Walnut Street lot gutted by 2020 fire will have apartment development after all
A version of the project revealed in August would have had only a two-story retail project on the site.
What a difference three months can make.
Brooklyn-based Gridmark Group has dramatically changed its plans for 1706-10 Walnut St., which is currently a beer garden. It previously hosted three historical buildings that were razed after a fire during the unrest in 2020.
In August, the developer revealed plans for a two-story, 33,000-square-foot retail building on the site, which is in Philadelphia’s most popular shopping corridor.
Now Gridmark has resubmitted plans to the Historical Commission that retain the retail base but have seven stories of residential above it with 88 apartments.
“There is a desire for something like this,” said Ari Weber, who owns Gridmark. “This area is different from everywhere else in the city.”
Weber said that as apartment construction has slowed down in recent years, there will be more appetite for new multifamily housing when this project is finished in late 2028. He expects less competition for high-end renters.
“There’s definitely been a slowdown, and we’re excited that we’re going to be one of those that’s putting up residential units out in Philadelphia,” he said. “We ran the numbers. We did the work, and seven stories works perfectly.”
The project will largely be composed of 66 one-bedroom units, averaging about 600 square feet, with 12 studio apartments and 10 two-bedrooms. Many units will have balconies.
The building proposal is designed by Philadelphia-based JKRP Architects, which has been working with Weber for years.
The Philadelphia Business Journal first reported the change of plan.
Weber said he received a lot of feedback on the two-story, purely retail version of the plan released in August.
“They call it the number-one block in Philadelphia,” Weber said. “So people, I think, felt like, hey, where’s the residential part?”
Weber said Gridmark’s project would have “a luxury feel to it.” But he said it should not be compared to top of the market Rittenhouse Square projects like Pearl Properties’ Harper Square, which is under construction, or the Southern Land Co.’s Laurel tower.
“It’s not a tall high-rise, but it’s super unique,” Weber said. “It should add something special to the main block of Philly.”
The retail portion of the project will be only on the ground floor, potentially split between two tenants, he said. The second floor, which would have been additional retail under the previous plan, will be devoted to tenant amenities like a gym and coworking space.
The project will have to be reviewed again by the Historical Commission.
Preservationists have questioned why materials from the razed buildings have not been included in the plans. Gridmark says that when it purchased the properties, they bought only the vacant land. None of the historic materials were included.
