1543 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 has noted that construction has topped out at a six-story, 247-unit mixed-use building at 2101 Washington Avenue in Graduate Hospital, South Philadelphia. Designed by JKRP Architects and developed by OCF Realty, the project spans the north side of the block between South 22nd and South 23rd streets. The sizable structure rises from a 49,800-square-foot footprint and will offer 195,131 square feet of interior space, which will include nearly 40,000 square feet of ground-level commercial space. Permits list OCF Construction LLC as the contractor and specify a construction cost of $40 million. Construction work also continues at the townhouse portion of the project, which consists of 40 four-story, two-family dwellings, arranged in two rows of 20 and separated by a mid-block drive aisle. The typical structure will span 2,416 square feet and will feature a roof deck and parking.