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By Ryan Mulligan – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal
Sep 20, 2024

A historic Old City property that dates back to 1780 is being razed to make way for a 35-unit apartment building.

The site at 208-12 Vine St. was acquired by Noah Ostroff of Center City Development for $2.6 million this summer, according to property records. It had been the home of fifth-generation tool manufacturer John Stortz and Son since 1853, and initially went up for sale in 2016.

The trio of connected buildings were among the few historic structures left on the 200 block of Vine Street. The buildings at 208 and 212 Vine St. were constructed during the Revolutionary War, according to Philadelphia Historical Commission records, and 210 Vine was built in 1870. They will now be replaced by modern apartments, aligning with neighboring sites on a block that has evolved quickly with new residential construction.

John Stortz and Son relocated to Newtown in the spring, but the sale of the company’s 170-year home took eight years as the family navigated a series of obstacles.

The historical designation on the buildings and height restrictions in Old City severely limited what developers could do with the property and complicated a sale. The property went under contract at least five times since 2016, according to broker Thomas Bond of Geis Realty Group. The interested developers didn’t see a possibility for adaptive reuse and the agreements were contingent on receiving approval to demolish the building, which was not granted due to its historical designation.

After the futile attempts to sell to what Bond said were several well-known developers, he and the Stortz family submitted a hardship case to the Philadelphia Historical Commission in early 2023. The financial hardship case sought an exception to demolish the building, claiming that an adaptive reuse was not feasible. It was ultimately granted and the property returned to the market, with a number of bidding developers, according to Bond. He said winning the hardship case made the property “much more marketable” and gave it a “much better valuation.”

Ostroff’s plan for 35 units was then approved by the Historical Commission and he received permits in July to demolish the buildings. The space at 208-12 Vine St. is now being cleared.

Ostroff projects the new building, situated between two new housing developments on the block, will be completed in 18 to 24 months. He declined to disclose a total cost for the project.

The project will include 20 one-bedroom, seven two-bedroom and seven three-bedroom units, along with a four-bedroom, bilevel apartment. All of the units will have an equal number of bedrooms and bathrooms. The top-floor units of the six-story building will have their own roof decks.

Ostroff, who is also the founder of PhillyLiving and a partner with Keller Williams Empower, said the apartments will be “upscale luxury” and command market-rate prices on leases.

Located on the north end of Old City between the historic neighborhood and Northern Liberties, the narrow 200 block of Vine Street has been a hub for new development and complicated proposals.

Adjacent to 208-12 Vine St. at the site of an old Snyderman’s gas station, an affiliate of OCF Realty has built out 11 luxury townhomes along 2nd Street. On the other side of the former John Stortz and Son property is 214 Vine St., a 28-unit new construction apartment building. A collection of 49 new luxury units was built at 209 Vine St.

Farther down the block sits the Painted Bride, which has had a saga of its own with several thwarted sales, a number of development proposals and plenty of controversy. The most recent proposal on the property calls for five floors and 85 units and nearly 6,000 square feet of commercial space.