An East Kensington art studio will be repurposed and a one-story building demolished to make way for a 178-unit mixed-use development following a $9.6 million deal.
The site at 2019-53 E. Boston St. was sold by Viking Mill Associates LLC to an affiliate of Chatham Bay, a Wilmington, Delaware-based real estate investment, development and management firm. The project will retain a five-story structure and see a new semi-attached structure of the same height built.
The block the project will take up is bounded by Boston, Coral and Hagert streets. Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter, with completion projected for 2024.
The project will be designed by Philadelphia-based architecture firm Designblendz.
The existing five-story structure was home to Kensington’s Viking Mill Artist Studios, which had studio space for painters, cinematographers, woodworkers and jewelry makers, as well as a recording studio. The 70,000-square-foot building was erected in the 1860s as a fabric factory and later turned into artist studios by Philadelphia-based architect and research firm Studio 6mm.
In addition to repurposing a structure, the project also involves the demolition of a one-story building adjacent to Viking Mill. That building currently houses Urban Axes, an axe-throwing venue. Urban Axes, which was given 90 days to move, will be closing its Kensington location at the end of November.
The sale was brokered by Philadelphia-based Scope Commercial Real Estate Services, who represented both the buyer and seller.
“The Viking Mill project will be a focal piece to the quickly developing Fishtown/Kensington neighborhood,” said Craig Thom, a senior associate at Scope, who led the transaction. “This project will stand out due to its adaptive reuse component which will provide a unique option for renters.”
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