>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.

Construction is progressing quickly on Liberty Triangle at 1102-48 North 2nd Street in Northern Liberties, North Philadelphia. The project will include 84 residential units within two separate structures. The buildings will stand up to six floors tall on an irregularly-shaped site formed by the diagonal Germantown Avenue. The project also features ground floor retail. For more renderings and analysis on the project, check out YIMBY’s detailed report published in November.