75 apartments planned for an old warehouse in an unexpected part of Kensington
The developer, Dwight City Group, but has been building in neglected neighborhoods in and around Philly.
A new 75-unit apartment building is slated for 3408 B St. in Kensington.
The project from Dwight City Group would reuse the two-story remnant of a long-shuttered warehouse, erecting a six-story apartment building on its shell.
It is in the northwestern corner of Kensington, and the developer hopes to attract tenants who already live in the neighborhood who want newer housing, smaller units, and would have to move away to get it.
“If you look at that immediate area, it’s mostly low-rise, single-family rowhomes,” said Judah Angster, CEO of Dwight City Group. “The housing market has not had new inventory in many years and there’s a need for it. We feel this is going to satisfy the immediate need of the community.”
In presentation materials for the Philadelphia Planning Commission, the developer notes that “2,500 cubic yards of waste [would be] saved from a landfill” due to the preservation of the former warehouse’s exterior.
The project includes 60 one-bedroom units, 15 two-bedroom units, and 38 parking spaces. The architect is Philadelphia-based Raymond F. Rola.
Rents will be between $1,100 and $1,200 for one-bedroom units and between $1,250 and $1,400 for two bedrooms. All units will have washers, dryers, and central air.
Developer Dwight City Group is based in New York and has offices in Upper Darby. The B Street plans share a similar business model to the group’s previous Philadelphia projects.
The developer has built multiple adaptive reuse buildings in North Philadelphia neighborhoods and nearby suburbs, like Upper Darby. In the last year, the group has expressed interest in acquiring some Center City buildings, including former University of the Arts property and Hahnemann Hospital.
Dwight City has continued to develop even as new housing projects across the city have declined due to high interest rates and a chaotic federal policy environment.
“We have very patient capital,” Angster said. “We have investors who really believe in what we’re doing, and we’re staying focused in our lane, which is adaptive reuse.”
The company is backed by Dwight Capital, a large national mortgage lender heavily involved in subsidized affordable housing: “We’re basically backed by them in a meaningful way,” said Angster.
Dwight City owns the B Street property and has permits to build 50 apartments on the site, which is zoned for industrial use. But the group is seeking further permits to build a taller building with more units and a lot more parking.
Angster said they are still waiting to see if neighborhood groups will support the new project. (They did not respond to requests for comment.)
“Our current approvals only allow for eight parking spaces, and we’re asking for [the zoning board] to accommodate some changes to allow for 38 parking spaces,” said Angster. “That will drastically reduce the burden of parking from the tenants on the local neighborhood.”