Too often, as West Philly has seen more than its share of new student housing rise over the last several years, developers have skimped on the design side of things, opting for function over form. It's not that the new apartment buildings in the neighborhood are unattractive per se, but looking at many of them in the context of the gorgeous Victorian homes nearby makes them look terribly plain in comparison. And while we generally don't care about uniformity on a block in terms of height or appearance, we're perhaps a little more sensitive on the west side of the Schuylkill, given the elevated architecture on so many blocks.
On the 4200 block of Chester Ave., we were excited to share the news a couple of months ago that a new apartment building would fit in very well with the adjacent twin, and have a compatible look with many other homes on the block. Today, we have another example of home that will purposefully fit in with its neighbor, this time at 33rd & Baring.
3301 Baring St. has been around for over 150 years, and the Italianate building was originally built as the home of inventor and engineer Coleman Sellers II. Also, if this site detailing its history is to be believed, the even more famous Sherman Hemsley lived here back in the 1960s. The home stands on over a quarter of an acre of land, so when it was acquired earlier this year by developers, they saw an opportunity to build an additional building here. Initially, they were looking to build six units, joining the nine apartments in the converted mansion. That number shrank down to three units, which was approved by the ZBA late last month. Harman Deutsch, with input from the community.
The drawing makes it look like the new building will fit in nicely with the existing structure. But as is always the case, it will ultimately depend on the developer and the builder to make sure that the pieces fit together.