The Philadelphia waterfront is in the process of a receiving major investment dollars for various improvements and redevelopments from north to south, like Pier 53, Pier 68 and enhancements to Penn Treaty Park. As institutional development continues, developers are also getting in on the waterfront mix, building residential units with new vigor.

New homes on Front Street

Most recently, 32 new townhomes were completed (or are at least 90 percent finished) at 412 N. Front St. just north of Callowhill Street on a cobblestone road next to I-95. We told you about this project back in the summer of 2012. Online listings for rentals at this location list three-bedroom units that start at $2500 at the location, which in the 1850s was the North Pennsylvania Railroad passenger depot station. Those are some high prices on a block developers wouldn’t touch for years. The proximity to I-95 makes for something other than pleasant ambient noise, though the looks out over to the bridge are nice. The ads for the town homes boast of luxurious spaces with all the finishes we’ve come to expect in new construction. And you can’t deny the dramatic improvement over what was here before.

In the past

Similar view, looking north

Around the corner, we recently told you about plans from architects Abitare Studios to move into a new mixed-use building at 107 Callowhill St., marking two new developments right around this intersection. When you consider plans for 75 new townhomes at Christian & Delaware, about ten blocks due south of here, you can begin to see how the residential arm of development along the waterfront is starting to shape itself.

–Lou Mancinelli