Remember in 2011, when we told you about plans for the redevelopment of Girard Square, and that the developers were targeting Target as their lead tenant? Remember how excited we were by this possibility? Remember how nothing has happened with this project since?
Today, we learned about East Market, a new proposal from National Real Estate Advisors for the entire block encompassed by Market, Chestnut, 11th, and 12th Streets. It's considerably more ambitious than the previous project that brought so much excitement, so it stands to reason that everyone should be pretty much flipping out about it. Check out this rendering, from BLT Architects, of basically the same perspective as the image above:
According to the Inquirer, the first phase of the project will include the demolition of the building currently on southern side of Market Street. In its place will rise two floors of retail and 322 apartments over fifteen additional stories. The plan is for stores to have limited ground-floor space and considerably more square footage upstairs. The developers are also targeting a small grocery, like Trader Joe's. While Market Street will be all hustle and bustle, Ludlow Street will be more intimate and walkable, creating a pedestrian-focused block just a few blocks from City Hall.
The project will have additional components, evident from this site plan:
Notice the walkway that will lead from Market to Chestnut Street, and all of the public space that will be associated with the project. Also, the Girard building and the 11th Street building will be renovated. A second residential tower will eventually rise at 12th & Market, along with two new buildings on Chestnut Street. Just imagine the way that a couple of new buildings and a walkway to Market Street would interact with a new mixed-use development currently under construction on the south side of the 1100 block of Chestnut Street. Just think about what hundreds of new residents and businesses could do for this stretch of Market Street. Just salivate over the possibility of a Gallery Mall that's opened to the street, and newly walkable and pedestrian friendly Market East.
Will this happen soon? Will it even happen? We can hope, folks. We can hope.