PHILADELPHIA | 1300 Fairmount | 185 FT | 14 FLOORS

[Jawnadelphia]

"At the 1300 Fairmount apartment project, which will be Aldi's first in the Philadelphia area to deploy its mixed-use format, the grocer will share 58,760 square feet of commercial space with other tenants, including a 12,490-square-foot preschool to be operated by West Chester-based Nobel Learning Communities Inc."

http://www2.philly.com/philly/busine...-20180829.html

[DudeGuy]

That's great. Aldi is a wonderful store.

[mja]

This looks like it's actually going to happen. Awesome.

[Justin7]

I don't know, I'm going to miss VITTLES.

[eixample]

Originally Posted by DudeGuy

That's great. Aldi is a wonderful store.

Is it? I was imagining it just being a shade above dollar store level of a grocery store (I really have no idea, never been to one).

[McBane]

Never been to one either, but judging by their popularity, maybe it's more like "dollar store chic" a la Five Below? Whatever the case may be, I'd imagine that an established national tenant like this doesn't sign onto a project whose status is undetermined. This bodes well for the project.

[iamrobk]

I've been to the Aldi over by 31st and Girard, and it's decent enough. It's clearly no Wegman's or Whole Foods but I'd say it's like a half step below an Acme.

Super excited for this project though since I live pretty close by.

[mja]

Originally Posted by McBane

Never been to one either, but judging by their popularity, maybe it's more like "dollar store chic" a la Five Below? Whatever the case may be, I'd imagine that an established national tenant like this doesn't sign onto a project whose status is undetermined. This bodes well for the project.

Pretty much this. People say it carries a lot of the same stuff as estranged (step?)sibling Trader Joe's but in different packaging, but that only might be for a few items.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by eixample

Is it? I was imagining it just being a shade above dollar store level of a grocery store (I really have no idea, never been to one).

We have a large family and were drawn to the new Aldi near us a couple of years ago to check out the low prices and their "secret" stash of good German foods (especially around Oktoberfest and Christmas). We were very surprised at the high quality of their store brands (they have very few name brands). They also have made a big push into the area of organic foods, which they offer at very good prices. We swear by the place now. Remembering to bring our own bags and having a quarter to deposit for a shopping cart took some time, but now we are "pros." As noted, there is some relationship (family?) to Trader Joe's. It's like a discount version.

[Londonee]

Wow, just google-mapped around this area...pretty amazing how little there is around it. Basically surrounded on all sides by empty lots and low density housing...100 yards from a 4-track subway stop. This is obviously a step in the right direction.

[iamrobk]

Originally Posted by Londonee

Wow, just google-mapped around this area...pretty amazing how little there is around it. Basically surrounded on all sides by empty lots and low density housing...100 yards from a 4-track subway stop. This is obviously a step in the right direction.

If you go ~2 blocks north and west you begin to get into the crazy redevelopment happening in Francisville, but yeah there's not much in the immediate vicinity. I really think this is going to be a huge development for the entire area though, and will hopefully spur development east of broad (which so far has seen very little development).

[AbortedWalrus]

Yeah I've been waiting for them to break ground on this for a while, so it's great they've announced the grocery store tenant. I live in Francisville and this is absolutely amazing to me. They've got a restaurant tenant going in the DL finally, The Met is going to open in December, and this will be breaking ground soon, so it's like critical mass for this neighborhood. All the neighborhood needs now are leases on the huge amount of commercial spaces along Ridge Ave. Really excited for the next few years.

If you guys get a chance, drive through Francisville. The amount of development is staggering. There's scarcely a vacant lot without active development or planned development on it. The block I just recently bought on was 50-60% vacant two years ago and I just spoke on the phone with the developer of the last vacant lot on the block and he's just waiting for the ZBA to schedule his hearing.

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by AbortedWalrus

Yeah I've been waiting for them to break ground on this for a while, so it's great they've announced the grocery store tenant. I live in Francisville and this is absolutely amazing to me. They've got a restaurant tenant going in the DL finally, The Met is going to open in December, and this will be breaking ground soon, so it's like critical mass for this neighborhood. All the neighborhood needs now are leases on the huge amount of commercial spaces along Ridge Ave. Really excited for the next few years.

