Affordable Housing Planned Near Chinatown Stitch

We knew about a narrow one, but a much larger proposal is slated for former police station property

It was only a couple months back when we waxed philosophic on a Chinatown intersection. While those cross-streets may not have been as exciting as we had hoped, it did lead us to discover that the narrow surface lot at 241 N. 10th St. had plans for six units over retail - six affordable units at that, and an affordable commercial unit, developed by the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation together with BDFS Group. And with an email we just received this morning, those plans look a lot more real, thanks to a new rendering from skinny-lot experts ISA.

The recent scene at the SE corner of 10th & Winter, used as surface parking

A brand-new rendering shows what to expect on the corner in the future

While the Winter Street Project as this is known is exciting enough in and of itself, there’s more. First, a groundbreaking ceremony will kick-off the project here on February 7th at noon, so be there or be square. Secondly, the “History of Chinatown” mural will not be lost, but repainted a couple blocks east on the affordable senior-housing apartment, Man An House, by artist Chenlin Cai.

A look at the mural and the potential locations, with the final selection in orange

Looking toward Man An House and the highlighted mural wall, to be visible from Vine St. and N. 8th St.

The most exciting news in this email, however, was something we hadn’t heard anything about until now. Let’s make like a spirit in the sky to get a look at a very unexpected development site.

Looking SE towards Winter St. between 10th and 1th

What you see on the right is the site of a 40-unit affordable housing proposal at 227-37 N. 11th St., the former 6th District Police Station. While still conceptual in nature, the hope is to use the next year or so for design, with construction beginning in Spring 2026. The massing provided and font looks to us like another ISA joint, which would make sense completely. This, obviously, would be a massive upgrade from the brown and dreary police station.

The former police station, as seen from N. 11th St.

The street presence along Winter St. is somehow even worse

A massing diagram shows the station gone, with a six-story building in its place

This is incredibly awesome. Seeing projects like this moving forward in earnest is amazing, especially in such a central spot in the heart of Chinatown. And speaking of that, did you notice that little addition of the Chinatown Stitch to the aerial shot above? That’s just the little capping of the Vine Street Expressway from 10th to 13th, which is already fully funded and ready to rock, with construction slated to start in 2027. One thing that doesn’t get mentioned nearly as often, however, are the plans for a six-block road diet on Vine St. between 8th and Broad which will add a curb-protected bike lane in both directions (!) while eliminating much of the rarely used street parking. As Stone Cold always said, oh hell yeah, especially given that these upgrades are supposed to be complete pre-Stitch.

The scope and plans for the Stitch, with road diets extending in both directions off the map

A look at the Vine St. of the future? This doesn’t even include the protected bike lanes

Honestly, the more we think about all of these changes, the more geeked out we get for the future of the area, post-arena. High design, affordable housing, optimized land use, safer pedestrian corridors, and more connectivity are just some of the good things happening here. Let’s take this model, expand it a hundred-fold, and spread it to every neighborhood across the city. Philadelphia would be a truly wonderful place if that easier-said-than-done dream came true.

UPDATE (1/23/2025): Moments after publishing, we saw an email from 5th Square about an opportunity to have your voice heard about the design of the Vine St. road diet. It’s only two minutes to complete, so make it happen!