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.

The 5th place on Philly YIMBY’s December 2021 Development Countdown goes to the 513-foot-tall, 34-story tower proposed at 3001 John F. Kennedy Boulevard in University City, West Philadelphia. Designed by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism and developed by Brandywine Realty Trust and Drexel University, the red-clad high-rise will be the latest addition to the $3.5-billion, multi-building Schuylkill Yards development currently in progress in University City, adjacent to the Drexel campus. The tower at 3001 JFK Boulevard will feature 930,000 square feet of floor space, mostly office with 6,600 square feet allocated to retail, and will aim for LEED Silver certification.