Mayor Jim Kenney speaks on Thursday at the opening of the Trolley Portal Gardens near 40th and Baltimore. (Photo by West Philly Local).

As trolleys screeched by, Mayor Jim Kenney was among the dignitaries who spoke Thursday at the opening of Trolley Portal Gardens, the public space near the trolley stops at 40th and Baltimore. Kenney, whose mayorship is defined by balancing the “old” Philadelphia of open fire hydrants and block parties and the “new” Philadelphia of “eds and meds,” said the new space balances both.

“This is the ‘old’ Philadelphia and the ‘new’ Philadelphia,” he said. “This is where we’re going.”  Continue Reading

Trolley Portal Gardens, the development project transforming the 40th Street Trolley Portal into a more welcoming public space, has been completed, and this Thursday, Sept. 27, the public are invited to a grand opening. The event will be held from 5 – 7 p.m. and will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony with city and state representatives, including Mayor Jim Kenney and Senator Anthony Williams, as well as speakers from University City District, SEPTA and business owners.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin at 5:15 p.m. and will be followed by an open house and refreshments. The event is free and open to the public (you can RSVP here).  Continue Reading

An artist’s rendering of the Trolley Car Station restaurant from plans presented last spring to the Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee.

Developers will soon break ground on a project that should transform the barren patch of concrete at the 40th Street trolley terminal into a landscaped public space complete with a 125-seat restaurant.

University City District officials promise it will be a more navigable public space for pedestrians. Complete with moveable tables and chairs, enough racks to accommodate 48 bikes and “vegetation everywhere,” the project was well received during public meetings and breezed through zoning approval last spring.

The centerpiece of the project will be the Trolley Car Station restaurant, a two-story restaurant that will be built in the grassy area bordering the portal along Baltimore Avenue. A company owned by real estate developer Ken Weinstein, which runs the Trolley Car Diner in Mount Airy, will operate the restaurant.  Continue Reading

Two Spruce Hill zoning meetings focusing on a couple of interesting development projects in the area are scheduled for this month. As always, community participation is encouraged.

Former Transition to Independent Living Center building at 46th and Spruce (archived photo).

The first meeting will take place on Monday, March 7 at the Spruce Hill Center (257 S. 45th St.) to discuss the development of the 4534-36 Spruce Street site (formerly the Transition to Independent Living). All interested parties are invited to attend the meeting to hear the proposed plans for development of the site, and to ask questions and offer comments. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.

The new owner for the site was revealed at the previous zoning meeting in August, 2015. Developer Ricky Liss told the attendees of the August meeting that he wanted to build a four-story mixed-use retail, commercial and residential housing project on the site.

The second meeting, scheduled for March 15, will address the zoning application for the Trolley Portal project at 40th and Baltimore/Woodland. Everyone is invited to participate in the discussion on the landscaping design for the trolley portal and on the design for the adjacent trolley diner, as part of the University City District’s plan to transform the Portal into a vibrant and social space.

Th 40th Street Trolley Portal was created more than 60 years ago as a transit hub, and the property has always had a Residential zoning. In order to proceed with the Portal redesign process, UCD is seeking a zoning variance for mixed-use from the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA).

The March 15 meeting will also be held at the Spruce Hill Center and will begin at 6:30 p.m.