For years, an empty lot sat at 31st & Spring Garden, greeting or bidding farewell to those passing over the Spring Garden Bridge. For a number of those years a sign on the site broadcasted the possibility of a high-rise but that did not come to pass. Back in December, a three-story building, with plans for two floors of real estate office, and three apartments, started to rise. When we passed by recently, the exterior of the gray building was finished and the property fenced in, with signs advertising units for rent.
Meanwhile, just across the street at 3100 Spring Garden St., there are plans to turn the former Pedego electric bikes shop into a restaurant with four apartments above, according to a zoning app. The ZBA gave their approval earlier this month. West Side Properties LP acquired the property last March for $740K.
Numerous projects have risen here near Drexel the past few years. Like at 3104-14 Spring Garden where a 21-unit building was in the works back in the summer of 2013. For that project, an old warehouse dressed in ivy was knocked down. Besides major developments nearby from Drexel, like a new dorm high-rise still under construction at 34th & Lancaster and the Dornsife Center at 35th & Spring Garden, we also wrote about 28-apartments being constructed on the site of a demolished Mantua church on 34th between Hamilton and Spring Garden earlier this year. Oh, and don't forget about the planned tower for 32nd & Race.
So there's a lot going on here, that much is clear. When this is considered in light of more widespread major institutional development only a few blocks away, like 3737 Market—a collaboration between University Science Center, and Wextford Science & Technology, for example, it's major changes now all over University City, not just near the Spring Garden bridge. But if the long-term plan to redevelop the area above the railyard ever comes to fruition, look for a concentration of new stuff happening on this side of the neighborhood for many years into the future.