Read the full article: rising.realestate
A few years ago, we would have been surprised to see a large mixed-use project happening at 7th Street and Germantown Avenue in Kensington. Nowadays, not much surprises us with infill projects and significantly sized developments dotting the landscape of most neighborhoods in Philadelphia.
The area just south of 7th and Germantown has exploded with new construction over the last five years with development momentum spilling over from Fishtown and Northern Liberties. Several mid-sized multifamily projects are under construction just to the east of the intersection and some more boutique new construction buildings directly surround the intersection.
The main event is now underway. Ground was recently broken on a project that entails a 4-story building with 72 residential units, a ground floor commercial space, 52 underground parking spots, 36 bicycle stalls, and a roof deck on the 29,918 square foot CMX-2 triangular parcel at 2224 Germantown Avenue. The basement / underground parking area is currently getting dug out and we imagine the foundation work will follow in the coming weeks before the rest of the structure rises.
The commercial space will be a whopping 16,528 square feet and will primarily front Germantown Avenue. It’s extremely unusual to see such a large commercial space included in a new development these days, especially in emerging neighborhoods. The development team utilized the fresh food market bonus for this project to achieve an additional 15 feet in building height. So, at least some of the commercial space (if not all) will be utilized by a business that sells fresh food.
We’re a huge fan of the triangular massing of this building with residential balconies on the point of the structure. The facade will primarily be constructed of white bricks with corrugated metal accents on the street facing side of the building and cement board on the internal exterior walls.
It’s great to see this project underway. The new residents should bring an influx of energy to the neighborhood and this project should be a catalyst for more development nearby. Soon enough, the whole area bounded by Broad, Front, Girard, and Lehigh will be lined with new buildings.
How do you feel about this project? What kind of fresh food market would you like to see open in this location?
