A 28-story apartment tower is slated for Broad Street just south of Temple’s campus

A new 28-story apartment building from Landmark Properties, a national student housing developer, is planned for 1518-28 N. Broad St. across the thoroughfare from the Sullivan Progress Plaza Shopping Center.

The project would have 142 multifamily units and 147 so-called group-living units, explicitly aimed at roommate accommodations, for a total of 868 beds. The developer plans on providing 78 underground parking spaces, along with 21,079 square feet of retail space and what they are dubbing a public plaza around the entrance.

At a neighborhood meeting last Wednesday, most community members welcomed the new project, intrigued by the idea that a residential tower could pull demand for student housing out of rowhouse-dominated areas.

“The community was pleased by almost 100% of the presentation, and one of the biggest reasons is that this building draws students out of the communities,” said William T. Harris of the United Neighbors Alliance Civic Association. “It gives the opportunity for less issues with the partying, the obnoxious behaviors. They’re bringing students back to campus with this large building.”

That’s exactly what Temple University, which owns a ground lease on the land, intended when it put the parcel up for a request for proposal. The school wanted to find a developer to help concentrate more of the student population along Broad Street.

Athens, Ga.-based Landmark Properties won the bid. The company entered the Philadelphia market in recent years with a 19-story, 280-unit tower called the Standard at Philadelphia on 119 S. 31st St. Last year the company announced another project, The Mark at Philadelphia, which would be a 34-story tower at 3615-3635 Chestnut St. That project will contain 263 multifamily units and 127 group-living units.

Landmark did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new project.

“It’s a multifamily project with the student renter in mind, but we will lease to anyone,” Aaron Stange, director of development for Landmark, said in a 2022 interview with The Inquirer about the company’s second University City project. “In our major urban markets, we see a mix of general nonstudent populations, students, sometimes grad students.”

At the time, Stange described the group-living accommodations offered in Landmark’s buildings as a way to ensure that more undergraduates could afford to live in this kind of newly built high-end accommodation.

Landmark’s first two projects targeted University City in West Philadelphia, but the project at 1518-28 N. Broad St. will be their first foray into North Philadelphia. It will include amenities such as a dog-washing station, a gym, study rooms, and a roof deck with a pool. One hundred spaces for bike parking will be included as well.

The loading area and trash room for the building would be located in the rear of the building on North Carlisle Street. Harris said that community members were impressed by Landmark’s comprehensive plans for the time of year when students move in and out. The volume of trash generated by undergraduates has created conflict with residents, as piles of litter and derelict couches or mattresses plague the neighborhood.

“They mentioned that they hire additional folks during that time,” said Harris. “And every unit is furnished so that also makes moving in and moving out seamless.”

The building will include an 11-story base that spans much of the lot and the 28-story tower that only covers two-thirds of the base. The pool and other outdoor amenities will be on the last third of the base that does not support the tower.

“These two design elements work together to provide a contextual design language to both the mid- and high rises of Temple University and the surrounding neighborhood area,” Landmark’s presentation package notes.

Landmark is not alone in its ambitions to continue the multifamily building boom around Temple. Earlier in 2023, Bart Blatstein announced plans for a 15-story, 245-unit apartment building at 1600 N.Broad St., just behind the Pearl movie theater.