Back to the Future at 2012 Chestnut: The Long-Promised Apartment Tower Is Finally Getting Built
Excavators are on the lot at 2012 Chestnut, where PHA and Alterra’s 14-story, 121-unit mixed-income building is finally getting started.
If you’ve walked past the chain-link fence at 2012 Chestnut at any point in the last year and a half, you know the view by heart: rubble, graffiti and a whole lot of nothing. Lately, though, two very large pieces of yellow and orange machinery have parked themselves right in the middle of it.
We’ve been keeping tabs on this one for a long time. Back in September 2023, we shared that the old Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) headquarters was finally coming down, roughly 15 years after the agency moved out. By April 2024, demolition was inching along behind sidewalk scaffolding. When we checked back in March 2025, the building was gone, nothing had taken its place, and we guessed the holdup had something to do with the vacant building next door.
Turns out the real holdup was in Washington.
What Held Up 2012 Chestnut
According to The Inquirer, PHA and its development partner, Alterra Property Group (which also owns The Versailles and 17 Market West in Rittenhouse), said in late 2025 that construction would start in early 2026. Instead, the project sat for another nine months, mostly waiting on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Part of the problem, apparently, is how the deal is structured. Alterra will build and manage the building, while PHA keeps a 99-year ground lease on the land. Under federal rules, that counts as PHA disposing of an asset, which kicks off environmental and historic review. (Yes, even when the asset is a lot full of broken brick.)
Meanwhile, the bill kept growing: Steel and elevator parts got more expensive, tariffs added more uncertainty, and the project’s price tag climbed another $5 million to $65 million.
What’s Going Up at 2012 Chestnut Street
The plan is a 14-story building with 121 apartments: 30 two-bedrooms, 63 one-bedrooms and 28 studios. There’s also about 2,000 square feet of commercial space, with parking off-site. As of 2025, 40% of the units were set to rent at market rate, and the rest would go to households earning up to 80% of Philadelphia’s area median income (that’s about $78,500 for a two-person household).
John J. Dougherty & Son, out of Trainer, PA, is handling site work. Hunter Roberts Construction Group is the general contractor, and JKRP Architects designed the building.
Keep an Eye on Chestnut
After ten years of plans and pushed-back start dates, we’re not about to guess when anyone moves in. As Doc Brown would say, the future hasn’t been written yet. What we can promise is that we’ll keep walking by and posting updates as the foundation goes in and the building starts climbing.
