Lehigh 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 Philadelphia YIMBY has discovered that renovation work is nearly complete at a three-story adaptive reuse development at 500-15 East Tioga Street (aka 500 East Tioga Street) in Kensington. The project consists of renovating a long-vacant industrial structure, situated on the block between East Ontario and East Tioga streets, into a 69,600-square-foot artist studio and artisan-industrial facility with 69 units, parking, and full sprinkling. Permits list Metropolitan Contracting as the contractor and a construction cost of $2.5 million.