>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.

The Philadelphia skyline continues to expand its boundaries, and a new proposal on the northern fringe of the skyline will be a major game changer. Today, YIMBY explores the most recent information on Exeter Property Group’s Cathedral Place Phase 2 at 1700 Vine Street, a high-rise that would stand directly north of the iconic Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Logan Square. Massing renderings released by architecture firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz show a bulky, 685-foot-tall tower containing a prodigious amount of office space, as well as ground floor retail and dining. The massing diagram was released earlier this year alongside the unveiling of Cathedral Place Phase 1, which is currently further along in its design.