Art Commission gives conceptual OK to apartments at 21st and Hamilton

The last time PlanPhilly heard about a project proposed by Cross Properties and Barton Partners at 2100 Hamilton Street in the Logan Square neighborhood, the Philadelphia Art Commission, after the applicants' presentation, quickly identified potential project-killing problems associated with cost and quality of construction and proximity to the Rodin Museum and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

As initially described in November by Barton principal Thomas C. Barton III, the $24 million endeavor would include 120 apartments targeted at millennials and empty nesters, starting at around $2,000 a month, and would feature a restaurant. It would also sit 60 feet from the revered Rodin Museum, on top of a defunct rail line that could have a future as an inner-city trail.

On Wednesday, the team was back in front of the commission with a much revised plan. The meeting followed two meetings between the developers and a subcommittee of the Art Commission to discuss feedback and suggestions related to aesthetics, construction costs, preservation, the appropriateness of the architecture, the way the development would frame the Rodin Museum, and the interaction the developer has had with the Logan Square Neighborhood Association and the Philadelphia Art Museum.

The project's footprint was shrunk in order to set it farther back from the Rodin Museum and the height was increased to 11 stories. The gash where the SEPTA tunnel right-of-way now exists is a covered "seamless" transition from Rodin to the new complex.

And the commissioners, after pointing out some issues with the identity of the building projects that are related to the facade, unanimously granted the team conceptual approval given changes that were made to the structure's volume and massing, orientation on the property and relationship to the Rodin Museum and parking, which will be completely underground.

Before final approval will be considered, the commissioners made it clear there would be much detail work to be tackled (another meeting with the subcommittee was suggested). The commissioners also want to see material samples of the project at their next meeting, Feb. 4. The commissioners also urged the developers to reach out again to near neighbors, including the Philadelphia Art Museum and the Logan Square Neighborhood Association.

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