Oh, that glorious Beury Building. Perhaps as famous for its suggestive graffiti as it is for its gorgeous Art Deco design, we checked in earlier this year at 3701 N. Broad St., where things were in motion for a triumphant return for a building that had seen much better days. Construction had just started on the restoration of the original tower, which was slated to become a 138-room Marriott hotel, with a second phase of mixed-income, new-construction housing for the northern portion of the lot consisting of 113 units over 13K sqft of ground floor retail, all in a modern structure designed by DIGSAU. Let’s check back in at this busy intersection of Broad Street, Germantown, and Erie Avenues to get a reminder of where things stand.

Thanks to a submission to the Historical Commission, we now know that even more is being planned here by developers Shift Capital. According to these documents, SgRA is designing another addition to the historic structure which will add about 13K sqft to the original plans. This addition will mimic the materials and design of the existing tower, while providing gated parking access via N. Watts St., and an additional 21 rooms on floors 4-10 above to bring our room count to a total of 159. While not approved yet, these plans have been recommended for approval by Commission staff, so we are crossing our fingers that we’ll see things move forward on this addition at the upcoming November 22nd meeting. Let’s check it out.

Adding to the excitement of the addition are some new renderings of the revamped Beury Building. The facade will be cleaned, repointed, and restored to its original grandeur along with updated windows and the like. We also have a better look at the ground floor of the building, which is now confirmed as a Courtyard by Marriott, becoming the third such option in town after the City Ave. and Navy Yard locations. Most exciting for us, however, is the new view of the rooftop restaurant and bar. This roof deck area will face south, offering what are likely going to be stunning views of the Center City skyline.

Isn’t it fun when an already exciting project gets even better? The restoration of the building, the additional affordable housing, and the hotel are all great, but knowing that the developers are bullish enough on the area to propose 21 additional rooms while already in flight is a positive sign for sure.

And speaking of positive signs, there should be plenty of new signage in the immediate area sooner than later, though these signs may be transit-focused. We mentioned that this project stands near the busy Broad/Germantown/Erie (BGE) intersection, which is slated for quite the reinvention. High-level plans are in place to help with traffic calming, transit assistance, along with greening up this major meeting of several busy arterial roads. But all that should change soon enough, as things should look very different in the near(ish) future.

These plans are still in preliminary phases, so get involved! In fact, you can check out a meeting taking place tonight, November 16th at 6:00 PM ET on Zoom, which you can learn about more here. Don’t say we never did anything for you.