We first brought 112-20 Christian St. to your attention several years ago, noting that the property had gone on the market for $1.5M and was under agreement in about two weeks. At that time, the huge parcel was home to a large one-story garage and some office space for the Scandinavian Shipping Supply Company. At one point, the building also functioned as the Royal Norwegian Honorary Consulate in Philadelphia. And it looked like this:
In 2013, developers presented plans to QVNA and neighbors for nine homes with parking, with four of the homes on Christian Street and the rest located in the rear of the property, facing an interior courtyard. After some tweaks, the project eventually got the support of the community, the Planning Commission, and the councilman, but the project was still denied by the ZBA. Then they made some additional changes (we don't know what they changed), went back to the ZBA, and got approval. When we visited the property at the beginning of this year, the old building had been demolished and materials were onsite for the project's first phase.
We passed by the project last week and noted that, after about ten months, the first five homes look like they're approaching completion. Not only that, but foundation work is ongoing for the four homes in the front. We don't see any active listings for the project which had been called Shot Tower Estates and now seems to be called Christian Street Estates, but some old listings have the price set at $1.25M per home. At least one of the homes is under agreement.
The back homes will have 3,800 sqft of living space, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and one-car parking. The second phase of homes will lay out differently, and each will have two-car parking- so look for even higher prices on the next phase. No word on whether, in memory of the building they're replacing, each home will come with a full complement of Ikea furniture.