A Mystery Rendering for Another Fishtown Hotel?
A hospitality concept of some kind is coming to The Gardenia along a rapidly changing N. Front St.
It was just yesterday that we were talking about all of the goings on along N. Front St. near the convergence of Olde Kensington, East Kensington, and Fishtown. This action all sits near one of our favorite restaurants in the city, Suraya, which has been a staple along Frankford Ave. since it started serving its delicious Levant-inspired menu back in 2018. In addition to the stellar food (Michelin star, please), the restaurant itself is gorgeous, with its dark brick and bold lettering on the outside contrasted by the calm, Zen-like feeling in the garden area out back - undoubtedly our favorite part of this expansive market/restaurant hybrid designed by Stokes Architecture.
And while you may feel like you’ve been whisked away to Lebanon, you’re actually right next to a surface parking lot adjacent to the Market-Frankford Line tracks. This set of properties at 1537-47 N. Front St. has been empty for nearly 20 years according to Google Street View, but it appears that things may look much, much different here in the future. Let’s refamiliarize ourselves with the site before the fun update.
This is where things get interesting. While perusing the website for Kassis & Co, the developer of the Urby that we just visited, we noticed something else - an arched, glamorous building clad in white brick and golden highlights that we had never seen before. When we dove a little deeper, we were rather floored by what we discovered: what appears to be a glimmering new hospitality concept called The Gardenia.
So, while details are scant, we have at least a bit of direction to go on. This is being referred to as a mixed-use project, featuring both retail and “hospitality” space - which happens to be how other hotel concepts by this same developer are categorized. This approach also aligns with two other hotels on this very same block from this very same developer - the Archway Fishtown at 1511 N. Front St. and the Maison Rose at 1527 N. Front St. - and hey, the name even matches the arched windows we see rise up the entire height of the facade.
So, it’s possible that this could be some sort of event space in lieu of a hotel (given the seemingly towering floor heights), but it sure seems like a safe bet that another piece of the hospitality puzzle is coming to Fishtown…sometime. This is still in predevelopment and doesn’t have a completion date listed, so we may have years to wait before seeing any action on site. In the meantime, however, we have a rather gorgeous rendering to dwell on as we continue to watch Fishtown change before our eyes each and every day.
