Much delayed mega retail project in the Italian Market gets approval to start building

A long planned 27,000-square-foot retail project is finally moving forward at 1101-03 S. Ninth St., just south of the Italian Market.

On Oct. 28, Philadelphia’s Zoning Board of Adjustment gave New York City-based Midwood Investment & Development permission to build a one-story complex with a rooftop illuminated sign reading “Shops at the 9th Street Market.”

The building will be divided into 11 retail bays, with a roof deck that is intended for a restaurant tenant. Midwood expects to break ground on the project in the second half 2027.

“We have several tenants where we have signed leases, and we have several tenants that are negotiating leases,” said John Usdan, CEO of Midwood. “It’s a combination of some very well known restaurant concepts and health and wellness concepts.”

Currently the property is a vast, fenced-in vacant lot, which has seen multiple proposals. Before the pandemic, a large apartment building was slated for the property, but in 2024, the developer shifted to a one-story retail project.

“While we really wanted to build a residential project and bring more density to the market … we just felt that it was a use that might be too intense given the infrastructure of the market,” Usdan said.

At the zoning board hearing, Midwood’s development team noted that they had changed the signage from the previously planned “Shops at the Italian Market” at the behest of the local community group, the Passyunk Square Civic Association.

North of Washington Avenue, more old school Italian shops and restaurants still predominate, although even there, the retail has long been more diverse. South of the avenue, taquerias and other restaurants with roots in Mexico, Central, and South America are the principal presence.

“We had always heard the market referred to as the Italian Market, but there’s a tremendous amount of diversity,” Usdan said. “We felt the request was well founded … so it was an easy decision on our part.”

The signage on top of the building would be illuminated from dusk until the end of business hours.

“It’s good for the character of the neighborhood,” said David Smallets, an architect with Perkins Eastman Philadelphia office who is designing the building.

“It’s a retail beacon sign,” Smallets said at the zoning hearing. “It’s for the whole community, not just this building.”

Usdan said part of Midwood’s plan is to add more weekday traffic to the Ninth Street market area, which currently sees its heaviest business on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

“Part of the idea of our project is to help bring that population to the market every day and to extend the hours of shopping to the evening,” Usdan said. “If we could find an aggregation of some great restaurant concepts to be directly in the market … to bring them into the heart of the market, we think would help all of the merchants.”

The roughly 27,000-square-foot building would not have any parking associated with it. A curb cut on Ninth Street — which is no longer planned — stirred substantial controversy before the pandemic.

Earlier proposals would have been six stories tall, with as many as 182 apartments. But the residential plans were scaled down and then eliminated.

Asked why Midwood was moving forward now — it has owned much of the property since 2012 — Usdan said the company was seeing strong sales in its myriad retail holdings in Philadelphia.

“We are seeing a very vibrant retail market throughout Philadelphia, both in Center City and in other places,” Usdan said. “We felt that there was an opportunity and a need for more retail in this location, and that it was a way to reconnect the market,” which is divided by busy Washington Avenue.

The 11 retail spaces would be between 1,000 and 3,000 square feet. One larger space would be 7,000 square feet.

Usdan said Midwood’s plans for the site evolved as the demographics of the neighborhood changed since they acquired the site.

“There are lots of families now,” Usdan said. “There’s a need for everyday services like health and wellness that just aren’t to be found in either the neighborhood or in the market.”

But Usdan said there will be plenty of space for food and beverage operators in the new building, perhaps including some who already run businesses on Ninth Street.

“There’s a lot of demand for well-known food and beverage operators who don’t have units in the market,” Usdan said. “There’s also demand from food and beverage operators that have units in the market that would like to expand, where they need modern space.”