11/26/2019

New Apartment Complex Planned for Allegheny West Neighborhood

Allegheny West is a neighborhood in North Philadelphia next to Fairmount Park.  It is known for certain large employers and industrial sites once used by some of those employers which have left the neighborhood, including the headquarters of Pep Boys, the Tasty Baking Company, and the Budd Company industrial complex.  The former Tasty Baking site and the former Budd Company site, an industrial complex of 82 acres, are both being redeveloped with office and retail space. New development is starting to be built on other sites within the neighborhood. One such development is being planned for several sites at 3422 West Clearfield Street, near Ridge Avenue.  This new development is being built by Argo Property Group and designed by Canno Design.

The new apartment complex at 3422 West Clearfield Street will be built on six consolidated lots.  It will have a total of 26 rental units. Ten of the units will be in a small three-story building and the other sixteen will be in eight duplex buildings along West Clearfield Street, also three stories tall.  The duplex units will be bi-level units. There will be seventeen parking spaces on a surface parking lot. The facade will be mostly red brick, with some patterned brickwork. The entrances to the duplex units will be recessed and have small stoops, mounted lights, and a bit of shrubbery.  There will be rooftop decks allowing great views of Fairmount Park.

Allegheny West is an improving neighborhood.  For years, it had been losing population due to the closure of the major industrial employers, but it is now regaining popularity and population because of its proximity to East Falls and transit connections to Center City.  The slow redevelopment of the Tasty Baking site and the large Budd Company site are bringing new jobs to the neighborhood. Allegheny West is, also, adjacent to Fairmount Park and the Schuylkill waterfront, which are very popular attractions in the northwestern section of Philadelphia.  New construction will continue to become more common in this improving section of the city.