103-Unit Adaptive Reuse Project in South Kensington Making Progress

Back in July of 2020, we told you about a plan to bring a 103-unit, mixed-use building to the corner of Howard Street and Cecil B Moore Avenue in South Kensington. The site formerly held an old industrial building with an impressive brick structure on the corner and was zoned RSA-5 so a variance was needed for the mixed-use project. At the time of our original article about the project, there were not many details available and we hoped that the corner building would be saved. Well, shortly after we published our piece, the corner building was designated historic and then plans were released to incorporate the old structure into the project. The development team was eventually granted a variance by the ZBA allowing the project to proceed.

Work has now been underway at the nearly 24,000 square foot site for quite some time. Preservation work in ongoing on the historic corner building, a first floor podium has been erected on the north end of the site, and foundation work has been completed in the middle of the site.

As a reminder, when completed, this project will rise 6 stories with 91,230 total square feet, 103 residential units, 3,580 square feet of commercial space, 35 automobile parking spots, and 50 bicycle stalls.

The storefronts will be located along Cecil B Moore Avenue. The parking access point will be located on Howard Street. The facade of the new construction portion of the project will be clad in red and grey brick, metal panels, and cast stone.

We’re very excited to see this historic structure reused and for 103 homes to be built so close to the Berks El Station. It will also be great to see this corner activated with commercial spaces.

How do you feel about this project? What kind of businesses would you like to see open up shop here?

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