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.

Philadelphia YIMBY’s recent site visit revealed that construction is crawling along at a snail’s pace, if it has not stalled outright, at a mixed-use development at 2301 Frankford Avenue in Fishtown, Kensington. Designed by Ian Smith Design Group, the project adds a three-story rear addition to a three-story prewar building and two smaller adjacent structures at the eastern corner of Frankford Avenue and East Dauphin Street. The finished structure will feature ground-floor commercial space and six residential units, as well as a cellar and full sprinkling. Permits list Black Oak Builders as the contractor and a construction cost of $312,000.