New N. Broad St. residential tower planned near Freedom Theatre

A development group involving the head of construction firm Ernest Bock & Sons Inc. plans a 17-story residential tower near the southwest corner of Broad and Master Streets, the latest big project to be proposed along a steadily developing strip of North Broad between Center City and the Temple University campus.

Developer 1324 N. Broad LLC is proposing a 180-unit tower with about 4,000 square feet of retail beside the historic Freedom Theatre building, according to a presentation posted this week to the website of the Philadelphia Civic Design Review board.

The tower, which is being designed by Philadelphia architect Cecil Baker, is to include a 13-car parking garage and ground-level storage for 77 bicycles, according to the presentation.

The proposal for the 1324 N. Broad St. site continues a northward push for multi-family development that also includes the Divine Lorraine Hotel apartments near Fairmount Avenue.

The new tower would replace a storage structure on an empty lot just south of the brownstone Freedom Theatre building. The development group acquired the site late last year for $2.2 million from the theatre's nonprofit operator, New Freedom Theatre Inc.

Among the development group's principals is Tom Bock, president of Philadelphia-based Ernest Bock & Sons, a spokeswoman said.