Pennsport Steps it up with the Reed Estates

Pelican Investments plans to redevelop some empty lots and a former garage in the Pennsport neighborhood of South Philadelphia with modern upscale townhouses.  This development will be designed by JKRP Architects.  It calls for a modern design with brick and large windows on a block which has many older homes.

There will be 26 homes and almost all of them will have garages big enough for two vehicles.  All of the homes will have three stories and about 2,500 square feet of floor space.  They will be twenty feet wide and thirty-eight feet tall.  That’s a little wider than the average Pennsport townhouse, but about the same height as the surrounding homes.  Each unit will have three bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms.  The living room, dining area, and kitchen will be on the second floor.  The developers plan to have landscaping out front and cover up the utility meters, as well.  There will be decks in back, on the second floor, and rooftop decks.  The façade will have not only brick, but also rectangular window bays, wood paneling, and metal panels.  The homes will front Hancock and Howard Streets, with vehicle access from Reed Street, leading to a driveway to the garages.  There will be an additional driveway and a walkway to Howard Street.

This new townhouse development is in a part of Pennsport which has been experiencing quite a bit of new development in recent years.  Several other townhouse developments have been built in surrounding blocks or are planned.  Another sizeable apartment development, around the corner from Reed Estates on Front Street, will replace the Freda Corporation meat packing warehouse with apartments and retail spaces.  There are several small warehouses along Front Street, across Howard Street from Reed Estates, which could be future development sites, as well.  Reed Estates would add to Pennsport’s increasingly upscale offerings and, probably, inspire more development.

By, Gabriel Gottlieb