Development team to buy lot near planned Rail Park for studios, offices

The Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development approved plans in October to assume control of the 15,920-square-foot city-owned property at 1006 Buttonwood St. and sell it for $1.15 million to an affiliate of developer Arts & Crafts Holdings.

The property sits between two buildings already owned by Arts & Crafts: the former Haverford Cycle Co. building at 448 N. 10th St. and an industrial building at 1016 Buttonwood St. that now serves as mixed-martial-arts studio.

The lot "will serve as a connection between these existing sites and will add 30,000 square feet of new construction, consisting of artist and craft studios, retail space and boutique office space," according to the authority's resolution, approved Oct. 13.

The development group aims to create "a vibrant urban district comprised of multiple mixed-use properties" on "both sides of Spring Garden Street over the blocks along the former Reading Viaduct from Eighth Street to 13th Street," according to its website.

Gov. Wolf and Mayor Kenney joined a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for work to turn a quarter-mile stretch of rail connected to the Reading Viaduct into a linear park. The plan's backers recently received a $3.5 million state grant for the project.

The Reading Viaduct itself is also part of the park proposal, but remains for now in private hands.