PHILADELPHIA | 626 N. Deleware Avenue | 198 FT | 16 FLOORS

[mcgrath618]

This thing was good to go all the way back in August as far as I'm aware. Anyone been in the area recently? Any site work?

https://li.phila.gov/#details?entity...DELAWARE%20AVE

[Philly-Drew]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

This thing was good to go all the way back in August as far as I'm aware. Anyone been in the area recently? Any site work?

https://li.phila.gov/#details?entity...DELAWARE%20AVE

Nothing at all. Not even any signs posted.

[mcgrath618]

From the Lowrise thread:

Originally Posted by ok-ez

add 700 N. Delaware Ave. – CMX3 – Herc Grigos – A CDR (Civic Design Review) – No Zoning Review – 482 units & 147 parking spaces

If I'm not mistaken, this is that very project, no?

[Aaamazarite]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

From the Lowrise thread:


If I'm not mistaken, this is that very project, no?

Not the same-- 700 N Delaware is the bus maintenance property at Delaware and Fairmount.

[summersm343]

Yeah, 626 N. Delaware and 700 N. Delaware are two different parcels. Very cool if both get going! Fingers crossed!

[summersm343]

96-Unit Tower + Car Dealership Finally Moving Forward in Northern Liberties?

Rendering 1:


Rendering 2:


Current site:

Back in August of 2018, owners of the 9,075 square foot CMX-3 parcel at 626-30 N. Delaware Avenue went before the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) for a 14-story, nearly 195 foot tower with 96 residential units, 117 automated parking spots, and 32 bicycle spaces with a car dealership at the base of the building. The zoning appeal stated that the plan was utilizing both the green building/LEED Gold bonus and the mixed-income housing bonus to achieve a 72 extra feet in building height. The ZBA provisionally approved the plan with some required changes.

Since then, nothing has happened at the site, which sits behind the gas station at Delaware Avenue and Spring Garden Street, although a lot of action is underway nearby. More than a year ago, we told you about the 6-story, 25-unit mixed-use building under construction just north. That project is now topped out and sits right next to a new construction 30-unit mixed-use building. We also told you about the 500+ unit mixed-use project that seems to be inching forward at the former Festival Pier site. Directly across Fairmount Ave. from the 626 Delaware Ave. site, there’s a 488-unit mixed-use proposal that we’ll get around to covering soon.

Although we thought the project was likely dead, we decided to check up on it and found that a zoning permit was issued on August 5th of this year.

The permit lays out a very similar project. However, in this iteration, the parking count is reduced from 117 to 105. 35 of the parking spots are reserved for the building’s residents and the rest are non-accessory. We imagine that the non-accessory spaces will be used by the car dealership and essentially act as a car warehouse for their business. This permit also mentions that the public art bonus is being utilized for the project.

Read more here:
http://www.rising.realestate/96-unit...ern-liberties/

[summersm343]

Looks like soiling testing was done on this site? Construction permits are also up on the fence as well!







Read/view more here:
https://phillyyimby.com/2020/11/work...ladelphia.html

[El Duderino]

^the site has looked like this for a while now. i often swing by to see if progress has been made, but it doesn’t seem like much has been happening lately there.

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by summersm343

Looks like soiling testing was done on this site?

Glad I wasn't around for THAT.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

Glad I wasn't around for THAT.

HAHA! Typo

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by El Duderino

^the site has looked like this for a while now. i often swing by to see if progress has been made, but it doesn’t seem like much has been happening lately there.

This better not mess with my gas-station chicken.

[El Duderino]

Originally Posted by Redddog

This better not mess with my gas-station chicken.

lol, the gas station is staying per the site plans, so you should be good.

[SEFTA]

I like this project primarily that it establishes and defines an urban block. A defined corner in an area of surface lots and low slung buildings. I like the building and it's scale. It starts defining the street face of Columbus Boulevard (Delaware River Boulevard)

[mcgrath618]

Smallest of small updates, but this project may also not be dead!

Jumping north to 626 N. Delaware Ave., another tower has been on hold since 2018. This site, just north of a gas station and south of Fairmount Ave. along an exploding development corridor, is owned by the DeSimone Auto Group, who have plans for something we’ve never seen before. 96 units would rise here over 15 floors, with a built-in car dealership making up the commercial component on the lower levels of the project. Designs from CosciaMoos show yet another modern structure, with zoning permits for construction being issued back in Summer 2020. However, upon revisting the plans, it appears that zoning updates to remove the cellar were stamped as of this past summer, so it appears here as well that there is still an eye towards developing this intriguing site.

https://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-phil...the-waterfront

[PhilliesPhan]

VERY minor update: there is a ZBA hearing regarding this property scheduled for March 19, 2024. The description of the hearing is as follows: "APPEAL AGAINST L&I FOR the denial of Administration Review". I'm not sure if this means the project is still alive, but at least it's something!

[mcgrath618]

DeSimone Tower Maybe Moving Ahead Next to Newly Proposed Bus Terminal

So, the news here is actually extremely encouraging and relates directly to our own confusion last spring around permits that were issued. Just this week, the development team returned to the Zoning Board of Adjustments for an appeal against Licenses & Inspections. Why, you ask? To be honest, it’s sort of messy, with permits being issued incorrectly, vague language and some communication breakdowns from the city, all while the owners spent $300K thinking they were legitimately moving forward. In our extremely-we-are-not-a-lawyer opinion, the development team has acted in good faith every step of the way, asking and seemingly receiving extensions during the chaos of the pandemic, while also getting the support of the local neighborhood groups and Councilmember Squilla. We won’t know the final decision until the morning of March 27th, when a final vote will take place at an executive session after the long proceedings yesterday.

But assuming this is approved to move forward, we may see another development domino fall. The current DeSimone spot is close by, immediately next to The Noble, which is going up at 2nd & Spring Garden. The grand plans for this stretch of 2nd between Spring Garden and Callowhill St., which we just checked on, is for a mixed-use program similar to East Market. With co-developers National Real Estate Development and Kushner Real Estate Group already owning two other large properties between these bookends to the tune of $17.7 million, might we see another sale soon? DeSimone would be well positioned to cash-in, perhaps holding off until their new digs are complete.