Demo Watch: Exterior Demolition at Mt. Sinai to Begin Soon

Interior remediation has already begun at the hulking hospital building in South Philadelphia.

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The discovery of a wooden street isn’t the only thing that’s happening on the 400 block of Reed Street these days.

There’s also a bit of news regarding the progress at Mt. Sinai Hospital, the hulking building that sits on the edge of Pennsport and Dickinson Square West at 400 Reed Street.

Concordia Group has plans to demolish the building in favor of a new setup involving 95 townhomes and four rain gardens. According to William Collins, Concordia’s principal, interior demolition has already begun on the building built in 1987, and they’re currently removing asbestos from the building that fronts South 5th Street.

The razing will proceed in two phases over a period of five or six months. The newer portion will be dismantled first, followed soon thereafter by the original hospital building on South 5th Street. Details regarding parking restrictions during the demolition process are still being fleshed out.

Given the fact that the building has sat vacant for nearly two decades (with many a redevelopment proposal washed down the drain and into the wooden gutters of Reed Street along the way), it sounds like it will be a fairly speedy process once the site is nothing more than a massive blank slate–at least for the first few homes.

“We will have three model homes,” said Collins, who will market the properties through Long & Foster. “We hope to have our model homes up in May.”

Barton Partners is designing the homes, which will be of varying styles ranging between 16-, 18- and 20-feet wide. Each will be have a garage, with the 20-foot model allowing for 2-car parking, and be topped by a roof deck.