If you visit the 3200 block of N. 16th St., you’ll probably find yourself struck by the large amount of vacant land, just steps from Temple University Hospital. Though the hospital provides critical healthcare resources to the community and also serves as a job center for thousands of people at various levels of education, the adjacent Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood has not reaped very much incidental economic benefit. The vacant lots on this block and many others nearby tell this story in compelling fashion.
But it’s starting to feel like the tide is turning in this neighborhood. In recent months, we’ve covered 30 units coming to Pulaski Avenue, 12 units on the 3500 block of N. 23rd St., and 14 units on the 3300 block of N. 16th St., and that doesn’t even cover all of the construction planned for this pocket of the city. Considering that we just showed you a picture of the 3200 block of N. 16th St., you might guess that we’ve got news of a project upcoming on this block. And you’d be correct!
As 3232 N 16th St., developers are planning to demolish a three-story building that, somewhat unexpectedly, was historically used as a fraternity house. This building sits on a rather large lot that measures almost 7,000 sqft, which means it can easily accommodate a small-sized apartment building. And indeed, the developers are planning a four-story apartment building with 16 units and 10 parking spots on the first floor.
Despite only being a five minute walk from a Broad Street Line stop, this block is zoned for single family homes. Even worse, the properties on this block are zoned even more restrictively, with one parking spot required for every unit built in this zoning district. If someone were building a suburban-style home on this property, this would make sense. But for a small-sized apartment building in Nicetown, 1:1 parking is just not in the cards.
This being the case, the developers are seeking variances from the Zoning Board of Adjustments for this project. We can see in the drawings from Pace Architecture + Design that the plans call for a curb cut and driveway to allow cars to access the covered spots under the second floor of the building. While we get it that people are worried about parking in this town, the curb cut will take a traditionally pedestrian friendly street and make it more auto-centric. Also… look at all the vacant land on this block and all the open street parking spots! Does this project really need parking?
The depth of the lot results in a stretched out building, which allows each of the units to have a balcony along the southern edge. While future development on the vacant lot next door might one day partially obstruct the view, the driveway acts as a de facto setback. With apartments in the building starting at under 400 sqft, these partially enclosed private spaces will likely get a lot more use than the shared rooftop deck.
As things start to turn over in Nicetown-Tioga, this block should be in store for some big changes. There’s a ton of vacant land on this block, and a few projects have been permitted in the last couple years, even though they haven’t yet broken ground. Assuming these projects move forward, we’ll see a few dozen new units come online, and that should only spur additional development as the block starts looking less bleak. Incidentally, these other projects also needed ZBA approval, which may be a bullish sign for this new proposal. We’d be even more enthused if the area got remapped, but we aren’t holding our breath on that.
With the ZBA scheduled to vote on the project next week, we’ll know soon enough if the project can legally advance. With the district councilmember not opposed to the project it seems likely the board will grant approval, but we are a bit worried that we might see provisos that reduce the density and possibly push the project out of viability. We’ll cross our fingers that this attractive project does indeed get full approval, potentially sparking a new era on this block as this neighborhood embarks on its recovery from decades of disinvestment.