310 apartments, retail planned for 2nd development at Broad and Washington
While Bart Blatstein has big plans to develop the northeast corner at Broad and Washington, there are now new plans for a development on the northwest corner of the same intersection. And they hope to incorporate the historic train shed at 15th and Carpenter into the project.
This development won’t be quite as huge as what Blatstein has planned, but will still be a substantial addition to the area with 310 apartments and 70,000 sq. ft. of retail space.
The development is being called Lincoln Square and is rumored to be a project from Toll Brothers.
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According to the listing, the project will contain 310 apartment units and over 70K sqft of retail space, already listed for lease by Metro Commercial. The site plan suggests that the retail will be spread over eight different spaces of varying sizes. The site plan also indicates that the historic Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Freight Shed will be incorporated as part of the project.
We don’t have too many details on it just yet, but from these renderings it appears to be about a 10-stories.
Toll Brothers has a long track record of finishing what they start, as does Blatstein, so it seems reasonable to hope that the barren intersection could be radically transformed into a gateway of sorts to Center City. Blatstein told the Hawthorne Civic Association in November that the plan was still in flux, but up to three towers would be built in phases, eventually adding up to between 1,000 and 1,600 total apartments and 210,000 square feet of retail (an old sign on the lot boasts 450,000 square feet of retail).
With both projects, that could mean thousands of new residents to the area. What do you think. Too much, or about right?
probably about right. the city is woefully undersupplied with quality 1-br apartments. Our rowhouse districts aren’t really good for providing 1 and 2 br apartments.
As the name “Lincoln Square” suggests, the train station is historic in large part because it was the site where Lincoln’s body was put on display during his burial tour, or so I’m told. The current owner has done a really poor job of maintaining the site and has been giving PIDC a hard time about selling, so I hear… I’m very happy to see they finally got him to budge. Now hopefully Toll Brothers will be thoughtful enough to incorporate the building in a way that respects its history and unique architectural elements. Plus, with all of the station’s cargo entrances, this building could make for a really awesome retail location. Let’s hope this is a sign of good things to come.
Does “Blatstein have a track record of finishing what he starts”? I can think of a handful of big sites he owns that are sitting blighted and dormant.
That’s a good point. It’s easy to see signs of projects he’s finished, but less obvious with ones he hasn’t.
Unreasonably huge!
This is a nonstarter.
This is a developer who is testing the waters to see how much blowback he gets from the community.
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Good try, Blatstein — go back to the drawing board and figure out density issues..