At 240 Arch St., a former surface parking lot across from the Betsy Ross House is experiencing a surprising transformation. In the last few weeks, a new hole has appeared in the ground in preparation for the construction of three mansions.
According to the zoning plans, developers will be constructing three homes on this site, each of which will rise five stories and have over 4,000 sqft of living space. Garage parking will also, it seems, be included, despite the protests of the Historical Commission. These homes will be among the largest in the neighborhood, and will act as competition in terms of size and luxury with the large homes now being built on the 100 block of Walnut Street. It should be interesting to compare the design of those homes with the design of the Arch Street homes, which comes from Landmark Architectural Design.
The new mansions will be rising just a few doors down from two rehabs we first brought to your attention last summer.
228-30 Arch St. had been blighted and vacant for years, and now they're close to rejoining the land of the living. And if you also consider the renovation taking place at the end of the block at the former Trenton China building and the Berger Brothers building renovation across the street, this block suddenly has a whole lot going for it. We'll be very interested to check back in here in a few months to see how everything's looking.