A $300 million residential community that will include a mix of apartments, condominiums and townhouses is under development on 30 acres along the Delaware River Philadelphia.
Located at 2001 Beach St. and next to Graffiti Pier, Northbank has been in the planning stages for more than a year and will add to an ongoing transformation along the Delaware River that is seeing more residential development that is erasing its industrial past. At one point in 2013, Steve Wynn had eyed the 30 acres, which was part of a bigger 60-acre parcel, for a casino. A deal never materialized for that project, leading the way for its ultimate development as a residential community.
Northbank is being developed by a partnership involving Concordia Group of Bethesda, Md., D3 Real Estate Development of Philadelphia and Resmark Cos., a Los Angeles firm that invests in residential development.
The project involves the development of two apartment buildings with a total of 550 units and a total of 358 stacked condominiums and townhouses. The condos and townhouses will range from the $400,000s to the mid-$800,000. Rents haven’t been set yet for the apartments.
Northbank will be built in phases with the first involving 230 townhouses with that construction expected to be completed by next spring.
The same partnership involved in the Beach Street project developed the Locks, a 60-unit condominium project on Venice Island in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia. Though both riverfront developments, there are contrasts.
“This is a different neighborhood,” said Greg Hill, managing partner of D3. “Manayunk has its own Main Street and this is a little bit of an untested market for higher-end homes. My experience to date has been more in the neighborhoods of Fishtown and South Kensington.”
The development site in Manayunk had its own challenges and had to be physically raised as well. The project, however, has been well received by the market and of the 60 units, just two have yet to sell.
The Port Richmond project was always designed with a lot of open space but with a general shift to people wanting more space during the pandemic while remaining in an urban environment, Northbank may be even better positioned than it was before, said Devin Tuohey, a principal at Concordia
“We’re in a place now that buyers are more attune to wanting more space and more outdoor space as well as access to trails,” he said. “We are creating a new neighborhood in an open area with a sense of community. Though close to Center City, the site almost has a suburban feel to it. We’re hoping it’s viewed as the best of both worlds.”
The development team is working with the Delaware River Waterfront Corp. on expanding the trail systems in that area and making sure new segments of the network are connected. There is a 1-acre central park planned for Northbank and pocket parks between each building that is constructed. At some point, the developers envision incorporating floating piers along the river and having a kayak launch and other recreational uses.