Renderings have been revealed for The Royale, a 77-unit building proposed at 6910 Ridge Avenue in Roxborough, Northwest Philadelphia. Designed by M Architects and developed by Stamm Development Group, the structure will rise four stories, with parking included at the ground floor. The modern exterior will stand out along the corridor. Towards the front, brightly colored cladding will cover the top three floors as the most prominent feature of the structure. The ground floor will include the entrance to the drive aisle. The rear portion will feature gray brick, adding more texture and contrast to the design. Windows will alternate in width, creating a pattern that will be a notable feature of the structure, while allowing a large amount of natural light to reach the interior.
Rendering of The Royale. Credit: M Architects.
Rendering of The Royale. Credit: M Architects.
The building will also offer a solid street presence along Ridge Avenue that will help continue the trend of making it a more urban corridor along this stretch in Roxborough. The drive aisle will occupy a small portion of it, briefly interrupting the sidewalk to allow vehicles to enter and exit the building’s planned parking spaces. A wide sidewalk will be offered in other areas with plants and trees adding shade and greenery based on the renderings.
Current view of the site. Credit: Google.
The new building will be replacing a small row of homes, the most notable of which are pictured above. The homes feature attractive exteriors comprised mostly of brick, with bay windows on the second floor and dormers on the third floor. While there is nothing wrong with the existing homes which are similar to many other homes in the neighborhood, the planned development should increase the property’s contribution to the neighborhood.
Rendering of The Royale. Credit: M Architects.
The new development will add more density along the Ridge Avenue corridor, a stretch that has seen a massive amount of density due to its generous zoning. Because of said zoning, many new multi-family developments, some including commercial space, have been added along the corridor in recent years. This transformation has added a more urban-like presence along the street, diluting
the former suburban atmosphere.
Rendering of The Royale. Credit: M Architects.
No completion date is known at this time, though the structure may be finished by 2022 or 2023.
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Is this a residential building?
The building doesn’t look quite large enough for 77 units and street level parking.
The building is actually deeper than the renderings would suggest at first glance. If you look closely, you can notice that the structure dissapears behind trees or some form of green or building in certain images, showing that the structure continues beyond the point of view provided.
I love this line…”This transformation has added a more urban-like presence along the street, diluting the former suburban atmosphere.” Ridge Avenue – except for Andorra when it veers into Ridge Pike – never had a “suburban like atmosphere.” If you mean it didn’t look like downtown Philadelphia then, yes, you are correct. But to state that Roxborough had a “suburban atmosphere” ignores large swaths of well functioning urban areas in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast where public transit and core centers of amenities are easily accessible and walkable to all residents without every block having a hulking apartment building. That is (or was) Roxborough. That’s not a “suburban atmosphere.” I visited there a month ago for the first time in about 2 years, and it looks ridiculous. These squat, ugly vinyl-clad junk-boxes hulking over the streets without any relation or balance with the rest of the neighborhood is anti-urbanism. The worship of density for density’s sake (and purely equating that to a “urban atmosphere”) is short-sighted, and ignores the realities of what constitutes a viable “urban atmosphere.”
I have lived in Roxborough for many years and the sudden explosion of apartments is disturbing. While increased population will bring more businesses to our corridor the streets cannot be widened to accommodate the increased number of vehicles. Residents are also concerned about the workmanship wondering what they will look like in 10-15 years!
Allot had changed in my old neighborhood over the years too.
I visit whenever I can and simply walk the streets, now that my parents are gone.
It’s a whole new generation, Janet.
There is no argument these buildings lack any integrity of design. The character of our neighborhoods are being compromised under the guise of urbanization.
We are losing the very appeal that drew us here.
Let’s protect our rights and make a difference.
Which rights?
This is disgusting for the people that wanted to live in a neighborhood. Roxborough isn’t that anymore because of this type of greed. Now it’s just a place in Philly. The charm, style and feel is gone and taken.
I don’t want this building in my neighborhood. I don’t want any Stamm properties in my neighborhood. I wanted to live in Roxborough, not Overcrowded Box Hell.
STOP IT! No one wants this. The last thing we need is more apartments. We don’t want to be turned into an urban corridor.
Why is it necessary to knock down perfectly good houses for something out of a dystopian nightmare. The renderings are out of proportion because they show a 4 lane highway when Ridge is only a two way street. Another issue I have is the smugness of the statement “diluting
the former suburban atmosphere” as if a suburban atmosphere was a bad thing. That is one of the selling points of the area. Having so much greenery is a positive thing.
Oh another newsflash, there will be no storefronts in this new building. It will be completely residential, so no new business opportunities.
Vincent-thank you for the thoughtful response and good points. You are right-the extra space many residents of Roxborough receive is a major draw for the neighborhood, making it one of the most desirable areas in the city. While this trait does exist and most certainly should remain in the surrounding neighborhood, Ridge Avenue is an urban-zoned corridor, and as such developments should take advantage of this. A project of this scale on one of Roxborough’s many great residential streets certainly does not make sense, and that is why seeing it constructed on Ridge rather than elsewhere is overall a positive. The high desirability of the neighborhood has made new construction something that has become commonplace, and Ridge Avenue is the best street to help absorb these new residential units. Hope this helps clear things up but if not feel free to respond 🙂
Colin – You didn’t address Vincent’s mention of storefronts, but I found that one of his more intriguing points – do you think that ‘projects of this scale’ along an urban zoned corridor should include requirements for mixed use?
Without the option for commercial space, it seems to me that there is an argument for this being “wasted space” to everyone who doesn’t live there.
“Without the option for commercial space, it seems to me that there is an argument for this being “wasted space” to everyone who doesn’t live there.”
By that logic, wouldn’t every other residential-only building also be “wasted space to everyone who doesn’t live there,” particularly when it comes to single-family, low-density lots? That’s a… strange way of looking at things. If anything, even if a high-density building on a commercial corridor holds no retail, it at least provides a significant boost to the customer base along the commercial corridor, and these days small businesses can use all the customer boosts they can get.
77 units and 31 parking spots. What a joke. Assuming every unit has 1 vehicle, that’s 46 cars looking for somewhere to park. In reality, they need at least 100 parking spots for a project of this size. Tow companies are gonna make a killing in the shoprite parking lot.
Roxborough really does not have enough public transit options to support all the new development.
The place should be denied permits just because of the name. Awful.
Go build this along Market street not on Ridge ave in Upper Roxborough.