1541 South Bambrey 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.

Construction is progressing rapidly at a section of the Schuylkill River Trail expansion in Forgotten Bottom, South Philadelphia. The project, called the Schuylkill Crossing, will bring a new bridge over the Schuylkill River to connect the northern and existing portion of the trail to the planned southern phase in West Philadelphia with crossing to the Grays Ferry Crescent Trail. The new bridge will be a renovation of a previously existing railroad round-a-bout bridge. While the center portion of the structure was dismantled in 2018, the edges of the bridge on the eastern and western banks remain and will provide the platform for the new trail.