Van Pelt Mews

The project replaced an aged, one-story commercial building on a key corner in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse-Fitler Historic District with a row of new, modern, four-story townhouses, while restoring an existing townhouse and pair of carriage houses. Comprising 11 single-family residences ranging in size from 2,300-5,000 sf, Van Pelt Mews brought contemporary residential architecture with scale, rhythm, and charm to the side of a block that was lacking for decades.

CBP Architects was faced with the existing buildings’ rabbit warren of small spaces, interconnected through party walls and over multiple levels, as well as with obtaining Philadelphia Historical Commission approval for the new architecture. The scheme incorporated three residences within the renovated buildings and subdivided the remaining lot into eight single-family townhouses, each with contemporary living space, a full-floor primary suite, private garage, elevator, and roof deck. Facades of the existing buildings were renovated with new windows and hayloft and carriage doors. Massing and materials used on the new construction are sympathetic to the context of the remainder of the street. By developing a unique plan for the corner house, it at once connects to the intimate scale of the Van Pelt Street experience while presenting a primary façade within a context of more substantial neighborhood brownstones on Walnut Street.