Development Site That Could See 12 Stories for Sale on S. Broad St.

The parking garage near Broad & Fitzwater had plans for an addition several years back that never came to be

It’s been so long since we’ve provided a real estate update that both the Flyers and the Sixers were still in the playoffs while we were steadying ourselves from the recent firing of Phillies manager Rob Thomson when we last brought you the news. But we are back and coming at you from an area of S. Broad St. along the Avenue of the Arts that we visited not long ago. Today we head to 725-29 S. Broad St., which had been a parking garage for some time before recently being boarded up and empty for years.

An aerial look at 725-29 S. Broad St., just north of Fitzwater St. on the right

A recent ground-level look at the building, which has been mostly a spot for ads as of late

A little background on this building, which sits directly next to the Philadelphia Fire Department Engine 1, Ladder 5 location: this spot was indeed a parking garage originally, owned by Peace Mission (who’s founder was Father Divine of Divine Lorraine fame). About a decade ago, developers purchased the property, and plans were pitched in 2019 for a two-story addition to the existing building. The look from Canno Design would have added a modern complement to the existing structure, but these plans never came to be.

The 2019 addition plans from Canno, which would have added a two-floor addition to the existing building (Image courtesy Canno Design/Naked Philly)

The site has sat mostly the same since this old proposal came and went, but it’s possible we could see a rather large change in the future. Thanks to a recent listing from CCL Real Estate, it appears that this property is back on the market for a cool $6 million. While not an actual proposal per se, the listing includes rough plans for an art-of-the-possible 12-story, 20-unit mixed-use tower design, with this look also coming to us from Canno. The concept call for five car parking spaces/seven bike spaces, ground floor retail, and a total of 20 units across the upper 11 floors of the building.

Commercial space facing Broad St., with parking, amenities, and service areas on the ground level (Image courtesy CCLRE/Canno Design)

Two units for most floors, with two full-floor penthouses to top it off

A look at the planned use across the tower’s height

The look is classic Canno, utilizing rectangular geometry, classy brick, and large windows for this modern and attractive design. Double height glazing and industrial inspired awnings will be the main street level features, with square, paned windows (and some corner outdoor space) making up much of the Broad St. facade. The off-white brick rises the full height of the building, creating what would be a handsome new addition to the growing canyon effect along South Broad.

Looking southeast towards the conceptual 12-story tower

A straight-on view of the potential tower, rising much higher than the neighbors on either side

A closer look at the street level, with a rather dramatic two-story glass entrance along the Broad St. frontage

So, while these are only conceptual renderings, it does get us excited about what the future might hold for what has been a blighted space for long enough. The price tag will certainly attract some action, though we’d imagine only pretty serious developers would want to tackle something of this size and scale - and price. This property also sits along the massive, ten-block update to the Avenue of the Arts, which recently broke ground and will bring landscaping and traffic calming. Overall, we think this could a very worthwhile addition to an area that is likely to continue to change over the coming years.

All of this change nearby did get us thinking about one thing: zoning. While there’s decent height possible here by right and 20 units is nothing to sneeze at, a prime parcel on one of the city’s major streets seems like it should be zoned more permissively than the CMX-3 zoning here. While the mixed-use allowances seem correct, the fact that more height and units couldn’t be added seems like a miss; from where we sit, this corridor should be at the very least CMX-4 along Broad St. from City Hall to Washington Ave. - and ideally CMX-5. While we understand that remapping large portions of Philly is unlikely anytime soon, we hope that there is discussion amongst relevant parties to look to change things to allow for projects that would seem to be very much of the character of this ever-growing stretch.