South Kensington and Fishtown are both experiencing a development renaissance, and the good stuff finally seems to be trickling to Front Street, under the El. We've documented plenty of examples of blight under the El, and just recently we've noticed a string of renovation there. For example, a garage is currently being converted to a soup place at Front & Master, across from a future drinking establishment in a renovated former distillery. At Front & Oxford, a massive adaptive reuse project is taking place, converting an old dye works into a mixed-use development. And right near Girard, a new construction project at 1210 N. Front St. just got approval from the ZBA.
In February, developers went before South Kensington Community Partners with plans for three homes on Hope Street and three duplexes on Front Street. According to the Northeast Times, the community didn't like the idea of only residential buildings on Front. So the developers went back to the drawing board and altered their proposal to include commercial space on the first floors of the buildings on Front Street, with two apartments above. The math then, would be six new apartments under the El, three commercial spaces, and three homes on Hope Street. And one less surface parking lot in Philadelphia.
We don't know whether there will be too many retailers lining up to lease the new construction commercial space under the El, but we don't think the developers will have any trouble finding tenants for the apartments or buyers for the homes on Hope Street, assuming the price is right. We wonder if this project will resemble some we've seen on Cecil B. Moore Avenue near Temple, with temporary commercial space to satisfy the zoning code or the community which will eventually be converted to residential when no retail tenants can be found. We hope this isn't the case, and that new businesses will continue to fill in along Front Street. After all, when you consider how many people ride the Market Frankford line every day, it would seem like a good idea to locate a business so close to the Girard stop. On the other hand, patrons usually like seeing the sky. Ah, there's a tradeoff in everything.