Developers Decide Delaware River Project Can Be Much Bigger

The team behind the Northbank development on the Delaware River decided they can go much bigger than they planned.

D3 Development and the Concordia Group are taking the next steps on an expanded project at 2001 Richmond Street on the border of Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported. The number of units for the second phase of the mixed-use project increased by 39 percent from previous plans.

The joint venture is planning 441 residential units at the Richmond Street site, split between a 307-unit multifamily property and 134 townhomes. The multifamily building would include 8,400 square feet of commercial space.

Previously, the second phase of the joint venture’s massive development on the 45-acre site was only expected to include an 86-unit apartment building, although there were 50 additional townhomes planned compared to the revised total. Total square footage for the phase, meanwhile, has jumped from 542,000 square feet to 763,000 square feet.

D3 managing partner Greg Hill told the publication that the change didn’t have to do with any sales struggles, but instead came out of a reevaluation of market conditions to determine the “highest and best use of the site.”

Construction is underway for the townhomes of Northbank’s second phase. The developers still need to obtain zoning permits for the second phase’s multifamily building, which ran into months of delays because of the market and difficulties in the construction financing arena. Hill hopes to begin construction in the first quarter and complete in the second half of 2026.

The first phase of the project is 90 percent built and the townhome portion of the phase is 95 percent sold. That initial foray at 2001 Beach Street features 475 residential units, comprising 371 townhomes and 104 units in stacked townhomes, which were sold to and built by Toll Brothers.

— Holden Walter-Warner