Permits have been issued for the construction of a multi-family building at 4701-15 Wayne Avenue in Germantown, Northwest Philadelphia. Designed by Moto Designshop, the structure will rise four stories tall and contain 90 residential units. Multiple pilot houses will provide access to a large roof deck atop the building, while the rest of the roof space will feature a green roof, which provided the project a density boost. A mixed income bonus also allowed for additional residential space. GRIT Construction is the project contractor.
4701-15 Wayne Avenue. Credit: Moto Designshop via the Civic Design Review
Like other projects by the firm, the development will feature an intriguing exterior that will be a unique addition to the area once completed. The bottom three floors will be mostly covered in brick, with a decorative cornice providing added visual enhancement atop the third floor. Materials will then shift to maroon metal penning structure the fourth floor, likely helping lower material costs and adding a modern aesthetic to the design. Interestingly, the development pivots to a vibrant, light gray metal paneling at its interior courtyard space, which will be partially visible from Wayne Avenue. The green color provides great contrast to the red tones found throughout the rest of the building, and will act as an accent for the design.
To improve the building’s street presence, street trees are shown to be planted around the footprint of the structure, helping preserve Germantown’s healthy green canopy. Additionally, garden space will be included at the entrance to the building, helping add more greenery to the sidewalk.
4701-15 Wayne Avenue. Credit: Moto/Google.
The building is replacing a vacant lot, one of the larger such properties in the surrounding area. The site is a simple grass lawn, though it is ringed by fairly large, mature trees, and it will be a bit of a shame to see these trees torn down, though the planned future street trees will easily make up for their loss. The site is just blocks away from Wayne Junction, where residents may benefit from frequent SEPTA Bus and Regional Rail service.
4701-15 Wayne Avenue. Credit: Moto.
Moving forward, it would not be surprising to observe more and more development take place on underused parcels in the project’s vicinity. Wayne Junction provides the area with lots of potential as one of few areas with very frequent regional rail service that has not already been built up to a large degree. The added 90 residential units will be perfect in this location, and the lack of car parking space is nothing to be concerned about considering the presence of the nearby train station and also the walkable nature of the neighborhood.
No completion date is known for the project at this time.
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Walkable nature to the neighborhood??? Yes..if you are carrying a gun. Where are the doctors, the grocery stores etc. etc.??? You NEED a car. Just look on the crime reports.
I have a gun! Does this mean I can live there?
This will definitely support existing projects from Mosiac and Philly office retail, and Jump start Germantown. I can’t wait to see the resulting impact!!!
Maybe in another 50 years it will be a viable place to live. Bad parts of the city are slowly improving. This could be a good investment for the future.
In the few last four years since we’ve been there we have seen a significant improvement to the area. On our block there were 4 derelict and dilapidated homes that have now all been remodeled and now one of the nicer streets in the area. Still need to be careful at night but in my opinion this area has improved a lot and has some of the nicest architecture in the city