As we made our way around town on this latter day of winter, we found ourselves staring at the huge, empty property at the corner of N. 2nd & Callowhill. It has been some time since we first told you about this property, which has been eyed for a mixed-use, residential tower for a few years. And while the northern, first phase of this project (called The Noble) is now topped out and looking good, we haven’t seen much action here as of late. But it seems as if things are indeed moving forward, despite the property’s desolate appearance next to the I-95/676 ramps.

The big plans here call for a 23-story residential tower that will include 397 units and tons of amenity space, including a pool over a 46K sqft parking garage. The site plan shows the main tower rising on this two-story podium, with a pedestrianized N. American St. being lined with 21K sqft of retail – including a new bar in the existing industrial building, which will be repurposed. This all comes to us from National Real Estate Development and the Kushner Real Estate Group, who tapped Morris Adjmi Architects to bring their industrial-inspired design.

In the past, this parcel had been used as parking – likely for the crews just up the block – but new digging has drastically limited the number of cars parked here now. While we don’t see any new permits for construction, we are very pleased to see some signs of prep work. What’s planned here is about a million times better than what was here before, with the fenced off industrial building that stood here offering little to passersby. Let’s scope some of the renderings to get a better feel for what the street presence will be like here.

Quite a difference, huh? But that’s not all that’s happening at this corner, as the unfortunate plans to expand I-95 would at least yield some fresh landscaping across 2nd Street. Concepts are still being finalized, but additional landscaping here should make for a much more pleasant pedestrian experience than the current fenced off fields.

And if the former Davita Dialysis spot up the block at 309-13 Callowhill St. turns over, this could be an even more appealing stretch. This low-rise building is not for sale, but for lease, meaning we likely won’t see anything big happen here for the time being. However, if this could become a restaurant or other exciting commercial spot, this part of Callowhill would get an even bigger bump.

We can’t wait to see things move forward here, as this intersection is straight up awful in its current form. For as much as we get around the city on foot, this is one of our least favorite places to traverse due to the chaos of the merging off-ramps and local streets. While increased action should hopefully slow down cars a bit, we are still crossing our fingers that more direct measures to improve the safety of the area get taken into consideration, as the literal thousands of new residents within a few blocks of here will have this area feeling much, much different before you know it. Or so we hope.