Permits have been issued for the renovation of a four-story prewar rowhouse at 140 North 2nd Street in the Old City section of Center City. The building will see a change of occupancy to make room for five transient dwelling units described as “visitor accommodation units.” In total, the building holds 4,523 square feet of space. Renovation work is expected to cost $200,000, according to the permit.
Last September, Philly YIMBY reported that permits have been issued for the construction of a four-story, 20-unit addition and vertical extension to a prewar Art Deco commercial building at 1501 Fairmount Avenue in Fairmount, Lower North Philadelphia. More than half a year later, our visit revealed no construction progress at the development. Designed by Harman Deutsch Ohler Architecture, the development will add 20,558 square feet of space to the existing building, boosting the total area to 26,025 square feet. The project, which is also known under the address of 1501-05 Fairmount Avenue, will feature 5,467 square feet of commercial space, elevator service, roof decks, parking for seven bicycles, and full sprinkling. Permits list Construct Design Corp. Inc. as the contractor and a construction cost of $2.7 million.
A recent site visit by Philly YIMBY has revealed that demolition has begun at the historic Columbia Theater at 2709 Cecil B. Moore Avenue in Cecil B. Moore, North Philadelphia. The 100-year-plus-old structure, situated at the north side of the block between North 27th and Marston streets, will be replaced by a four-story, 18-unit apartment building. Designed by Kore Design Architecture (KCA), the new development will span 21,030 square feet and feature elevator service, full sprinkling and a roof deck. Permits list Bloomtown Holdings LLC as the owner, GRIT Construction as the contractor, and a construction cost of $3.16 million. The Columbia Theatre, as it was originally known, was built in 1911 in a grand Beaux-Arts style. The massive, dramatic marquee and vertical sign that once adorned its front entrance are long gone. Still present, however, is the symmetrical facade with Palladian and oeil-de-boeuf windows, a garland-adorned crown, and a dentil course cornice. Even the elegant bishop’s crook light sconces continue to grace the structure at the second level. The roughly 30-foot-tall building is at once in scale with the avenue’s rowhouses and offers a distinct sense of urbane grandeur.
Philadelphia YIMBY’s recent site visit revealed that construction is crawling along at a snail’s pace, if it has not stalled outright, at a mixed-use development at 2301 Frankford Avenue in Fishtown, Kensington. Designed by Ian Smith Design Group, the project adds a three-story rear addition to a three-story prewar building and two smaller adjacent structures at the eastern corner of Frankford Avenue and East Dauphin Street. The finished structure will feature ground-floor commercial space and six residential units, as well as a cellar and full sprinkling. Permits list Black Oak Builders as the contractor and a construction cost of $312,000.
Renovation work has made significant progress at the renovation of a former clothing factory and warehouse at 2501 Oakford Street in Grays Ferry, South Philadelphia. Designed by Stanev Potts Architects, the project adds a fifth floor to the hulking, dilapidated four-story structure and converts the interior into 54 residences and artist studios. The 8,397-square foot addition will boost the 52,420-square-foot structure to a total of 60,817 million, at a cost of $8.5 million in construction work. Permits list 25th and Oakford LLC as the owner and Reed Street Builders LLC as the contractor. Philly YIMBY’s recent site visit has revealed that significant progress has been made on the renovation, and the structure appears on track toward completion some time this or next year.
