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.

A recent site visit by Philly YIMBY shows that, a year and a half after permit issue, construction has still not begun at a four-story, 18-unit development proposed at 1731 Washington Avenue in Graduate Hospital, South Philadelphia. Our photographs show no new progress at the site bound by Washington Avenue to the south, South Bouvier Street to the east, and South 18th Street to the west. Designed by Harman Deutsch Ohler Architecture, the building will span 36,336 square feet and will feature ground-level commercial space, elevator service, balconies, a roof deck, and 24 parking spaces (20 of which are listed as mechanical, i.e. automated), as well as storage for 21 bicycles. Permits list Mik Mar Associates as the contractor and a construction cost of $3.6 million.