Mormon Church Moves to The Benjamin Franklin Parkway

The Mormon Church closed on the purchase last month of 1601 Vine St. in Center City Philadelphia.  The property sold for roughly $12.5 million for the parcel that sits next to a site where it plans to construct a new temple at 17th and Vine streets.  The church bought the 2.1-acre site from Hudson Realty Capital, a New York investment firm that controlled the property.  Last year the church bought the property at 17th and Vine for $7.5 million.

The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority signed off last month to designate the church as developer for the property.  The Church hasn't decided what to do with the site, but plans for some sort of mixed use development.  It viewed the deal as an opportunity to buy the site now and eventually devise plans for it.  The church will assume the current zoning on the site, which can accommodate a large development.  For the time being the church will focus its time and resources on the temple.  The church is still finalizing the design, working with architect Perkins + Will.  The design will be finished later this year.

The church will be just under 70,000 square feet.  Its spires will reach no higher than 209 feet.  The temple will have public gardens, and is expected to create about 1,000 jobs during construction.

Trenton China Pottery Sells Old City Location

Trenton China Pottery (TCP) sold its Philadelphia property at 2nd and Arch streets in Old City.  A group of undisclosed local investors bought it for $1.4 million and plans to convert the nine buildings that comprise the structure totaling 55,000 square feet.  The properties run from 127-37 Arch St. to 101-107 N. 2nd St.  Developer plan to have residential units on the top floors and retail at street level.

TCP, put the property on the market eight years ago.  The company started in 1927 and had operated out of the Old City building ever since.  The company is now located on Memphis Street in Port Richmond and operates under the new name; Trenton China.

G8 Development's 2045 E. York Street Residence; More Sustainable Living In Fishtown

A staple prototype for G8's sustainable renovation projects, the 2045 E. York Street Residence in Fishtown boast a slew of sustainable features and practices throughout the project.  With an almost fully completed residence, G8 is proud to put its York Street success on the market.  The three story, 3-bed room, 2.5 bathroom single family home, began as a complete-gutted renovation of one of many Philadelphia pre-war row homes located in the Fishtown neighborhood of East North Philadelphia.

The home is insulated with recycled denim insulation, energy star doors, and Low-E Glaze windows that allow plenty of natural light with minimum heat gain.  Bamboo flooring is used throughout the house, along with recycled stainless steel railings and banisters, CFL lighting to reduce energy cost, duel flush toilets, and low-flow faucets and shower heads.  The beautiful galley style kitchen opens out to an intimate backyard allowing ample light to pour through the first floor.  Energy star appliances are used throughout, along with ECO by Costantine counter tops.  Lastly a private roof deck tops off the third floor master suite, giving access to a large Solar Thermal Water Heating system on the main roof.  The system will supplement the heating of all hot water needs in the home, paired with a storage tank in the basement.  The home is modestly priced at $245k, breaking the bank for some but well worth the energy saving features and convenient location in one of America's most walkable neighborhoods, "Fishtown"!

Parkside Avenue Mixed-Use Development

On Tuesday the Philadelphia Planning Commission approved expanding the Parkside-Lancaster Urban Renewal Plan, authorizing the acquisition of 54 properties near 52nd Street and Parkside Avenue. There, the Parkside Association of Philadelphia and Community Ventures, a non-profit developer of affordable housing, plan to build a mixed-use development with senior housing above and restaurant/retail space below, a small apartment building and a community garden on the east side of 52nd Street.

The Parkside Association is fighting for the execution of this project.  Many see this as another key opportunity to encourage continued growth in a neighborhood with so much potential, economic and developmental growth in education and health.  The development is seen as a future destination for Mann Center patrons to eat at restaurants that would be part of the mixed-use development planned for the 1700 block of 52nd Street.  Unfortunately work won't begin anytime soon.  City council must pass an ordinance that likely won't be introduced until fall, and it could take a year or more to locate the owners of abandoned properties. Construction probably will not happen for another 18 months to 2 years.

Parkside-Lancaster Area Redevelopment Plan

The Barnes Museum On The Parkway

The Parkways newest addition, the renowned "Barns Museum" is progressively nearing its way to completion.  The museum as you may know will house the large private art collection of the late Dr. Albert Barnes, currently located in his former home in Lower Merion.  The collection comprises nearly 9,000 pieces of artwork from all cultures and mediums.  Dr. Barnes has one of the largest collections of French Impressionist art in the world valued somewhere between $6 billion and $25 billion.  The Foundation's move to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway will open its galleries to thousands of tourist and city dwellers, giving it a high profile central location in Philadelphia's Museum District, and position itself to bank some much needed investments.

The new building, designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects will be about 93,000 square feet, 12,000 of which will be dedicated gallery space.  Other amenities are a 150 seat auditorium, classrooms, conservation and research rooms, and a 5,000 square foot special exhibitions gallery.  The two story building will be covered in Ramon limestone, with traditional looking wooden windows to mimic the light patterns of the original museum.  The site plan features several courtyards and gardens surrounding the building with fountains and native plantings, with an outdoor cafe on the north end of the site.  Parking will also be located on the north end with a bus loop on 20th street.

Photos courtesy of Philadelphiaheights

North 28 Modular Condos in Brewerytown

MMPartners announced last February that they have closed a construction loan to build their North 28 condo project.  North 28 is a new construction 15-unit building with 15 gated parking spaces located in Brewerytown at 1238 N 28th street, 1/2 block north of Girard Avenue.  The developers are looking to finish the project by the end of this summer.  A speedy construct is made possible by assembling the prefabricated units off site.  The 15 units will consist of three one-bedroom condos as well as 12 two-bedroom units designed by JKR Partners.  The condos have been approved for both sale and rental; 1-bedrooms listed in mid $100ks, 2-bedrooms mid $200ks.  Rentable units will be price anywhere between $900 and $1,450 per month.

Developer: MM Partners
Architects: JKR Partners
Land Purchase Price: $175,000
Land area: 14,867 SqFt
Location: 1238 N 28th St. Brewerytown
Completion date: Late Summer 2011

Brandywine Realty Acquires 1919 Market in Bankruptcy Auction

One of the few available prime real estate opportunities in Philadelphia's business district was sold at auction for $9.3 million in January.  The vacant grass lot at 1919 Market St. adjacent to the Independence Blue Cross tower was purchased by Brandywine Realty Trust at a Delaware Bankruptcy Auction, beating out O'Neill Properties Group.  The 33,746 square-foot parcel has gone undeveloped for decades with many failed attempts.  Opus East, a division of Opus Group of Minnesota, bought the site in 2005.  The property at just under an acre can accommodate about 840,000 square-feet of space.  Opus East first envisioned a 38-story building with 393 condos, a 500-vehicle garage and some retail space.  The softening residential market in 2007 shelved the project as well as a later revised scaled down version.

Past Failed Attempts at Development

While currently developing plans for the property, Brandywine intends to construct a mixed-use development with a partner it declined to disclose.  The project is currently in the conceptual design phase with size, cost, and scheduled ground breaking not yet determined.  If Brandywine is not thinking "Big" for this project hopefully they give us an impressive structure to be proud of.  Philadelphia can really use more diversity and innovation in its 21st Century Architecture.

Developer: Brandywine Realty Trust
Land Purchase Price: $9.3 million
Location: 1919 Market St.