Along Spring Garden Street, immediately beyond the I-95 overpass and before the waterfront, sits a patch of vacant land that developers hope to turn into a mid-rise building with stellar views of the Ben Franklin Bridge, that at night lights up the sky like a circuit board.

The lot

Developers for 117 Spring Garden St. appeared before the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association in August, before torrential rains poured all over Labor Day, with a proposal to construct a 6-story building with ground-floor retail and apartments upstairs. And, in what is becoming a common theme with the NLNA, its zoning committee liked the project but thought it was too tall, given the height of the pre-existing residential units, along Fairmount and Brown streets, the two streets to the north. According to zoning chair Larry Freedman, the proposed 60-feet height for the front of the building along Spring Garden is okay, but that’s too high for the rear. Developers will likely reappear before the zoning committee in coming months. The site was purchased by Spring Garden LLC in November, 2012 for $250K, according to public record.

Vacant lot next door. These neighbors certainly wouldn't be affected.

This area, where Spring Garden Street meets the waterfront has been on a recent development tear. There is multi-unit building now being constructed all along Front Street, about half a block north between Spring Garden and Poplar, and just catty-corner to that, a half block north is more building along New Market Street. There’s enough building going on in this area that its timber could build a small village. And with Penn Treaty Phase II, the luxury townhomes along the waterfront, now under construction nearby, and plans for improvements to the nearby Penn Treaty Park, and the first leg of the Delaware River Trail now being constructed, one can see why developers are attracted to this location. As plans develop, we will keep you posted.

–Lou Mancinelli