Fishtown

On Tuesday, June 21, members of the Fishtown community voted 71 – 68 in favor of constructing a 50-foot-high mixed-use building at 1405 Frankford Avenue. The site encompasses a portion of a community garden as well as several garages operated by Penn Treaty Metals. The plan will be presented to the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) sometime within the next few months.

Last year, developers purchased a chunk of property at the intersection of Frankford and Montgomery Avenues. An unnamed buyer purchased the old church building on the parcel after members of the community expressed their concern with regard to its preservation. Four duplexes are being constructed next to the old church building. Three of the upper units, priced at approximately $350,000 each, are currently under negotiation. Four of the lower units are still available at approximately $300,000 each.

Bright Common Architecture and Design is renovating a former public bathhouse at 1241 North Front Street. PlayArts, an educational institution, will be setting up shop here, offering classes for young children as well as cognitive-development training for babies. It is located under the Market-Frankford Line several doors down from the Front Street Cafe.

Northern Liberties

In Northern Liberties, just south of Cambridge Street between 4th and Orianna, developers are converting an old carpet-binding factory into a 32-unit residential building. The structure has been sitting vacant for many years. Developers proposed a somewhat similar plan in 2014, but nothing ever came to fruition. The current project presumably requires nine parking spaces on the parcel.

Two stories have been added to one of the buildings at the intersection of 2nd and Green Streets. The posted permits indicate that two new apartment units will constitute the addition. The architectural details have yet to be ascertained.

Yards Brewery is relocating next year. It will be moving from 901 North Delaware Avenue to the intersection of 5th and Spring Garden Streets. Tom Kehoe, the president and co-founder of Yards Brewery, hopes to lease 75,000 square feet of space in order to increase his business’s annual output. The new brewery will presumably open late next year.

Kensington

Construction has recently begun at 1320 – 1348 North Front Street. The property owners are converting the vacant parcel into a parking lot as an accessory use to a yet-to-be-built hotel at 1224 – 1240 Frankford Avenue. Said owners obtained variances for both the parking lot and the hotel on the same day. The hotel will include more than 120 rooms, several restaurants, office space, an event area and a rooftop pool.

A design proposal for a mixed-use building at 2621 – 2667 Frankford Avenue has been released. The Civic Design Review meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 5. The East Kensington Neighborhood Association voted 61 – 33 in favor of the project in April. Woods Brothers Building Materials previously owned the currently vacant lot.

The city has received federal funding dedicated to improving the conditions of American Street between Girard and Indiana Avenues. Pan American Academy Charter School will host a public open house on Wednesday, July 20 to discuss the upcoming project. The Philadelphia Streets and Water Departments will implement plans in order to improve the conditions of American Street. A second open house will take place on Tuesday, July 26 at the Crane Arts Center at 1400 North American Street.