1500 South 25th Street

Urban development is a delicate balancing act, and sometimes we must say goodbye to cherished local destinations in order to make way for a plan that is ultimately more beneficial to the community and to the city at large. One of such trade-offs is slated to occur at 7619 Germantown Avenue in Mount Airy, Northwest Philadelphia, where the Trolley Car Diner is set to meet the wrecking ball, to be replaced by a six-story, mixed-use residential development designed by Morrissey Design. Although the charming chrome, neon, mural, and freestanding trolley of the diner will be missed, the proposal at hand makes for more effective use of the site, bringing significant residential density within a two0-block walk of the Mount Airy Station of the SEPTA Regional Rail and replacing the auto-centric restaurant with pedestrian-friendly retail.

Philly YIMBY’s recent site visit has observed no signs of demolition work at a 406-car multi-level garage at the northwest corner of Filbert and North 38th streets at the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center campus at 3800 Powelton Avenue in University City, West Philadelphia. The demolition is planned as part of an extensive overhaul of the medical campus, which includes the construction of a nine-story, 481,702-square-foot parking garage in the western section of the campus superblock, which is currently nearing completion.