>4080 Olive 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 ongoing countdown, which looks at the 31 most frequently listed article categories over the course of the past year in honor of our first anniversary, finds Washington Square West in the 28th place, with at least 29 publications mentioning the neighborhood in its tags. Much like Rittenhouse Square, which we recently covered in the countdown, this Center City neighborhood is already well-established and densely built out. As such, instead of a pronounced development boom, it owes its high ranking to our consistent coverage of a handful of notable developments, particularly Arthaus at 311 South Broad Street. Although we have also covered several minor projects in the area, today we are taking a look at some of the most dramatic developments that will alter the local skyline.