Seven New Townhomes Proposed for Northern Liberties

The Northern Liberties lot slated for a seven-unit residential development. Photo by Sandy Smith.

A currently vacant lot at the intersection of two tiny lanes in Northern Liberties will sprout seven new townhomes by this time next year once the necessary variance has been obtained.

Callahan Ward Companies proposes to build a seven-unit residential development at the intersection of St. John Neumann Way and North Leithgow Street. Designed by the Martin Architectural Group, the homes in the development will have four stories, with the fourth floor set back 10 feet from the facade, and eight-foot-deep balconies on those fourth floors. (The Northern Liberties Neighbors Association Zoning Committee requested a two-foot setback for the balconies to prevent people from dropping objects off them onto the narrow sidewalks below.)

Rendering below.

The homes will have three bedrooms and one-car garage parking. All have rear yards, though the two northernmost homes have less than the 20 percent open space the zoning for the site requires.

The NLNA voted to support the variance request on the project’s third presentation at its November Zoning Committee meeting. At the time, Callahan Ward representative Nino Cutrufello said, “Every project we’ve presented is better after we’ve come out of this process than it was when we went in.”

As of this writing, the Zoning Board of Adjustment has not yet announced a decision on the zoning variance.