Big rock climbing gym planned for Callowhill warehouse

More development news is coming out of Callowhill, only this time it involves ropes and rappels: A massive rock-climbing gym is going to set up shop in an old warehouse at 340 N. 10 Street.

The Cliffs announced that it is opening its first Pennsylvania gym right here in Philly in fall 2018. At 39,000 square feet, it will be The Cliffs’s largest location—it has three in New York.

“As we looked to bring our first class climbing experience to other cities, Philadelphia just made sense,” said The Cliffs owner Mike Wolfert in a statement. “The space allows us to bring guests an indoor rock climbing experience unlike any other.”

via Google Streetview

The rock climbing gym will be designed by RSVP Architecture Studio PLLA and the actual bouldering and rock climbing walls will be designed by Walltopia. There will also be a training area, an actual gym, and a retail shop.

Metro Commercial, which handled the deal, said that it made sense for The Cliffs to set up shop in Callowhill, which has been considered a fast-emerging neighborhood. By Curbed Philly’s last count, there are about a dozen major projects in development here, including residential, retail, and parks.

The Cliffs’s spot at 340 N. 10th Street puts it right between two major projects: The Rail Park, which will open a quarter-mile section of the trail in early 2018 to the north and Chinatown’s Eastern Tower to the south at 10th and Vine.