Multiple developers eyeing Society Hill for residential projects

For years, the neighborhood of Society Hill has managed to stay out of the way of the building boom that’s stretched across the city since the recession. But that’s all likely to change very soon, with multiple developers eyeing the sleepy neighborhood’s main retail corridor for new residential projects.

Let’s start with one that’s already in the works: Eric Blumenfeld’s Head House Flats mid-rise at 2nd and South streets. The project, which occupies a portion of the Abbott’s Square condominium building, is set to deliver in March and will include 47 luxury apartment units with studios, 1-, and 2-bedrooms starting at $1,229.

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It’s the first Society Hill property for EB Realty Management, which has mostly stuck to redeveloping properties up and down North Broad, from the Divine Lorraine to the Mural Lofts.

Save for some complaints about fire alarm testing, the Head House Flats project has remained relatively quiet. Yet just down the street, another residential project has drawn even more ire from Society Hill residents before it’s been built.

Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the ACME grocery market on 5th and South will likely be replaced by a 53-foot-tall residential building by Alterra Property Group. According to the developer, plans to renew ACME’s lease fell through, and the market is expected to vacate in two years.

A zoning notice has already been placed in the window of the building, calling for 65 residential units—either condos or apartments—, 43 parking spaces, and a retail grocer on the ground floor.

The project can be built by-right, but the Inquirer reports that residents feel “betrayed” and “outraged” by the project’s size.

There’s a lot of ways this project can go, and nothing’s set to happen for another two years until ACME’s lease is up. But with these two projects and the proposed revamp of Headhouse Square, Society Hill could look and feel very different in a few years.

• Developer gets permit for residential building at Society Hill ACME [Inquirer]
• Here are the early plans for Headhouse Square’s new look [PhillyMag]