A reader tipped us off the other day about construction on the 900 block of S. Saint Bernard Street, and since we'd never visited said block we figured it was worth it to make the trip. It's a pretty sweet block, dominated by twins that have been fairly well maintained. Architecturally, the homes have typical West Philly touches, like gabled roofs, front porches, colorful bays, and so on. While each home copies its twin, none of the pairs on the block are the same. For example:
As you can see, there's construction happening at 930 S. Saint Bernard St., in between the homes pictured above.
First, you'll notice that this new building will actually possess some architectural details. Wow. So often on this side of the river, we've seen new construction with very spartan design elements, sticking out from their surroundings like a sore thumb. Now, we're not slaves to architectural conformity by any means, but we're always happy to see developers making an effort to create something that will hold up in the years to come. Thankfully, it appears that's what's happening here. One thing to watch out for, if and when the vacant lot next door is developed, is whether those developers will attempt to match this new building or whether they'll go for something different. Given the other buildings on the block, we'd say that former would be preferable.
It's also worth noting that this project is a single-family home, not an apartment building. We'd have to assume that once the building is finished it'll be offered for sale, not rented to students. Perhaps that's because this block is closer to Kingsessing Park than it is to Baltimore Avenue, or maybe it's just a matter of developer preference. Still, we can't think of the last time we've seen single-family new construction in West Philly or Southwest. Maybe we'll be seeing more of it in the future when the student housing boom cools down.