2406 Mascher StUnder construction

A 28-unit, four-story residential building is under construction at 2406 Mascher Street in Fairhill, part of a steady wave of mid-scale infill across the neighborhood's industrial-to-residential fringe. The project, cleared to build in late 2023, will include three income-restricted units and ten bike parking spaces on a lot just shy of 9,000 square feet—a tight footprint that makes the 28-unit count noteworthy. The building is fully sprinklered and includes a roof deck accessible via a penthouse structure, standard fixtures for Philadelphia's recent RM1 multifamily playbook.

2400-06 Mascher St LLC acquired the site in 2023 and is moving quickly; the zoning allows the building by right under RM1, which permits density up to 3.25 FAR and eliminated the need for variances. The property sits in a stretch of Fairhill where vacant lots and older rowhouse stock still dominate, but the developer clearly sees momentum: nearly 400 units have been proposed or delivered within a half-mile radius, including a 60-unit project at 2221 North Front Street and a 64-unit building at 300 West Huntingdon. Most of that activity clusters along the Front Street corridor, but Mascher is catching spillover as developers fan out from the riverfront.

The mix of market-rate and income-restricted units reflects the realities of stacking deals in Fairhill, where land is cheap but rents haven't yet reached Fishtown's threshold. The building's modest amenity set—bike parking and a roof deck, no parking—suggests a bet on tenants who prize affordability and walkability over car access. If the project pencils, it could serve as a template for similar assemblages on nearby parcels, especially the scattered vacant lots that still line Mascher between Lehigh and Cambria.

What's notable is less the building itself than the pattern it reinforces. Fairhill's development map now shows pockets of concentrated activity rather than uniform sprawl, with operators testing different scales and product types across a neighborhood that remains undervalued relative to adjacent Kensington. This project adds another data point: 28 units on less than 9,000 square feet is aggressive density for a site with no parking, and its success—or struggle—will likely inform how the next round of developers approaches similar opportunities in the immediate blocks.