Permits have been issued for a six-unit apartment building at 1717 North 42nd Street in Parkside, West Philadelphia. Upon completion, the new building will stand three stories tall. In total, the building will hold 5,080 square feet of interior space. Construction costs are estimated at $280,000.
Following the logical descending order of Philadelphia YIMBY’s ongoing “category spotlight” series, which looks at some of the new article categories we introduced at the start of the year, the final category among the unit-count groups goes to new single-family houses. When possible, we tend to focus on larger development, yet to property reflect the reality of the city’s real estate market, on occasion we cover a few of the numerous single-family projects that are proposed, under construction, and recently completed around the city. In his brilliant 2019 book The North Atlantic Cities, author Charles Duff calls Philadelphia as the greatest rowhouse city in the United States, putting it ahead of behemoths such as New York, Boston, and Baltimore. As most of the newly-built single-family houses are of the rowhouse variety, this category highlights the city’s enduring centuries-old vernacular tradition even if much of this new construction is styled in a contemporary manner. Please see below for a few examples from our recent publications.
The first phase of the two-tower Cathedral Square project is well underway as it is nearing exterior completion. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and developed by Exeter Development Group and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, One Cathedral Square at 1701 Race Street rises near the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Logan Square, Center City. The glass and concrete tower stands 245 feet and 23 stories tall. Just to the north, the large parking lot will be transformed into a second tower, which will stand 470 feet tall.
In the continuing descending order of Philadelphia YIMBY’s ongoing “category spotlight” series, which looks at some of the new article categories we introduced at the start of the year, is the group of new buildings that feature two to three residential units. The category almost exclusively covers smaller, typically rowhouse-sized developments, although in some cases it intersects with larger groups of buildings consisting of several such structures. Please see below for several such projects that we have covered this year so far.
Permits have been issued for two multi-family developments, located on the same block, at 161 and 176 Conarroe Street, in Manayunk, Northwest Philadelphia. At 161 Conarroe Street, plans call for the addition of an interior elevator and garage area. The rest of the building will be converted to hold more residential space, with 20 apartments added inside. In total, the building will offer 33,520 square feet of space, and renovation work is expected to cost $2 million. At 176 Conarroe Street, a very similar project is in the works. The three-story building will see its interior renovated into 15 apartments. In total, this building will offer 23,300 square feet of space, with renovation costs estimated at $1.5 million. Between the two projects, 35 residential units will be added to the block.
