4233 Chestnut 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.

A recent site visit by Philly YIMBY has discovered that construction work has made significant progress at Station Square, a five-story, 49-unit mixed-use development taking shape at 308 West Chelten Avenue in Germantown, Northwest Philadelphia. The project, also known under its full address of 308-16 West Chelten Avenue, is designed by Coscia Moos Architecture and developed by R+M Development Partners and Zatos Investments, with Tester Construction Group as the contractor. The development will span 42,459 square feet and feature a roof deck and full sprinkling. Permits list a construction cost of $6.5 million.