The West Poplar neighborhood of 19123 has seen a lot of change over the years and some major developments can be seen as you drive around this part of town. The area of West Girard Avenue between Northern Liberties and Broad Street has started to see some construction move forward over the last few years. There have been many infill and small rehab projects as well as larger projects surrounding the avenue. 

Here we will highlight some of those projects.

723 N 6th Street

723 N. 6th St is an 8,744 Industrial Residential Mixed-Use (IRMX) parcel on the western edge of Northern Liberties. The property has held a large one-story warehouse with multiple retail storefronts. The warehouse is already in the midst of being demolished. New construction permits were pulled earlier this month for a 6-story, 35 residential unit building with non-residential uses on the ground floor. 14 surface parking spaces are also included. 

517-33 Poplar

An old theater once stood at the corner of N. 6th St. and Poplar St. for more than 100 years. Now 517-33 Poplar will be home to 40 residential unit building with a prepared food store on the first floor, 35 car parking lot, and 16 bike spaces. Northern Liberties and West Poplar are beginning to merge. 

625-27 W Girard Ave

Driving down Girard Ave you might have noticed 625-27 W. Girard Ave. Demo has begun! The 11,363 square foot CMX-2 zoned parcel holds a nearly 44,000 square foot building that started its life in 1891 as the Girard Avenue Theater. Developers purchased the property in November 2017 for $1.1 million. In January of this year, use permits were pulled for a 6 story, 48-unit building with two commercial spaces, and 16 bike spots. One of the commercial spaces will be a fresh food market. The building will also be topped by a green roof. 

1000 W Girard Ave

The south side of Girard Ave. between 10th and 11th streets has been occupied by outdoor tennis courts and an indoor tennis facility for over 15 years. However, the Althea Gibson Community Education & Tennis Center has been closed since 2014 when a developer purchased the property for $1.55 million. The developer is pursuing the construction of a 6-story building with 120 residential units, 6 retail spaces, and 54 underground parking spaces. The West Poplar neighbors gave the project a vote of support in February. We haven’t seen any new construction permits pulled for this project or heard any rumors about a ground-breaking date, but we are hopeful it moves forward soon.