A historic corner of Center City could get a towering new 128-unit residential project now that a three-parcel development site is up for sale in Midtown Village.
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The Library Company of Philadelphia is selling the properties on the 1300 block of Irving Street through an off-market listing, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported.
Although the parcels at 1311-1313, 1317 and 1319-1321 Irving St. are within the Washington Square West Historic District created last year, they are zoned CMX-4, which allows for high-density mixed-use construction.
There are already loose plans for a 20-story residential tower on the site, which would make use of the maximum allowable density across the three properties and a fourth belonging to a family owner.
That family has been “included in the strategy” even though their property at 1315 Irving St. is not up for sale, listing agent Ryan McManus of Agent PHL and Keller Williams Liberty Place told the PBJ. He expects the portfolio to sell for around $4M.
Any new development would likely need to at least partially preserve the block’s historic assets, including a row home designed by renowned Philadelphia architect Frank Furness.
Construction of a residential high-rise would mark a major shift for the quiet stretch of Irving Street. Although it is just a stone’s throw from the bustling Avenue of the Arts, the street doesn’t get much auto traffic.
The Library Company of Philadelphia acquired the three properties for about $2M between 2010 and 2016, according to city property records. They now have a collective assessed value of almost $3.4M.
The Washington West Historic District was approved unanimously by the Philadelphia Historical Commission in September, but its plans for nearly 1,500 properties in the neighborhood fielded some pushback, WHYY reported.
Some felt there was no unifying history behind the district, while others worried the measure could quash the heterogeneous nature of the neighborhood, where a large number of historic buildings already had individual protections.
But Philadelphia Historical Commission Chair Robert Thomas said the district was needed to preserve the character of the neighborhood at large.
“What you can end up with is really something where you have several highly significant buildings and then everything in between is knocked down,” he said.
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