New Building Furthers Redevelopment of Front Street in South Kensington

Front Street in South Kensington and Fishtown is experiencing much new residential and office development, despite the Market/Frankford El running down the middle.  One development is at the intersection of Front and Oxford Streets, at 1600 North Front Street.  It will replace a vacant lot and a vacant warehouse, next door on Front Street.  It will be across the street from the headquarters of fast casual restaurant chain HoneyGrow.

This new apartment building is being designed by KJO Architecture.  It will have 36 rental units in a five story building.  The building will shorten to four, then three, stories in the back along Hope Street.  The first floor will have a large restaurant at the corner of Front and Oxford.  There will, also, be parking on the ground level, accessed by Hope Street.  The fourth floor, in the back, will have a roof deck and the roof over the fifth floor will be a green roof, which allows the developers to take advantage of bonuses that they were able to use for a larger building with more units.  The exterior panels will alternate light and dark.  The second and fourth floors, at the corner, will be slightly indented and the fourth floor will have square bay windows.

Front Street was desolate for a long time, but as South Kensington and Fishtown have boomed with development and demand then Front Street has become a popular street for retail and apartments, like Girard and Frankford Avenues.  This development is one of the biggest new developments on Front Street with apartments and retail.

By, Gabriel Gottlieb