If you head west on Cecil B. Moore Avenue past Broad Street, in the past few years, Temple-related development has grown on numerous blocks. We've seen varying types of projects, mostly in the residential realm. As large projects go, Temple opened the 27-story Morgan Hall at Broad & Cecil B. in 2013, at once changing the face of the North Broad skyline. But there have been plenty of smaller buildings coming on the scene as well.
In general, development has been occurring in this area like Connect Four. Many times in the past, we've covered projects coming to Cecil B. on the 1500, 1600 and 1700 blocks. There were eight units coming to 18th, 20 coming to 19th, plus more at 17th. Now, a year and some months later, things have changed dramatically. It reminds us of a situation in University City, how in recent years the 4000 and 4100 blocks of Baring St. transformed from vacant lots to student housing. That spike in redevelopment likely was perhaps influenced somewhat by major institutional investments in the area from Drexel, Penn and the University of the Sciences.
In December, at 2144 Cecil. B Moore Ave., the 28K sqft Stephen Klein Wellness Center opened its doors. This project appeared on a long vacant lot, and is located a few blocks west of the bulk of the development we've covered in the area. We first told you this was coming last fall. A development from Project HOME, built at a cost of $17.8M and designed by Brawer & Hauptman Architects, it will provide a resource in the neighborhood for primary care, behavioral health, dental care, a pharmacy, and babysitting services.
New Wellness Center
The Health Center is a tremendous new resource for the neighborhood, and we have no doubt it will be help a ton of neighbors. The fact that it finally fills a huge gap in the landscape of what was once a bustling commercial corridor is just icing on the cake.