Ridiculous light masts aside, the last few years have been very very good to North Broad Street. We’ve actually lost count of the number of buildings that have been repurposed as apartments, adding new residents and a vibrancy that had been missing here for decades. The lastest addition to the mix is Mural Lofts, a project from EB Realty which converted the former Thaddeus Stevens School of Practice into 59 apartments at Broad & Spring Garden. The name of the project comes from the awesome mural on the building’s western wall, a mural you’ve probably noticed at some point when passing by on Broad Street.Current view of the buildingThe mural, a few years backAs you can see, the building’s architecture is wonderful, and we’re fortunate that the developers were able to reuse the structure, built in 1926. Though the building was used more recently as an administration building, it retained many original details inside. Some of those features have been integrated into the apartments units.

Source: Mural Lofts a Great Addition to North Broad Street | Naked Philly

Digging is underway at two long time surface parking lots on the east and west side of Broad Street at Callowhill.

Source: Construction Underway Along North Broad Street For New Buildings That Will House Luxury Apartments, Businesses « CBS Philly

Kevin and Michael Bacon hope to raise the necessary funds to get Philly’s most talked about park project off the ground.

Source: The Rail Park: Bacon Brothers to Play Concert to Help Fund Phase 1

A pair of ambitious Drexel grads are launching their latest venture with GoBeer, offering top beverage brands with an affordable delivery fee.

Source: Callowhill gets its own beer distributor, and they deliver

It looks like something will finally come of the blighted Independence Press Building in the Loft District. The former printing factory located at 525 N. 11th St. was sold to P.A. Ridge Associates for $5 million last Wednesday as a “shovel-ready project” from Kislak Company, Inc. The 156,000-square-foot, nine-story building has long been approved for 92 loft-style luxury residential units, and according to a press release, the new owner will forge ahead with the residential project

Source: Abandoned Independence Press Building Sells for $5M – sold stuff – Curbed Philly

Philadelphia erupted with real estate growth in 2015. Yet, some of the city’s most noticeable properties remain ragged, empty and trapped in limbo. GroJLart has this year end survey of the city’s top ten down-and-out buildings begging for redevelopment.

Source: Abused, Neglected, But Not Forgotten: Top 10 Derelict Properties | Hidden City Philadelphia

A large mixed-use development that’s been dubbed the future “gateway” to North Broad St. broke ground yesterday. In 2014 developers Hanover Company and Parkway Corporation teamed up for the project, which will feature two six-story apartment buildings across the street from one another.

Source: Hanover North Broad Mixed-Use Development Breaks Ground – development watch – Curbed Philly

Community members had their say at a civic design review for a large proposed mixed-use development in Chinatown North/Callowhill.

Source: Almost 150 new apartments and fresh retail spaces proposed for Callowhill complex

Sometimes we’ll write about a project based on a reader tip or a zoning application and we’re unable to fully weigh in, lacking a complete understanding of the project. In response to such posts, we’ll occasionally hear from developers who are helpfully willing to fill in the gaps. Such is the case with the project proposed at 631 N. Broad St. which we covered earlier this week. For those suffering from short term memory loss, the plan here calls for a four story addition to a building that dates back to before 1875, with 41 apartments and ground-floor retail. In general, the project seemed exciting to us, and we were enthused that the developers would be preserving the existing building. But without any visuals and not knowing the identity of the developers, we tried to temper our expectations. Shortly after we wrote the post, we heard from the developers and some neighbors, informing us about a community meeting which took place yesterday. The developers possess a track record, having built 1720 Fairmount and the Tela’s building on Fairmount Avenue in recent years. Right after the community meeting, we got our hands on the renderings. And we like ’em. Canno Design did the architecture work.

Source: Renderings For North Broad Renovation | Naked Philly

Now word is out that the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s (PHS) next pop-up and beer garden will appear somewhere in the neighborhood, connecting with the new energy surrounding the Reading Viaduct.

Source: Big News: In 2016, PHS will pop-up in Callowhill, celebrating the new Viaduct park