2442 North Marshall 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.

A portion of the ground floor has been constructed at Cathedral Square Phase 1 at 222 North 17th Street in Logan Square, Center City. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and developed by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Exeter Property Group, the reinforced concrete building will stand 245 feet and 23 stories tall and will be visible from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with an all-glass skin that angles in and out. The tower will be a part of the Cathedral Square development (formerly known as Cathedral Place), which also includes Cathedral Square Phase 2, a massive tower proposed to the north. The building’s crane is one of over a dozen tower cranes currently stand in multiple locations in Philadelphia, with most located in Center City.