Pre-manufactured apartment building at 46th and Sansom. (Photo by Mike Lyons/West Philly Local)
Last spring we wrote about a new residential building, “Sansom Street Flats,” planned on the vacant lot at 46th and Sansom Streets. There wasn’t too much development going on on the site since then, until just a few weeks ago when we saw that the building’s foundation had been laid. Suddenly, a building has appeared.
Last week a three-story building went up really fast, according to West Philly Local reader reports. One reader reported that “a crane arrived and dropped in some what look like prefab 2- or 3-story houses.” A quick search of the city’s Licenses and Inspections database confirmed that the owner of the lot, which encompasses 128-138 S. 46th Street, received a permit in December 2014 for the “erection of a foundation system and the installation of a three-story pre-manufactured structure with cellar for use as a three-family dwelling.”
It became known last week that another apartment building is planned just across the street from this building – at 46th and Walnut.
Sansom Street Flats is a project by Sansom Street Development LP. It was reported earlier that the units in the building were planned for rental purposes. The project is expected to be completed in August 2015.
March 18th, 2015 at 11:48 am
Yeah I saw this go up- it was modular, each bay area three window/door or three window/extra window was one part that arrived on flatbed trucks- one floor were just stacked on top of each other. I stopped to ask one of the construction workers about it, and he said they just add the stairs and supporting beams once they’re in there.
Very weird, very fast.
Wish they’d take the time with the new development to fix the miserable lot that floods behind it which causes a lot of issues for pedestrians walking to the 46th street station.
March 18th, 2015 at 12:26 pm
So you’re saying that these hastily-erected pre-fab apartments are built next to a lot that floods regularly, 3 blocks from a massive sinkhole at 46th & Spruce?
Dude – where do I sign up?
No – I don’t know structural engineering at all, I’m sure they’re safe. But I think I’ll leave these apartments to the students, all the same.
March 18th, 2015 at 5:02 pm
“…for use as a three-family dwelling.”
Are they kidding? That thing is HUGE- 5 parcels. I don’t believe it. And, while the bones of the outside look kind of like the other residential buildings in the area, what is going up can’t be well constructed or sturdy. If these don’t start to fall apart in 10 years I’ll be shocked.
March 18th, 2015 at 5:34 pm
Just another development that’s going to raise the property value in the area to move blacks black’s out smh. The last thing black’s really have to called theirs which is the neighborhood. Our business are gone, are schools are being taught the wrong information, our identity, the list goes on. That’s ”America” for you.
March 18th, 2015 at 6:29 pm
at 46st – I don’t think that the move is to specifically push out black people. Most development projects tend to be aimed at a certain customer. If there are other developers who have other ideas, I’m all for it – but would you rather take no building at all? Is this really a white and black issue? When I sell my house, do you think I care about the color of the buyer, or just who can pay the most? I would say the latter.
Disparities in household wealth and the path of history are important issues, yes let’s not pretend that this is an issue of motivation. I welcome anyone in this neighborhood, white, black or bright green. Are you?
March 18th, 2015 at 6:58 pm
at 46st. So what do you suggest? The gov’t build houses and hand them out? Maybe the answer is to do nothing, hope for a few more fires and empty buildings and then taxes will go down.
Come on, give us some answers.
March 18th, 2015 at 8:47 pm
I hope there are parking spots to go along with that huge building, shoddy construction or no.
March 19th, 2015 at 11:19 am
Modular homes are required to be constructed to the same building codes as a typical home. In fact, the need to transport sections by flatbed truck means that the sections are often reinforced, making them more durable than standard structures.
Issues of flooding and sinkholes (i.e. Mill Creek’s legacy) are a whole different issue. Presumably, the developer was aware of these issues and designed the foundation – the element that would be exactly the same in a modular and standard construction – to deal with those conditions.
March 19th, 2015 at 11:29 am
I would imagine that any structure that could hold up against the abuse of riding in the back of a flatbed would probably hold up pretty well when sitting on solid ground.
March 19th, 2015 at 12:06 pm
My question is: If they were permitted to put up a 3 story 3 family unit why are there 6 entry ways and from what I have heard they are for sale not rent.
The Lot was gotten for a pittance and they get a 10 year tax break. I find this in my opinion a bit criminal.
March 19th, 2015 at 3:17 pm
I know someone who bought a prefab house. He claimed they are higher quality than houses built on site, because they’re built in a big warehouse where you don’t have to worry about the weather. Supposedly on regular construction sites they sometimes cover everything up because it starts raining, and then when they uncover it a couple days later they forget exactly what they were doing. Or they rush to finish before bad weather comes and get sloppy.
My friend’s roof actually ended up leaking badly and it was a complete nightmare. But I assume his experience can’t have been typical or else he wouldn’t have been able to buy homeowener’s insurance. IIRC his policy paid out a ton the first year to replace water damaged walls and floors, and there’s no way the underwriters wouldn’t have noticed if this was typical of prefab construction.
March 19th, 2015 at 3:18 pm
On the three family thing, I would assume they mean 3 families per lot.
March 19th, 2015 at 9:06 pm
I’m no fan of “plattenbauten”- prefab houses so common in the former East Germany. That said, you know, there was some consideration given to make these pre fabs meld with the surrounding architecture. By way of juxtaposition, the structure erected next to the former HOOPs Deli (42 and Chester), the structures erected all around Gold Star at 47th and Woodland, are all much less synchronized with the surrounding architecture. For what that is worth…BTW- the front of the building on Chester between 43 and 42 has at least made an attempt to not disrupt the local architectural scheme.
March 20th, 2015 at 1:03 am
In Europe, modular construction has long been standard. There’s no reason a modular building can’t be just as good or better than a stick built one, it’s just unfamiliar in this country.
March 20th, 2015 at 2:41 pm
Here’s what the block looked like in 1955:
http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/Detail.aspx?assetId=35927
I wonder when those houses/buildings were torn down.