At the beginning of Germantown Avenue, near the I-95 overpass in Northern Liberties, the owner of 1007 Germantown Ave., who has also owned the adjacent parcels for several years, plans to knock down a two-story home and build anew on the rest of his vacant lots.
Paul Stokely, a long-time local contractor, received support from the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association at its November zoning meeting for a proposal to build three single-family homes and two duplexes on this site. Minor adjustments are being made to the project, according to Larry Freedman, NLNA zoning chair. Those include providing the nine-foot setback at the rear of the homes, and making the homes a little farther apart. According to Freedman, Stokely plans to live in one of the units, while his immediate family will occupy some of the others.
Stokely's making use of the land at a time when building in Northern Liberties is as consistent as a laying hen. The site provides some restrictions on development because of its size and location; it’s sort of tucked in on a triangular parcel almost under the highway. Across the street is the North Shore Beach Club, which has seen its adjacent bar/restaurant cycle through a few different operators over the last few years. Perhaps this is due to the somewhat remote location.
Regardless, the new homes are a half-block away from New Market St., where we have documented numerous projects that made way for 19 new homes being constructed on the block in the past year. Just south of that, another 19 new units were being constructed in two separate projects near Front & Poplar. So while this location seems rather remote today, it will soon be home to quite a few new people.