A one-off project on the alley-sized 400 block of Myrtle Street is one of many projects in a few blocks radius in Northern Liberties. The 5th & Poplar intersection is one we've covered a great deal, and in the past few years, dozens of units have come online in the area.
The Northern Liberties Neighbors Association recently supported plans for a single-family home at 456-58 Myrtle St., with a request for adding more open space, according to zoning chair Larry Freedman. But the ZBA rejected the plans from developer Tom Cohen and architect Ed Fink at Fusa Designs. Right now, they are adjusting their plans, Freedman said. Fink echoed those comments, saying the reason they were denied by ZBA was for height, and that they would reduce the height in the new plans. The developers acquired the now vacant parcel, located across the street from the parking lot of another modern style Northern Liberties development, last October.
To get a bigger picture view, take this project and consider it with plans for 10 homes at 4th & Wallace, replacing an old garage, only three and a half blocks south, and the conversion of the former TransAtlantic warehouse along the 400 block of Fairmount, the next block over, and you've got major redevelopment in the area. Throw in plans for 10 homes to replace the Color Reflections warehouse on Green Street, a property that abuts the 4th & Wallace project, and a picture of constant building emerges. With numerous projects in Northern Liberties occurring on similar lots among these alley-sized blocks, it makes sense why developers are looking here on Myrtle Street.