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.

After three years of construction, Pavilion, a steel behemoth in the hospital district of University City in West Philadelphia, nears completion. Located at 300 South 33rd Street, the building was designed by Foster + Partners at a height of 343 feet and 17 stories with a total square footage of 1.5 million square feet, the same amount as the Comcast Technology Center (also designed by Foster + Partners). The structure will roughly double the number of hospital beds at Penn Medicine. The Pavilion rises from the former site of the 254-foot-tall, 20-story Penn Tower, completed in 1974, demolished to make room for this massive development.