Pennsport has seen its share of big new residential projects in the last few years, and recently we thought we'd stumbled onto the next one at 1800 E. Moyamensing Ave. when we spotted a bunch of zoning notices on a big warehouse. The thought that another warehouse in the neighborhood would be torn down and replaced with a dozen or more townhomes seemed like an obvious assumption and the post started writing itself in our head.
But we were totally wrong.
Instead of demolition and new construction, the zoning notices indicate a plan to use the 11K sqft warehouse for a "nano-brewery," a restaurant, and food and grocery sales. According to a Passyunk Post story from over the summer, the confusing mix of uses represents a couple of different businesses, not one enterprise doing all of those things. South Philly Review revealed that Mellody Brewing Company is behind the brewery concept, and that its only retail enterprise will be filling growlers with the rest of their business in the wholesale arena. We've got no clue about the other businesses looking at the space. The case was continued at the ZBA in August and returns today. We're cautiously optimistic about their chances.
The warehouse is zoned for residential use which makes sense given the location but is totally out of sync with the building itself. As you can see in the photo above, there are four homes that are literally embraced by the warehouse building which could be a complicating factor. We're legitimately surprised the no residential developer came out aggressively for this parcel, especially considering the torrent of new construction in the area- there's even a project underway across the street that's been in the works for years.
What do you think? Is a brewery the right move for the area? Or would new homes be better? Has anyone heard anything about the other businesses looking at the space?