Hard Hat Tour: The Fairmount @ Brewerytown

High-end loft-style living comes to Brewerytown in the form of this adaptive reuse project, the latest transformation in a neighborhood that's seeing a lot of that sort of thing.

By Sandy Smith· 9/29/2016, 6:35 a.m.

The living room of one of the model apartments at the Fairmount @ Brewerytown. | Photos: Sandy Smith unless otherwise indicated

When Westrum Development Corporation built the Brewerytown Square townhouse development on 31st Street between Master and Thompson streets in the early 1990s, getting people to consider Brewerytown as a place to live was a tough sell. The location of the homes across from an Acme Markets warehouse probably didn’t help things either.

But sell they did, and now, some 15 years later, Brewerytown has come back into its own, this time not as an industrial hub but as an increasingly lively residential neighborhood anchored by a revitalizing commercial district. The latest project to join the steady parade of new construction and adaptive reuse is reclaiming the last untouched portion of that former Acme warehouse and turning it into luxury loft-style apartments.

(Two earlier projects turned part of the main warehouse into affordable apartments and a low wing attached to it into the headquarters for Pennrose Properties, which owns that affordable apartment complex.)

The project now reclaiming the last unrebuilt part of the old Acme warehouse is called The Fairmount @ Brewerytown. A project of McSpain Properties, The Fairmount @ Brewerytown has turned the west half of the old Acme warehouse into 161 studio, one- and two-bedroom units in 21 different floor plans that play off the building’s industrial character.

All of the apartments have large windows that let in plenty of natural light, kitchens with granite countertops and energy-efficient stainless-steel appliances, and in-unit laundry facilities. The amenities include a state-of-the-art fitness center, a media/events lounge, a game room with air hockey and pool tables plus arcade games and a business center, all on the second floor. Up on the roof will be a deck surrounding a pool and a dog park (yes, the building is pet-friendly). There’s round-the-clock concierge service and retail on the ground floor, indoor bike and car parking, and cold storage for grocery delivery as well. One of the ground-floor retail tenants should be well received by residents, guests and neighbors alike: the Flying Fish Crafthouse, a gastropub from the famed New Jersey craft brewery.

A few weeks ago, Michele DiVeterano of McSpain Properties took us around the building to check out the ongoing construction. Even as some apartments are now occupied, and others are ready for move-in, some units in the massive complex were still getting ready for their closeups, and the roof deck was still a vision, though the pool was already in place. DiVeterano expects the deck and dog park to be ready around the end of the year.

A Look Around the Fairmount @ Brewerytown

Our tour started at the top, where the freight elevator deposited us on the roof. Tenants will have access via passenger elevators and stairs when the roof amenities are complete.

The roof deck will offer a great view of the Center City skyline.

Waterproofing and vents are in place for the rooftop amenities...

...but the actual deck and supports have not yet begun to be installed.

This will be an emergency exit from the roof.

The supports for the old "Acme Markets" sign are still in place.

A light well has been created in the center of the building.

The concrete structure that supported multiple water towers will become the roof of the poolside cabana when the pool deck, being built in this photo, is complete.

Waterproof membranes line the area around the pool deck.

This photo supplied by McSpain Properties shows the pool being hoisted into place.

Construction workers position the pool in this photo supplied by McSpain Properties.

The crane that was used to lift the pool onto the roof. Photo supplied by McSpain Properties.

An interior hallway on the third floor. The floors have been cleaned and polished, but surface imperfections have been left alone to enhance the industrial feel.

The bathroom in a model one-bedroom unit.

The shower stalls have glass doors mounted on barn-style rails.

The toilet in the model bathroom.

The model apartment's vestibule.

Light for the unit's bedroom is provided by sunlight streaming over the divider.

Another view of the bedroom.

The model unit's kitchen.

The living area.

Again, some elements of the building's original walls have been preserved in the unit.

The mock display on this TV shows a rendering of the building's entrance facade.

The den/home office area in a model two-bedroom-plus-den unit.

Another view of the den/home office.

The master bedroom in the model unit.

The unit's other bedroom.

The living/dining area.

The living/dining area is lit by a large window facing the light well.

The model unit's kitchen.

A bathroom in the model unit.

An apartment still under construction. Air conditioning ductwork is exposed in this unit.

A view down the unit's entrance hallway.

A bedroom in the unit.

Westrum has plans to develop the empty lot in the foreground of this view of the living room. In the background is the former Red Bell brewery, the first brewery to operate in Brewerytown since Prohibition; it closed in the 1990s.