35-Unit Adaptive Reuse Projece Underway in Port Richmond

According to old maps, the property at 2215 E. Tioga St. on the border of Port Richmond and Harrowgate was once a lumber yard and then the home to Sandoz Chemical Works Dyes. More recently, it was used as an artist space. When we went by the property earlier today, part of the old stone signage on the front of the building was peaking through a metal covering with “OCOLA” visible. Does anyone out there know what the full sign says? We weren’t able to track down any historic pictures of the structure that showed the old stone sign.

The building traded hands in April of last year for just over $1.63 million. As the property is zoned for industrial use (ICMX), a residential conversion was not allowed by-right. The new owners pursued a variance for multifamily residential use on the property last year and the ZBA approved their plans in September.

Just last week, commercial building permits were issued for the property. The project will include 35 residential units within the old structure and an addition off of the back of the building. Earlier plans for the property also included 14 bicycle stalls and 17 surface parking spaces. We’re not sure if those are included in the current iteration of the development as they were not called out in the building permit. Light work seems to already be underway on the site.

We’re very happy to see this old industrial building reused and for more residential units to be added to a section of Philadelphia that is seeing a ton of growth. We really hope that more old factories and warehouses in the northern Riverwards can continue to be preserved, renovated, and adapted for modern uses.

How do you feel about this project? Do you know of any other cool adaptive reuse projects planned or underway in Philadelphia?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rising Real Estate (@rising.realestate)