A Farm for Brewerytown

I am sure most people have heard bits and pieces about the Marathon Farm coming to Brewerytown. Well, last night we attended a very well attended public meeting regarding this project at the Greater Brewerytown CDC, and learned so many details that our mind is spinning! Marathon Grill owner Cary Borish spoke first, and he focused on his restaurant's motivations in backing this project.

I think there's an extremely positive movement going on in the Philadelphia region of people being more thoughtful about what they are putting in their bodies and the impact that it's having on the environment," says Borish. "I think it's extremely important, and it feels great to be a part of it.

He also spoke about how he does not wants this to be a farm that happens to be located in Brewerytown, but rather that it be Brewerytown's farm. Lastly, he emphasized that the farm will be a physically beautiful space.

Following up on that point, Patrick Dunn spoke about the many many programs and classes he is planning, including food preservation, cooking healthy on a budget, composting, rain water collection, youth programs, general gardening, bee keeping and so many more. In this task he was helped by the multiple suggestions from the neighborhood residents who attended.

The audience was also very excited by the plans for community spaces. There will both a pocket park for the community to use, as well as dedicated community garden plots. We have a copy of the application for the community plots, so anyone who is interested can email us for a copy.

Given that they are doing so much for our community, we should all return the favor by coming out to volunteer for their construction.

Long story short, this farm is going to be amazing for Brewerytown, and anyone living here will be gaining an incredible neighbor!

North 28 Construction Update

After the usual back and forth coordination between our architects - JKR Partners - and our modular builder, the North 28 permit sets are complete and ready to submit to L&I for the building permit! The application will be made, and the permit should be in hand within two weeks. We can't wait to break ground, and will continue to keep everybody in the loop. Please continue to check this site for more updates!

Color Wheel Bike Studio Opening in Brewerytown!!

MMPartners is very pleased to announce that Color Wheel Bike Studio will be opening it's first retail store at 2711 West Girard Avenue in Brewerytown. Color Wheel specializes in "road bikes and custom designs for your lifestyle," as well as all repairs. Color Wheel refurbishes frames with new wheels, handle bars, pedals, etc as needed, while typically converting them into single speed road bikes. The finished bikes are stylish, yet affordable - typically running $100-150.

Color Wheel, which is owned and operated by Terrence Williams, has been working out of a studio in the Vox building at 11th and Vine; but, inspired by Via Bicycle Terrence made the decision to expand his business, and open a retail location.

Please check out some of his current work, and be sure to welcome Terrence when he opens in April!

Flying Kite Media Story on North28 - MMPartner's New Residential Project in Brewerytown

Regardless of whether or not you believe that the current real estate crisis is finally coming to a close, the fact remains that there will probably always be neighborhoods in Philadelphia that are optimally ripe for renewal. According to Jacob Roller of MM Partners LLC, a real estate development and management company with offices on West Girard Avenue, Brewerytown may very well the next ideal neighborhood in line for something of an aesthetic and cultural transformation.

Already, MM Partners has been responsible for bringing an outpost of the local Mugshots CoffeeHouse & Cafe chain to Brewerytown; they've also rehabbed countless residential and retail properties up and down the main drag of West Girard. The company's current residential project, however, is its most ambitious yet in the neighborhood.

Known as North 28, and located just north of the Fairmount neighborhood at 1238 North 28th Street, the project is a "15 unit building with 15 gated parking spaces," according to the MM Partners website. It's also the first residential development to be built north of Girard in the past five years; the last was the Westrum Development Company's 144-unit Brewerytown Square project. Interestingly enough, North 28 is being built as a modular construction project, and the units have been approved for both sale and rental.

But as Roller explains it, the focus of his company, which he co-owns with business partner David Waxman, doesn't actually begin and end with residential construction. Rather, it's concerned with the overall revival of the Brewerytown neighborhood because, as Roller says, "We think retail drives residential growth."

The company plans to break ground on the 14,500 square-foot lot where North 28 will sit in roughly a month or two. Rental units, which will run from $900 to $1,450 per month, should be available for viewing this May.

Click Here for Link

Source: Jacob Roller, MM Partners LLC
Writer: Dan Eldridge