For over a decade, the Divine Lorraine has inspired awe, curiousity, outrage, and plenty of other emotions from people who pass by. North Broad Street's white elephant, the Divine Lorraine has sat vacant for fifteen years. It's passed between multiple owners over that time period, slowly deteriorating due to both the misguided efforts of some developers and poorly sealed doors and windows which have allowed access to hundreds of trespassers. The outside of the building is covered in graffitti, some of it quite impressive, and we can only imagine what the interior looks like at this point. The revitalization of so many surrounding buildings on North Broad Street makes the blighted beauty even more frustrating and inexplicable. But we've just learned that the stars could finally be aligning for the Divine Lorraine, and renovation could be coming soon.
In October of 2012, developer Eric Blumenfeld purchased the building, along with a collection of vacant lots behind it. Interestingly, Blumenfeld was one of the developers who previously owned the property over the last decade and a half, so it was particularly unusual that he was trying to take another crack at the property. But when you consider that he's been involved in the renovation of several other properties on North Broad Street and has a vision to rebuild multiple neighborhood schools nearby, it doesn't seem so odd. After a year and a half with no apparent progress at the site, a story from yesterday's Inquirer suggests that he's finally found financing.
According to the story, Blumenfeld has a deal in place with Procida Funding and Advisors to borrow $31.5M for the renovation of the Divine Lorraine. The effort will create 126 apartment units and 21K sqft of commercial space. The project is still short a little over $10M from the original projection, but Blumenfeld is actively seeking additional funding and the project should be getting underway while he does. We've heard whispers over the years that Garces and/or Vetri have had some interest in opening restaurants in the building, which would make some sense with other nice restaurants appearing on North Broad in recent years. Nothing is confirmed right now about any tenants.
The Divine Lorraine has seen many stops and starts over the years, and we're going to reserve major excitement until we actually see workers on the site. Nevertheless, this is some of the best news we've heard about this building in years, and history aside, there's little reason to hold back. Hopefully, work will get underway soon and North Broad Street will soon have a restored historic gem we can all be proud of.
For some extensive history of the building plus some photos taken before many of the historic details were removed, click here. For more recent photos of the building, click here.