A gated community of 140 townhouses is proposed near Packer Park
The proposal includes a playground, dog park, and pickleball and basketball courts.
A former Philadelphia Housing Authority warehouse site at 3100 Penrose Ferry Rd. is set to be transformed into a gated community with 140 townhouses, just to the northwest of FDR Park.
The proposal comes from Philadelphia-based Trove Capital, which bought the site from the housing authority in June for $8.5 million.
The townhomes will be built in 28 clusters of three to seven units across the site, with each home coming with two parking spaces. The site will have an additional 141 surface parking spaces.
The developer, Justin Vesey, calls the development Southpointe. It will also have a playground, dog park, and pickleball and basketball courts.
A development package presented to the city describes the project as “a cohesive contemporary neighborhood with a pedestrian-scaled character.”
The development is similar to nearby auto-oriented townhouse developments, like Packer Park, the Reserve at Packer Park, and Siena Place.
“It fits within the character and context” of neighboring developments, said Ron Patterson, a zoning attorney with Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg, who represents the developer. “It’s all in keeping with the rhythm.”
The project does not need permission to move forward from the zoning board, but it will be presented to the advisory-only Civic Design Review board on Oct. 6.
Vesey’s development team, which includes Philadelphia-based M Architects, has the support of the Packer Park Civic Association.
“It fits in well,” said Barbara Capozzi, head of the Packer Park group. “It’s a very tough crowd down here, but they were satisfied. They signed off on it. Everybody’s fine.”
An earlier version of the project was slightly larger, at 152 townhouses, but the developer scaled it down to widen the sidewalks and add more open space in response to feedback from the city Planning Commission.
Patterson says some site environmental cleanup is still required, along with the demolition of the former housing authority warehouses.
“We would like to demolish the buildings while the weather is still good,” said Patterson, who hopes to begin right after the Civic Design Review meeting.
