and parking for 13 cars, two of which will be reserved for car share and another as an electric car charging space. Permits list Tester Construction Group as the contractor and a construction cost of $5.55 million.

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214 Vine Street. Credit: Moto Designshop

Superstructure Rises for 29-unit Apartment Building at 214 Vine Street in Old City

In March of last year, YIMBY reported that permits were filed for a 29-unit apartment building at 214 Vine Street in Old City. Since that time, construction has made notable progress, as revealed in our recent site visit. Designed by Moto Designshop, the development unites four parcels at 214 through 220 Vine Street, spans a 5,403-square-foot ground footprint, and will hold 26,550 square feet of interior space, which translates into an average of just over 900 square feet per unit. Permits list Vine New Associates LLC as the owner and Spruce Builders LLC as the general contractor.

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107 Chestnut Street (center). Looking northwest. Credit: Google

Despite Requirement to Rebuild, Site Sits Vacant and Paved-Over After Demolition of Historic Building at 107 Chestnut Street in Old City

In August 2020, Philadelphia YIMBY reported that permits were filed for the demolition of a historically designated four-story building at 107 Chestnut Street in the Old City Historic District in Center City, half a block away from Penn’s Landing. The structure was built in 1840, at a time when the neighborhood bustled with maritime commercial activity, and was one of the last remaining buildings on the street’s old mercantile row. The Philadelphia Historical Commission approved the demolition after engineering experts declared the structure unsafe yet required that the owner rebuild the historic edifice in its original form within a year. However, YIMBY’s recent site visit reveals that the structure’s former site still sits cleared and paved over with no signs of new construction, perched next to its lone prewar neighbor that stands surrounded by a parking lot.

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