Almost four years ago, we visited the 1800 block of Ludlow Street and presented you with a mystery. A developer was working on an assemblage, but we didn’t know the ultimate plan for the site. Already, they owned 1808 and 1810 Ludlow St., along with 1813 Ranstead St., which were collectively used as a small surface parking lot for many years. Our attention was drawn to the block by the purchase of 1812 and 1814 Ludlow St., where the developer has demoed a pair of two-story buildings. At the time, we told you about a fresh zoning permit which consolidated the five properties into a roughly 3,000 sqft parcel, but we didn’t know what was coming next.

While a 3,000 sqft development site is pretty good, it’s not as good as a 4,500 sqft development site. Over the last few years, 1816 and 1818 Ludlow St. have come under the same ownership as the rest of this site, have been demolished, and are now consolidated with the rest for a 50% larger development site. And with the addition of the last two lots, the mystery of what’s coming here has now been solved. In fact, construction is already underway!

When we wrote about this site in 2021, we told you that a 12-story building would be permitted here as a matter of right but expressed skepticism that such a project would rise on such a small lot. The expanded parcel is still on the smaller side as development sites go, but the developers are indeed building a 12-story project that will include 84 apartments. We predicted an agreement for parking in a nearby lot to account for part of the parking requirement for this project, and as expected, the project will have 16 parking spaces offsite, joining 11 spaces on the first floor of the building. Check out these aerial renderings from USA Architects, to get a sense of what’s to come:

If you’re keeping score at home, this building is replacing a small surface parking lot and four small commercial buildings, right in the heart of Center City. Along with the Motto Hotel (formerly the Pod), which was completed a few years back at the corner of 19th & Ludlow, this project dramatically changes the dynamic on this block, bringing it closer to its highest and best use. We are delighted that this project is moving forward, and we’re even more tickled that we’re seeing real height and density here, when we were anticipating something much less impactful a few years ago.

While we’re here, we might as well mention another project in the area which is perhaps less impactful but still very worthwhile. At 1817 Ranstead St., just steps away, another developer is planning a 9-unit building which will rise six stories. This project will replace a demoed three-story building and a property that’s been vacant for decades. This site is about 1,500 sqft, about a third of the size of the other site, and this is probably the most significant project that the site can accommodate. The exponential increase in unit count that we’re seeing with a property that’s just 3,000 sqft larger is truly amazing, and it just goes to show the importance of the final two lots, which helped unlock a tremendous amount of value despite their relatively small size.