320-Unit Project Planned on Parking Lot Near Temple University

1600 North 11th Street Rendering
1600 North 11th Street Rendering – VBC Studio

A 146,700 square foot, 320-unit development is planned for the 109,142 square foot surface parking lot at 1600 North 11th Street just south of the Vantage apartment tower near Temple University. The development will consist of two 3-story structures with a drive aisle between them. Each building will contain 160 residential units. The project will also include 36 automobile parking spaces and 108 bicycle stalls.

316 of the apartments will be studios and 4 of them will be two bedroom units, which leads us to believe that Temple University students are the target rental market for the project.

1600 North 11th Street
1600 North 11th Street
1600 North 11th Street Rendering
1600 North 11th Street Rendering – Looking through the drive aisle – VBC Studio
1600 North 11th Street Rendering
1600 North 11th Street Rendering – 11th Street Side – VBC Studio

The facades will be constructed of red brick, Hardie panels, and metal panels. The entrances to the apartments are situated inward towards the drive aisle and turn their backs on the public roads. We imagine the development team is prioritizing the creation of a student community on the site rather than integrating the project into the Yorktown neighborhood.

This project can proceed by-right, but will have to appear before the Civic Design Review (CDR) next month for non-binding feedback. No zoning or construction permits have been issued for the project to date.

We had always hoped that another tower would be built on this property, but the site’s zoning does not allow a project with that kind of height by-right. Our main critique of the project is that we would have liked to have seen more activation along 11th Street and Marvine Street. However, we’re definitely happy to see a surface parking lot transformed into homes for hundreds of people. These new units should help diffuse rental price pressure in the communities surrounding Temple University.

How do you feel about this project? Zoning restrictions aside, what would you have liked to have seen built on this site?

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