It's possible you've never heard of New Market Street in Northern Liberties, though we've written about it on several occasions. A north-south street between Front and 2nd Streets, it once stretched from Spring Garden Street to Germantown Avenue, but the construction of I-95 consumed most of it, chopping off everything south of Poplar. But even though it's hidden, it hasn't been immune to the development bug in the neighborhood. Today we revisit two medium-sized projects under construction on this street.
We first told you about 924-28 New Market St. a couple of years ago, back when it was a wide old stucco-front building that housed a fence company. Looking into its history, we learned that the building was once a church and then the D'rshe Tov synagogue, which moved to the northeast in the 1960s. Last spring, we discovered plans to demolish the building and replace it with five homes. As you can see, only one home actually fronts New Market Street, with the rest recessed and accessed with a drive-aisle. It's a shame the former religious building was taken down, but it looked like it was beyond preservation.
Up the street, three new homes are under construction at 1001-05 New Market St., a former vacant lot. We shared this project before as well, though it was at that time before construction got underway. According to the project website, these four-story homes will have 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, parking, and green roofs. They look a little on the skinny side, but we have no doubt they'll find buyers in short order. In this neighborhood, new construction just seems to be flying off the shelf.
As you head just to the north from the three homes now being built, an old warehouse building looks to be in poor condition. Perhaps the construction currently taking place, and the future plans for eleven more homes on the block will spur the redevelopment on this property. Or maybe it will continue to sit in this state or worse for years to come. Neighbors are surely hoping for the former. Does anyone out there know what's up with this property?