The corner of 6th & Green has quickly become one of the busiest intersections in the city when it comes to development. The Liberty Square townhouse development at the northeast corner was finished several years ago, bringing large townhomes to an area that had formerly been empty. On the southeast corner, a 13-story tower is rising which will be anchored by an Amazon grocery store.
Today, however, we are focusing on the west side of 6th at the large property at 650 Fairmount Ave., which takes up most of the block between 6th & 7th and Fairmount & Spring Garden. We told you that there were big plans in store back in 2020 but we hadn’t seen much movement, save for a demo permit issued this February. But as we were checking out a different site the other day, we noticed that things are now well underway. The former Fairmount Manor garden apartments that took up the majority of the site are mostly gone, with plenty of heavy machinery moving dirt around. We made a little trip around this huge construction zone to check out where things are now.
Demolition started rather recently, so things sure seem to be moving full speed ahead on this one. This is encouraging, as the property changed hands in April. Previously owned by local firm PRDC Properties, New Jersey-based Accurate Builders and Developers purchased this lot, and it appears they will be moving forward with their first Philadelphia project using the existing plans from ISA.
We are excited to see this project, which will surround the lovely Helping Hand Rescue Mission building, start to move forward. In concert with the tower across 6th Street, this project will bring nearly 800 units to these two blocks, including 40 affordable units. The influx of new residents will give a different vibe to this stretch, which was previously home to low density apartments and the ugliest shopping center in Philadelphia. If some of the other projects slated for Spring Garden Street get moving, the entire area will look and feel completely different than just a few years ago. And if the proposed three-building project at the Federal Donuts site just to the north moves forward, the entire Fairmount Avenue corridor will have been completely reimagined, as well. Considered in the context of all the new density on the north side of Northern Liberties, we see a neighborhood growing by leaps and bounds in multiple areas, as more and more people flock to this burgeoning part of town.
