Jack O’Brien

Also: huge thanks to @mosh.bsky.social for the head's up on the progress here!

South Wetlands Park Sees Major Step Forward Along the Delaware River The South Philly aquatic park gets an influx of funding as the riverfront shows sign of a major Renaissance

The South Wetlands Park just received $325K of funding for the last stage of planning. This will help create a brand-new eco-park on the piers behind the South Philly Walmart and was a great reason to reference both Walmart Beach and Chicken Pier.

jackphillyre.substack.com/p/south-wetl...

Future intercity bus terminal near 30th Street Station proves popular at open house Creating an intermodal transit hub is “very exciting,” city planner says, but would be very expensive and require close coordination with Amtrak.

Building a bus terminal at 30th St would a “very expensive” and complicated project, but it’s technically feasible, a planner said — “it would just require an expansion and reinforcement of what’s there.”

Philadelphia 30th Street Station District Plan – SOM

More deets on the plan:

www.som.com/projects/phi...

If NYC can ask for (and possibly get) $20 billion+ to build housing over train tracks, Philly should ask for $5 billion to build a mixed-use neighborhood over train tracks in a smaller and more central location that has already had copious planning...

Franklin Mills is closed indefinitely due to a fire according to Wooder Ice - huge news for the NE Philly mall, which is currently for sale.

All good! There's a really helpful article all about it lol 😇

There will be retail included here now per the most recent plans.

25 Total Units Coming to Former Rite Aid in Bella Vista The closed drug store's parking lot has been a post-up spot for Angelo's customers, but will soon be townhomes and condos

25 units are coming to a former Bella Vista Rite Aid, and we have renderings. 9 townhouses and 16 condos, 34 parking spaces are heading to this unofficial Angelo's dining spot. This is after years of past proposals and community meetings.

jackphillyre.substack.com/p/25-total-u...

Watching this instead of the State of the Union

Lokal Fishtown Now for Sale Under the El on N. Front St. The boutique hotel opened in 2019 and is now on the market along a stretch that is still seeing plenty of change

Lokal Fishtown, the boutique hotel at 1421 N. Front St., is now for sale. The six-unit, four-story spot brings high design and "invisible service" and could be converted to multi-family use thanks to CMX-3 zoning. Thoughts on the look?

jackphillyre.substack.com/p/lokal-fish...

I love the DRT and it would be fantastic to see it extended to here. Also: I'm wildly excited to here that the Wetlands Park is still in process because that would be so cool.

Yep, it's definitely on a bit of an island, but I could see this spurring other development nearby which will hopefully mitigate this isolation.

It doesn't appear that this loan is for the parks or other infrastructure improvements, sadly - hopefully that follows ASAP because that's going to be HUGE for that area.

This project just secured a $150 million construction loan to start next year, per multiple sources. A truly transformational project for the riverfront in South Philly.

Update: this project has been removed from the upcoming Civic Design Review meeting after it had been on the agenda previously. The intrigue continues…

Church for Sale Across from Eastern State Penitentiary The early 20th-Century building crosses three lots and could have a wide range of future uses, zoning permitting

A church is for sale across from Eastern State Penitentiary at 626-30 N. 21st St. in Fairmount. The early 20th-Century structure still looks immaculate inside and out, seemingly primed for residential development. We take a moment to ruminate, too.

jackphillyre.substack.com/p/church-for...

We have a new sign to top the Roberts Children's Health building at 3501 Civic Center Blvd. on CHOP's West Philly campus. This will top a tower that will house hundreds of patients in a brand-new state-of-the-art facility.

This four-story project will head to the ZBA next month to seek approval for lot consolidation and construction. This will technically be two adjacent ten-unit buildings, so we're interested to see how the community reacts to the proposal. Design is from KJO Architecture.

Want to spend every waking moment around the pool from this Chestnut Hill home near the Morris Arboretum 😍

A Giant New-construction Home Lowers Price in Chestnut Hill A $3.9 million home in the furthest reaches of NW Philly is just a stone's throw away from Morris Arboretum

A giant Chestnut Hill new construction just lowered its price to $3.9 million. This new build offers plenty of room, but we have some questions about the interiors. A stately home just down the street provides an idea of what the area's charm (Img 4).

jackphillyre.substack.com/p/a-giant-ne...

A sad day: both the building and the creator are no longer with us. RIP to a Philly giant.

Zoning permits were just issued today for the renovation of this gorgeous home at 1221 Pine St. Can't wait to see this long-vacant spot get fixed-up.

More here: jackphillyre.substack.com/p/an-1827-fi...

very excited for this 🕺

UPDATE: New Renderings, More Units for 1400 Frankford Ave. in Fishtown More density is coming with a sexy design for a prominent corner in the heart of Fishtown

We've got brand new renderings for an expanded Fishtown project at 1400 Frankford Ave. 26 units over nearly 5,200 sqft of commercial space are coming thanks to a low-income density bonus, with a sexy look from Canno Design to boot.

jackphillyre.substack.com/p/update-new...

This project at Frankford & Master received zoning permits yesterday and appears to have increased in density: this will now be 27 units across four stories. No details yet, but excited to see the plans from Eclipse Development.

Big scoop from @jblumgart.bsky.social and big news for the Broad Street Diner site: hotel time! 105 rooms and underground parking are planned at Broad & Ellsworth.

Chestnut Hill Project is Downsized Around Historic Detweiler House After a first proposal in July 2024, new construction next to a historically protected home gets new look, fewer units

A Chestnut Hill proposal has been downsized yet again. Going from 14 (Img 3) to 8 (Img 4) to now four units, 8226 Germantown Ave. is heading to the Historical Commission for concept approval. This will also repurpose the 1760s house to a single-family home.

jackphillyre.substack.com/p/chestnut-h...

For the first time I think ever, it didn’t feel like there was a single “Wow, that’s a good deal” recent listing in Philadelphia on Zillow. Anecdotal but noticeable.

From American Legion to Six Apartments in a Changing Roxborough The former veterans' organization building at Ridge & Delmar will see a shift - another sign of an evolving neighborhood

A former American Legion will become six new residences in Roxborough. This is just the next domino to fall along a stretch that has seen many new mid-rise apartment buildings rise over the last few years. Roxborough is changing before our eyes.

jackphillyre.substack.com/p/from-ameri...