Last summer, we attended a Toll Bros. presentation, highlighting their plans for the long vacant Stamper Square/New Market site, in Society Hill. While that session was for information only, and no vote was taken at the time, we got the sense that the community generally supported this project, in contrast to the reactions of near neighbors to the last proposal for this site, a fifteen-story boutique hotel plus condos.

View from above

New site plan

Last week, Toll Bros. came to the community again, this time with more concrete plans for 410 S. Front St., along with some sparkly renderings. Toll intends to build a four story condo building, with a huge green roof and a large roof deck. Some private courtyards and one public courtyard are also included in the proposal. Seventy-three condo units are planned, though it appears that five of those units are presold and will be combined into one monster unit. Condos will be priced in the $400-500K range for one-bedroom units, with larger units approaching $1M. 108 underground parking spaces will be provided, which exceeds code requirements by a considerable amount.

Check out these renderings, with before and after shots:

Current view from Front Street

Same angle, in the future

Looking down Front Street today

And in the future

Where we usually sit to eat our tacos at the Headhouse Farmer's Market

Seems we're gonna need to find a new place to nosh

How do people feel about the design for this project? Appropriate, given the neighborhood’s historical context, or out of line? Improvement over 2400 South Street or more of the same? Does anyone else feel like this lot is being underused, perhaps dramatically? Especially considering the number of extra parking spaces included in the plan, couldn’t another couple of stories be added on to this structure?

On the other hand, given the way that many near neighbors responded to larger, bolder, taller projects, as well as the vibe from the community last week, we get the sense that this is, more or less, exactly what people are looking for. It seems that many folks who live near this lot have been holding out hope for a development of this type for years, and are finally getting a use, height, and density that they can get behind.

Just seems like kind of a missed opportunity, no?

Assuming Toll Bros. gets the necessary zoning approvals in a timely fashion, look for a groundbreaking in the spring.