PHILADELPHIA-Locally based EB Realty Management has unveiled Lofts 640, a 265-unit rental building at that address on N. Broad St. It is being converted from Mulford Building, a former pharmaceutical plant built in 1913 by industrial architect Charles Balderston. The cost of conversion, according to Eric Blumenfeld, who heads EBRM, is $50 million.

The residences are patterned after "true SoHo lofts," Blumenfeld says. They combine 12-foot ceilings, exposed brick, floor-to-ceiling windows and other original industrial features in a series of unusual, often angled, one- and two-bedroom units that range from 917 sf to 1,489 sf.

The architect is locally based Alesker & Dundon, which is responsible for several Philadelphia historic renovations. The design includes a running water stream at the building's courtyard entrance and a glass-enclosed, salt-water pool on top of the building's four-story rear annex. The building will also contain ground-floor retail, including a restaurant; two floors of parking spaces for 208 vehicles and a fitness center.

Rental rates are projected to begin at $1,330 a month for a smaller unit and $1,895 for a larger, two-bedroom loft. Asked why Lofts 640 will be rental units, versus condos, which are proliferating here, Blumenfeld says, "in order to qualify for the tax abatement for industrial conversion, which amounts to about $8 million on this property, the building has to remain under one title for five years. Also, rental may be more appropriate for this neighborhood," he adds. "In 10 years or so, we can consider conversion, if the market calls for it."

The neighborhood is a redeveloping area adjacent to Fairmount and is seen as an extension of Avenue of the Arts, a name Broad St. derives most notably from completion of Kimmell Center for the Performing Arts. Kimmell opened in Dec. 2001 south of City Hall, which splits the northern and southern stretches of Broad St. Redevelopment is taking place both to the north and south of the center.