897 North 40th 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.

Permits have been issued for the construction of a four-story, 47-unit apartment building at 5127 Duffield Street in Frankford, Northeast Philadelphia. The development will replace an overgrown vacant lot at the southern corner of Duffield Street and Pratt Street. Designed by Ruggiero Plante Land Design, the structure will rise 38 feet tall (likely to the main roof, with possible overruns for parapets and bulkheads) and will span 36,708 square feet (or 36,205 square feet, according to the site plan), yielding an average of around 775 square feet per unit. The development will feature full sprinkling and outdoor parking for 13 cars and 16 bicycles. Permits list Gateway Court LP as the owner and Buckley Futures LLC as the contractor. The construction cost is specified at $2.15 million.