As we’ve covered before, the line between the southern end of Mantua and the northern end of the Drexel‘s campus has begun to blur in recent years. More and more, older buildings are redeveloped and new buildings are constructed on Spring Garden St., Haverford Ave., and others, to house the swelling student population. Today, we have the scoop on one of the larger private student housing developments planned for the area, this time at 3221 Spring Garden St.

The lot

Currently, this address consists of a large vacant lot with homes to the west and an Motor Distributor (whatever that is) to the east. Notice, the lot has what must be a very old retaining wall as part of the front of the property line.

Homes on one side

Ugly building on the other

According to the zoning application from back in May, developers 3221 Spring Garden Ventures intend to build a five-story, mixed-use building with two commercial spaces, twenty-four residential units, and thirteen parking spaces. The building will also have an elevator, which will likely be appreciated by folks living on that fifth floor. Harman Deutsch will be doing the design work.

The developers paid $450K for this nearly 8,000 sqft lot at the end of last year, and we imagine they’ll be very satisfied with their investment when all is said and done. Twenty-four units and two commercial spaces will not only be beneficial for the pocketbooks of the developers, but should also infuse the area with some new energy, along with plenty more eyes on the street.

Not for long