Korman Communities is about to turn the Philadelphia Navy Yard from a place people drive to into a place people actually live. The company is preparing to open AVE Normandy at the Navy Yard next month, the first occupied units in a two-building, $285 million complex that will total 614 apartments. The project mixes resort-style amenities with both furnished flexible-stay apartments and traditional leases, a setup the developer says is designed for the thousands who already work on the campus. For the first time in decades, the shipyard is set to feel like a real neighborhood rather than a collection of offices and labs.
As first reported by the Philadelphia Business Journal, Normandy is scheduled to open in March and the broader AVE Navy Yard project carries a roughly $285 million price tag. The Business Journal's first-look photos show finished interiors and amenity spaces that help explain why Korman's team says it is doing "something special" at the Yard.
Design and amenities
According to Korman Communities, the two buildings together will feature roughly 75,000 square feet of private indoor and outdoor amenity space. Normandy alone includes over 30,000 square feet of indoor areas that range from conference rooms and co-working pods to a golf simulator, a soundproof music studio and a resort-style pool deck. The developer says apartments will span from studios to three-bedrooms, and AVE's furnished short-term apartments will share the property with traditional long-term rentals.
Construction, scale and sustainability
Construction partner Gilbane lists Normandy at about 267 units and describes this AVE Navy Yard phase as including substantial retail, roughly 26,000 square feet in addition to the amenity areas, while pursuing LEED Silver design targets. Gilbane also notes that nearly half of the construction spending is committed to minority- and women-owned business enterprises on the project.
Bringing housing to a major job center
Per Korman Communities, the Navy Yard spans roughly 1,200 acres and already supports more than 15,000 workers. The developers say these new apartments are aimed squarely at that existing workforce. Mosaic Development's project notes add that AVE Constitution will rely on modular construction and that the master plan includes deed-restricted workforce units to keep an income mix on site.
What renters should look for
Renters can expect amenity-heavy finishes, a mix of market-rate and workforce units and both long-term and furnished short-stay options that are intended to serve Navy Yard employees as well as families and other neighborhood residents. For the moment, developer photos and project pages offer the clearest preview of what is coming, while leasing details and retail tenant announcements are set to roll out in the weeks ahead.
