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.

Philadelphia YIMBY’s recent site visit has observed that construction work is nearing completion at the 295-foot-tall, 19-story office development at 2222 Market Street in Center City West. Designed by Gensler and developed by the Parkway Corporation (alternately Parkway Commercial Properties), with IMC Construction as the contractor, the development will feature 329,100 square feet of tenant floor area, with 324,826 square feet of Class A office space and 4,274 square feet of retail, as well as a 47-car underground garage. The structure is being built as the new headquarters for Morgan Lewis, a major law firm. Building features will include ten-foot-high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, several landscaped outdoor decks, flexible workspace plans, a conference center, a fitness center, Zoom conference rooms, expanded areas for servicing out-of-office visitors, and rooms with advanced audio technology to facilitate virtual court hearings.