Developers from the Klein Company have proposed 108 apartment units at 312 Fairmount Ave., the site of an old industrial building with large windows, and very red garage front doors almost as twice as high as horse stable. They presented this project to members of the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association zoning committee at a meeting in February. The NLNA would like to see fewer units, and lower height projections, a common item its members go to great lengths to mediate throughout the neighborhood.
“Basically, we asked them to nip and tuck a couple of parts,” said Larry Freedman, NLNA zoning chair.
Developers would demolish the current building at the site, which, from the exterior, looks as though it presents a fine opportunity for a repurposing of the structure, something that is common in Northern Liberties. That's something a few neighbors wish would happen, according to Freedman. “But it's hard to get people to go for that unless you really love a place,” said Freedman.
This marks the second of two projects that could serve to alter the landscape of Fairmount Avenue in Northern Liberties in a significant way. If something that resembles this project comes to pass and the adaptive reuse of the Trans-Atlantic building likewise develops, the neighborhood will see an influx the likes of which it hasn’t seen since the construction of the Piazza. Stay tuned.