If you guys get a chance, drive through Francisville. The amount of development is staggering. There's scarcely a vacant lot without active development or planned development on it. The block I just recently bought on was 50-60% vacant two years ago and I just spoke on the phone with the developer of the last vacant lot on the block and he's just waiting for the ZBA to schedule his hearing.

I admit I don't travel to this part of town, but I do want to give it a looksee. What streets would you consider are the boundaries for the section of Francisville that are filled with past or active developments? Thanks.

[AbortedWalrus]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

I admit I don't travel to this part of town, but I do want to give it a looksee. What streets would you consider are the boundaries for the section of Francisville that are filled with past or active developments? Thanks.

Francisville is Fairmount to the South, Girard to the North, Broad to the East and Corinthian to the West. Development is making its way from the outside edges into the interior I'd say. Ridge Avenue runs diagonally through the neighborhood so it's a good place to drive through to get a sense of what is going on. I would say the biggest changes have been Ridge Avenue, 16th Street, 15th Street, and Poplar Street in the last 3 years. Ridge Ave was essentially all vacant on the North Side. 15th street was essentially all vacant from Ridge to Girard. There has also been development on the west side as well, but that was less vacant land than the east side had.

Here's the eastern portion of the neighborhood.
2016:


2018:


In my opinion the development happening this year eclipses the last two years.

[McBane]

Wow, that's an amazing arial view, thanks for sharing. I had to do a double take, can't believe the difference is just two years.

[AbortedWalrus]

Originally Posted by McBane

Wow, that's an amazing arial view, thanks for sharing. I had to do a double take, can't believe the difference is just two years.

It almost doesn't do it justice because there were also a lot of rehabs and there's a bunch of stuff that's planned and been in front of the RCOs. Take the huge triangular lot on the western side for example: they are planning this development on it

Really hope that one happens. The big thing is commercial has been really slow to fill in all of the vacant commercial spots. I feel like with the DL finished, 1300 Fairmount coming, and the Met bringing big crowds to the neighborhood you'll start seeing more commercial tenants in the area though. The market is really underserved. You essentially have to walk to the far end of Fairmount Ave to eat out or shop.

The Met is going to be a 3500 seat concert venue. I feel like people will want to eat and drink and shop on the 2-3 nights the place has shows each week. That's over double, almost triple, the capacity of Union Transfer, and that's done a lot to help the area immediately around it get commercial it seems.

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by AbortedWalrus

Francisville is Fairmount to the South, Girard to the North, Broad to the East and Corinthian to the West. Development is making its way from the outside edges into the interior I'd say. Ridge Avenue runs diagonally through the neighborhood so it's a good place to drive through to get a sense of what is going on. I would say the biggest changes have been Ridge Avenue, 16th Street, 15th Street, and Poplar Street in the last 3 years. Ridge Ave was essentially all vacant on the North Side. 15th street was essentially all vacant from Ridge to Girard. There has also been development on the west side as well, but that was less vacant land than the east side had.

Here's the eastern portion of the neighborhood.
2016:


2018:


In my opinion the development happening this year eclipses the last two years.

Thanks...I'll literally see what you mean now. Very exciting!

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by DudeGuy

That's great. Aldi is a wonderful store.

very, very good prices
very limited selection

research the owners sometime, dodgy history. No place is perfect.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by McBane

Wow, that's an amazing arial view, thanks for sharing. I had to do a double take, can't believe the difference is just two years.

Although in looking at it in more detail, the "after" picture certainly benefits from being taken in winter. The green in the top photo creates the illusion of more open space than there really was.

[FtGreeneNY]

Originally Posted by Londonee

Wow, just google-mapped around this area...pretty amazing how little there is around it. Basically surrounded on all sides by empty lots and low density housing...100 yards from a 4-track subway stop. This is obviously a step in the right direction.

Yeah, a bunch of that low-density housing replaced what by some measures was the most dangerous housing project in the city at the time: Richard Allen, where Bill Cosby grew up. It wasn't that bad when I was growing up a little further to the east (literally on the other side of the tracks), but got real bad when the crack epidemic hit.

Razing it and building those houses provided some good homes for folks, but I imagine someday development pressure all around them might reintroduce density into that area.

Oddly, the Fairmount subway station was never terribly busy in my lifetime, and the B-R Spur platform was particularly underutilized, much like that line generally (I think the Spring Garden stop still remains closed). It'll be interesting to see what happens now with all of the development/redevelopment around it.