At yesterday’s Philadelphia Planning Commission meeting, a representative from Cope Linder Architects presented information on a proposed development at 933 N Penn St., a site that sits right in between Sugarhouse Casino and the under-water Waterfront Square.

Now a parking lot

According to this presentation, developers are intending to build a twenty-story residential building with parking on the first five stories, and 200 apartments above. The parcel is quite large, extending into the Delaware River, but the building will only cover 17,000 sqft of the lot and won’t extend into the river at all. The developer has no plans whatsoever for the pier, and is willing to grant it to the city or the DRPA at no cost. From the looks of it, the pier will require plenty of dollars to make it worthwhile to anybody.

The pier, today

The materials for the facade are glass and concrete, and the preliminary renderings look decent.

Elevation from Penn Street

A look at the southern side of the proposed building

Is this a good idea? It’s hard to say. As we’ve covered in the past, one of the Waterfront Square towers next door just had over a hundred units go to sheriff’s sale this month. And are people really clamoring to live right next door to Sugarhouse? Likewise, will people be enthused about the prospect of living next door to the rough-looking pier, assuming it’s not fixed up for several years? On the plus side, we can only assume that these apartments will be rentals, not condos. And the success of the Penn Treaty Village PENNTHOUSES indicates that plenty of renters do find this area desirable.

We’ll keep an eye out for updates on this project, as the plans are refined.