Nothing special, just a story I enjoyed.
Philadelphia is a leader in turning old factories and offices into apartments
For more than a century, the massive brick building at the corner of 31st and Jefferson Streets housed a brewery, then storage, small businesses, and briefly, another brewery. More recently, it sat as a vacant, graffitied relic for 16 years. This spring, it will take on new life as apartments and retail space.
The former home of F.A. Poth Brewing Co. is part of the fabric of Brewerytown, “and it would be a sin for that building to be torn down,” said David Waxman, cofounder and managing partner of Philadelphia-based MMPartners, which is developing the site.
Construction is underway to outfit the new
Poth Brewery with 132 apartments and 25,000 square feet of retail space. Because the structure wasn’t built for apartments, many of the units are uniquely shaped and sized with 36 different layouts. Openings in the masonry will become windows, exposed steel beams will be focal points in new light wells, and existing graffiti will be sealed on apartment walls.
“Everyone assumed this building was shot,” said Aaron Smith, cofounder and partner. “The fact this building can live another 50, 60 years — nothing could make us happier.”
Developers in Philadelphia have created more than 1,800 apartments in 10 repurposed or soon-to-be repurposed older buildings in the last couple of years, more units than in any other U.S. city,
according to an analysis published last month by RentCafe, a national apartment search website. Philadelphia has been a leader in adaptive reuse since the 1980s. The city is peppered with converted factories, warehouses, offices, churches, and schools.
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