600 N. Broad gets a Facelift

Its not often or to most people ever a time when you hear the words mixed use development or world class restaurant uttered on the Northern fringes of Broad Street.  Thankfully, the development dry spell has come to an end for this historic section of the city.  At 600 N. Broad Street, real estate developer Eric Blumenfeld, who has long been working to turn the stretch of North Broad Street between City Hall and Temple University into a sort of artistically gentrified urban playground, will feature the projects of two restauranteurs and one caterer boosting the aesthetic appeal of this hopeful trendy hotspot.

Stephen Starr, who has plans to launch at least four new restaurants in 2011, will be building a seafood restaurant known as Route 6 on the site, which was most recently home to the Wilkie Chevrolet-Buick Subaru dealership.  Marc Vetri, will open a beer bar known as Birreria 600, and Joe Volpe of the Cescaphe Event Group, will open a 700-capacity catering venture.  100 new apartments are also planned for the project.  The project is expected to be complete by October 2011.

Project Cost: $43 million
Public Funding: $18 million