Dale Corporation

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.

During Philadelphia’s period of rapid growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, much of the development in the city’s outer neighborhoods and in the suburbs was driven by the city’s expansive regional rail network. Today the trend is seeing a revival as a number of large developments are currently in progress near various regional rail station across the city and the metropolitan area. One among these is Station Square, a five-story, 49-unit mixed-use development underway at 308-16 West Chelten Avenue in Germantown, Northwest Philadelphia. The site sits across the street from the Chelten Avenue Station of the SEPTA Regional Rail. On July 21, 2021, developers Zatos Investments and R+M Development, as well as contractor Tester Construction Group LLC, celebrated the groundbreaking of the building, officially marking the start of construction.