16 Units + Retail Planned on Frankford Ave in Fishtown

2020 Frankford Avenue Rendering
2020 Frankford Avenue Rendering

It seems like only about 7 years ago that the western side of Frankford Avenue from Norris Street to York Street in Fishtown was primarily made up of vacant parcels and blighted buildings. Oh how the times have changed. As you are likely well aware of, Fishtown has seen an explosion of development over the last decade and the northern half of the neighborhood has not been left behind. Vacant lots and blighted structures have been replaced by brand new mixed-use buildings with lots of apartments and cool retailers filling them up. Instead of blight, we now have breweries, bars, barbers, boutiques, and banks among other new commercial additions.

It looks like another mixed-use project is in the works on the north side of Fishtown. Developers recently acquired 2020-24 Frankford Avenue, the long-time home of Diversified Metal Products. The one story workshop will be replaced by a 4-story structure with 16 residential units, ground floor commercial space, and 6 bicycle parking spaces.

2020 Frankford
2020 Frankford Ave – Front
2020 Frankford
2020 Frankford – Back

The development team is utilizing the low income housing bonus to achieve an additional 3 residential units and 7 feet of height. Some of the permit documents say that the old structure will be preserved while others state that it will be demolished. The existing structure has 100% lot coverage, so we could see at least some parts of the old structure being incorporated into the project so that the lot coverage can be maintained.

We were able to track down renderings of the project on a commercial lease listing. The listing also indicates that there will be 4,790 square feet of retail space. We are not sure if this is the final design, but see on the zoning permits that Ambit Architecture is working on the project. Ambit always impresses us with their work, so we’re confident it will turn out looking great.

How do you feel about this project? What kind of retailer is needed in this section of Fishtown?

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