Permits Issued for Six-Unit Building at 712 North 34th Street in Mantua, West Philadelphia

Permits have been issued for the construction of a three-story, six-unit building at 712 North 34th Street in Mantua, West Philadelphia. The new structure will rise from a vacant lot located just steps away from the intersection of North 34th Street and Mantua Avenue. The building’s ground footprint will span 1,096 square feet and the interior will hold 3,900 square feet of space, which translates to a relatively modest 650 square feet per apartment. The project will feature full sprinkling, a cellar, and a roof deck, which will offer dramatic skyline views given its unobstructed location. Permits list Lina Holdings as the owner, Francesco Zampetti as the design professional, and Eugene Naydovich of Fitler Development as the contractor. Construction costs are stated to total $100,000.

712 North 34th Street. Credit: Google Maps

The structure will rise in the middle of a large vacant lot that extends to the intersection. While just about any conversion of empty urban land into residential space is laudable, the lot’s size and location at the prominent intersection (which includes Mantua’s only crossing to the north over the adjacent rail tracks) deserves a much larger development.

This argument is further supported by transit adjacency (several bus lines run in the vicinity), 15-minute walking distance to University City, and family-friendly amenities such as a school and two playgrounds within a three-block radius, as well as adjacency to the Philadelphia Zoo just across the rail tracks.

712 North 34th Street. Credit: Google Maps

The site could have easily incorporated a building of significant height and square footage. A site-spanning podium could have held retail, dining, community amenities, or all of the above. Above, a residential tower could have housed dozens of apartments, which would have offered highly desirable views of nearby Schuylkill River and the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the opposite side. Such a building would have become a prominent beacon at the northern gateway to Mantua, and a design would have been possible that does not sacrifice views of the adjacent mural.

712 North 34th Street. Credit: Google Maps

Once again, the city is hamstrung by its draconian zoning and height limitations (current zoning in the area generally prohibits buildings over 38 feet, or roughly three to four stories, tall). And while the proposal of the modestly-sized structure in the middle of this large parcel precludes large development of this type, smaller yet still sizable projects are still possible to construct both on the remaining parcel and the vacant lot across the street.

712 North 34th Street. Credit: Google Maps

Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail

Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews