Way back in 2013, we told you about a 5 story mixed-use building planned for 121 S. 43rd St., then a vacant lot. The building was going to include 32 residential units, and a pair of commercial spots on the ground floor, at Spruce Hill Civic Association's behest. For some reason (certainly wouldn't be a lack of housing demand in the area), absolutely nothing has happened at the site since. Here's what what was originally proposed, courtesy of West Philly Local:
A week or two ago, we noticed there was significant activity in the area and it seems like this project is definitely happening now. Here are some photos of the scene just a few days ago:
This property is being developed by Apartments at Penn and will (duh) be marketed toward Penn students. After doing some online research and looking at the permits pulled for this property, it seems like the building layout will be much the same as was originally planned. However, the current permit states that the building will be 1 story of regular construction and 4 stories of modular construction above it. We're not sure whether this construction method was part of the original plan or not, but looking at the original rendering, we wouldn't be surprised if it was. Speaking of renderings, Apartments at Penn has a new image showing what the building will look like when it's all done.
Obviously, the company had planned to be further along in the process by this point, but at least things are finally moving on the property. Nonetheless, we're happy with the change in design. The old color scheme looked like it came out of some 1980s Sci-Fi show while this look seems like it will be is a little more consistent with the surrounding neighborhood. For better or worse, we'll be interested in seeing how the building looks when it's finished and can at least be sure that it will be a notch above the Supreme Shop n' Bag building, located just down the block.