Under the heading Other Business, a repurposing of yes, another factory-to-luxury-apartment complex in Northern Liberties was discussed on Thursday’s monthly meeting of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (video footage courtesy of Plan Philly). The buildings to be gutted, painted, and beautified are the two massive 8-story 1930s-era solid concrete behemoths at 800 N. Delaware Ave (at Brown and Poplar) across from what is to-be the Sugar House Casino, and those two Trump condo towers. Unlike the Trump towers, this project, designed by H2L2 and developed by Core Realty will be aimed at renters-only (and at businesses which will occupy ground-level units).

James Templeton of H2L2 architects presented the Commission with architectural drawings (in PowerPoint), laying out the 192 mostly 2-bedroom 1100-1300 sq. ft. luxury apartments, down to individual apartment plans. Because the buildings are unusually-shaped, the apartments will be “deep”. Since code requires a certain amount of natural light, each will feature floor-to-ceiling windows, and bedrooms with shorter walls (to allow for this light) towards the center of the building. Parking is in the basement and the 2nd floor, thanks to a preexisting ramp. This overall repurposing of the two buildings seems partially inspired by the success of Northern Liberties/Kensington rehabs, as well as the Piazza’s success (Templeton even used the term “piazza” to describe the cobblestone-covered pedestrian walkway in between the buildings). It’s unclear whether or not the buildings will be LEED certified.

Core Realty received “conceptual approval” on Thursday night, and the next step is for the Planning Commission to work with their developer to ensure building codes are met, community discussions are had, etc. Core’s developer is Michael Samschick of the Becker Building (1151 N. 3rd St.) and other factories-to-lofts projects. Samschick also donated $2,500 in 2007 to re-elect Frank DiCicco (the man who tried to make license plates/registration on bikes a requirement and who is also a big proponent of development–and casinos–in Philadelphia). No big surprise there. Overall it looks like a positive life injection into the buildings, which currently serve as cold storage units (a large sign on the outside of the building reads, “RENT THIS ENTIRE FLOOR.”

This entry was posted on Monday, December 14th, 2009 at 4:20 pm.