110 More Units Coming to Broad & Girard
After visiting one side of the block, we jump to the east side of the street to check out more progress
About a week or so ago when visiting Broad & Girard, we couldn’t help but comment on how much the intersection has changed over just these last few years. We noted nearly 250 units joining the fold, but we left out something rather important: there’s a ton of work happening on the other side of Broad as well. A hop from Francisville into West Poplar greets us with a pair of projects - one well underway, the other still in the planning phases. Let’s make our way back to the corner to check things out.
First up is 915-23 N. Broad St., which used to be a collection of low-rise buildings before demo several years back, after the facades of said low-rises were historically protected, before they were then unprotected. Demo permits were issued shortly thereafter, with little sign of action on the site for several years.
Well, until recently that is, when the 70-unit building from HYC ARCH hit its full height and started to give us an idea of what we could expect. This mixed-use building will include a 21-vehicle/50-bicycle garage (accessed from the back of the building), with ground-floor retail and second-floor office. Excitingly, a building permit was issued last week for interior commercial fit-out, so we’re glad that a tenant is already in the works here.
We are very happy to see this one moving, as we were somewhat worried that the delays here may have meant this proposal was a thing of the past. Filling out this transit-oriented block with more people is great, especially in lieu of a vacant surface lot. The loss of the old structures is not much of a protectionist defeat, as they were truly altered to the point of losing pretty much all of the original character. If one walks north past the NoMo Foundation, another low-rise building may have a drastically different future, too.
931 N. Broad St. is currently one of the more forgettable buildings one could imagine, with a beige, windowless facade greeting one as they arrive to what is currently a warehouse. However, it may not remain as such for much longer. After an Instagram post from about a year-and-a-half ago hinted at plans here, we reached out the developer Harrison Finberg to get the scoop. Things are indeed still moving ahead here, with 40 units - and no parking - slated to rise seven-stories in one of the most transit-oriented locations possible. The design from KJO Architecture utilizes similarly jagged features along the facade, with red-brown brick grounding the look.
We are glad plans are still moving ahead, with hopes for a late 2025/early 2026 start. So, that is about 350 units either recently completed, finishing soon, or hopefully about to break ground soon. Had you told us ten years ago that this block would see such a change, we likely wouldn’t have believed you. But given where things sit now, it will be fascinating to see if the fast food-focused real estate on the north side of Girard Ave. sees any action in the years to come. Given the momentum along the former Automobile Row, we would bet a hefty sum that things will most definitely be different in a decade.
