6044 Chestnut Avenue

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.

Developer and parking operator Parkway Corporation seeks to redevelop a 3,000-square-foot property at 1821 Chestnut Street in Rittenhouse Square, Center City. Although Parkway Corporation specializes in operating parking lots and holding them as land banks for future development, in this instance the property is a single-story retail building (curiously, the property sits next to a parking lot, which does not appear to be affiliated with Parkway Corporation). The existing structure sits on narrow through-block lot that stretches from Chestnut Street to the south to alley-like Ranstead Street to the north. According to the developer, the lot is zoned CMX-5 for mixed-use development and can accommodate 36,000 square feet at a floor-area-ratio of 12:1, or 60,000 feet at an FAR of 20:1. Since the property is listed at Parkway Corporation’s “opportunities” page and no permits have been filed for the site, it appears that Parkway is seeking a partner and/or an anchor tenant prior to commencing development at the site.