A two-story, 33,000-square-foot retail building is being proposed for 1706-10 Walnut St., the current site of a beer garden and formerly where three historic buildings were demolished after being damaged by fires during unrest in 2020.
The property is owned by the Gridmark Group, which was founded by Ari Weber, a Brooklyn-based real estate investor. The building is being designed by Philadelphia-based JKRP Architects.
After Weber acquired the property in late 2022 for over $12 million, he said he eventually planned to build a 30-story apartment building on the site. Now he has decided that conditions are not favorable for such a large-scale project.
“You see around Philly that there are sites that are on hold right now, that are sitting there waiting,” Weber said. “We were talking about a 30-story building, and I have made a decision that the time is not right for building such a high tower.”
Weber didn’t let the Walnut Street property sit empty for long after he acquired it. The Walnut Gardens opened in June 2023 and became a popular outdoor food-and-drinks attraction.
But Weber says he’s been fielding a lot of calls from high-end national retail companies searching for space on this in-demand stretch of Walnut Street.
“Currently, [a tower] is not what it calls for. What it calls for is beautiful retail commercial space that will change the block,” Weber said. “It’s the number-one retail block in the whole of Philly.”
The project will receive oversight from the Philadelphia Historical Commission because the property is in the Rittenhouse-Fitler Historic District. It will be considered by the commission’s Architectural Review committee on Tuesday.
Materials submitted to the commission show a limestone-clad building that will feature a roof deck “with a restaurant enclosure” and outdoor seating. The commission’s staff recommended approval of the project’s design.
“It’s meant to be like any other new construction in the historic district,” said Jerry Roller, the principal with JKRP Architects. “It’s meant to be in keeping with and in harmony with the remainder of the streetscape on Walnut Street.”
Before demolition, the site held three 19th-century townhomes, one designed by Frank Furness’s architecture firm, which had been converted to retail and restaurant uses, including a McDonald’s.
During unrest following protests over the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the buildings were damaged by arson in May 2020. Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses & Inspections found them too damaged to be saved, and they were then demolished in early 2021.
“It’s not surprising, given the state of the development market today, we all know that there are very few projects coming out of the ground,” said Paul Steinke, head of the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia.
“I’m glad that they’re not waiting around in hope for a better day, but that they’re going ahead and knitting back the urban fabric once again,” he said.
After Weber acquired the properties, he partnered with Philadelphia restaurateur Avram Hornik, of FCM Hospitality, to open the Walnut Gardens outdoor bar and restaurant.
But now he says the time is right for construction of a modest scale. Weber says he does not intend to have the retail structure built in such a way that it could be used as a podium for a future tower.
“We’re going to put in something that’s really going to change the whole block and fill in that gap,” he said. “There cannot be any new developments like this on this block. You can’t tear down anything. We’re the only one — it’s unique — so I decided to start making moves and bring tenants in.”
When Weber first came to Center City, he was known in New York for the apartment brokerage group Brookliv, but he says he sold that company last year. Now, he wants to pursue more projects in Philadelphia, which he says is more conducive to real estate development.
“I feel like New York is a little bit of a shaky situation, but I like Philadelphia because … everybody wants to see Philly build,” he said. “We are looking at other [sites] in Philadelphia right now.”