Blatstein plans commercial and residential complex for 16-acre plot of land on Columbus Boulevard
Bart Blatstein, the man behind the massive development proposed for Broad and Washington, seems to have his eyes on a new project, this time along the Delaware River.
At 1401-99 Columbus Blvd., the currently-empty 16-acre plot of land is expected to become a complex with a mix of residential and retail.
The brochure from MSC Retail, who is marketing these open commercial spaces, shows two proposed businesses for this complex. Both Wawa and Aldi are proposed to occupy two of the five or so buildings meant for commercial spaces, with a combined square footage total of 75,000. The development of this project won’t stop with the commercial spaces. Blatstein has 435 apartment units, 45 buildings of townhouses, and 45 pier townhouses planned for this plot of land along the river. In addition to all of that, a green space will be created along the river as an extension of the riverfront trail.
More from Philly Mag:
A center drive aisle and path would run through the middle of the site and lead to a grouping of 10 residential buildings. This residential area, the first of its kind south of the Residences at Dockside near South Street, would feature a mix of around 600 apartments and for-sale townhouses, creating some semblance of a street grid while providing access to the river.
A park area, in the form of an extended riverfront trail, would separate the complex from the river and span the parcel from Reed Street in the north to Tasker Street in the south.
Finally, townhouses would be located on a restored pier that juts into the Delaware River. In total, 435 apartments, 90 “stacked townhouse units,” 91 townhouses and 54 pier townhouses are planned for the site, according to the brochure. This site is set between two popular riverfront parks–Washington Avenue Pier and Pier 68.
Blatstein originally owned this plot of land for about 20 years, prior to the property being sold for Foxwoods Casinos, which never managed to come to fruition. In 2014, Blatstein re-purchased the property for $13 million. According to Philly Mag, this project would be completed in two phases. The retail is expected to be completed in early 2017, with the residential spaces following sometime after that.
Ah, good old Bart is proposing another mega-project that will inevitably sit idle with no updates indefinitely. I propose that Bart follow through or at least communicate with the communities that he makes proposals in so people know what’s going on. This proposal is just another “possibility” for the future…
bart said they’d break ground on broad&washington “next spring”. that was last spring, of course.
Agree with the above. This is unacceptable for the community. This man/company is sitting endless on lots whose development are critical to the continued progress of the city. The Broad & Washington lot, for what it’s worth, is not only showing no signs of moving forward and there has been no update for months. Snow is currently uncleared on all three sides of the lot, creating a dangerous condition. This is a matter of public interest, and city government should take and interest and intervene at this point.
I went to a Hawthorne community meeting last month where representatives showed the latest updates to Broad and Washington. His proposal changed from 2 30+ story towers to multiple 8-10 story buildings with one slender 32-story tower along the Broad Street side. Neighbors werent satisfied with parking, entry/exit locations, and the heights of the 32-story still. Attendees then cobbled together a list of what they did and didnt want, so we’ll see what happens.
Anyway, though, yeah it seems like Blatstein just wants to own every large parcel in the city and then drag his feet on building the ugliest things possible. Yay.
Hi, I’m Bart Blatstein. I enjoy nothing more than to pretend it’s 1982 and build tons of big box stores with giant surface parking lots, because this is all I seem to comprehend. Even when I dont follow this trend, I instead build a post-college dorm with no green space. I’m a genius.
This will be such a nice property that no one will ever see.
I hope the WAWA includes their gas station also.
And, a drive-thru Hoagie-fest!
This layout is a bizarre mashup of suburban and urbanist site planning. Surface lots and enormous setbacks on the left; sidewalks, dense rowhouses and a pocket park on the right. The drawing literally looks like it was made by two different designers. It is most obvious where the center drive aisle connects the commercial and residential zones. It doesn’t line up correctly. The houses have shadows, the commercial buildings are flat. Weird.
The commercial portion needs a more creative urbanist layout, so the residents can walk somewhere and feel like there is a there there. In this layout, those poor residents don’t even have a sidewalk to Pennsport.