Starr plans new restaurant as part of N. Broad project

A former car dealership on Philadelphia’s North Broad Street will become a small hub of upscale restaurants.

 

The $43 million project will include three restaurants and 97 rental apartments. Stephen Starr is opening a restaurant in the facility north of Spring Garden Street. He said restaurateurs are trailblazers who begin neighborhood redevelopment.

“What happens in Philadelphia, as in many other cities, restaurants are the first ones in. They sort of set the tone and after the restaurants are successful, retail and other things start to happen,” Starr said.

City Councilman Darrell Clarke said the development will be good for the area, creating 150 construction jobs and more than 200 permanent jobs.

“Prior to now, we were selling vehicles. There was a service bay in the rear, right now those particular jobs are no longer here, but we figured out a way to segue into the new industry, the tourist industry,” said Clarke.

Public funding will provide $18 million toward the project’s financing. The project is expected to be finished this year.