After checking out a couple of projects on either side of Lehigh Ave. recently, we decided to take a jog north along Tulip St. to check out several others that are in various stages of progress. This is a very exciting area from a development standpoint, with four mixed-use projects bringing hundreds of units to a once industrial area. We’re going to tackle four projects today, the first two of which are making their first steps forward.

The first stop today consists of the two southernmost properties, at 2200 E. Somerset St. and 2750R Aramingo Ave. where Somerset Station will reshape a former scrap yard. Both of these parcels, which back up to the tracks, will see several buildings go up. The first phase of the project will bring 220 units to the Somerset property, and the site is now fenced off, with developer Riverwards Group‘s branding up after their recent groundbreaking here. The designs from Harman Deutsch Ohler bring a contemporary look, with triplexes fronting Somerset and taller apartment buildings along the tracks.

2750R Aramingo Ave. will continue the party south across Tulip St., where the same team is pairing up to add hundreds of additional units. These 315 units have a look and feel nearly identical to the adjoining property to the west, making this formerly fenced off stretch look and feel more cohesive. We would imagine that work will begin on this phase as the first round of building is complete across the way, with 535 total units across both phases.

Needless to say, this would be quite a change for these blocks, which haven’t been warm or welcoming in living memory. But as the map above tells us, this isn’t everything that’s happening here. Just across the street, 2201 E. Somerset St. is charging ahead, with construction now well above ground after our last visit to the site almost exactly a year back. Atrium Design Group has designed a multi-building project which will include 149 units across single family homes, duplexes, and a 60-unit apartment building with ground-level retail.

Another project we covered on our last trip here, 2149 E. Rush St., is also now vertical, with plans calling for 72 apartment units to join artists’ studios immediately across Trenton Ave. to the north. Foundation work appears to be complete, and the elevator tower gives us an idea of the future height for this five-story building from DesignBlendz. Things were busy on site, so we’d expect to soon see the project start to build up around this concrete tower.

All told, 756 units are coming to these few blocks at the southern edge of Port Richmond, or Olde Richmond, or Kensington, or Harrowgate, or whatever you want to call it. All we know is that an area that was hospitable to only scrap metal in the recent past will soon see hundreds of new folks living where few could envision a bustling development not so long ago. We imagine that we’ll continue to see momentum here in the years to come, as Fishtown’s energy radiates outward, across Lehigh Avenue.