It looks like the empty lot at 224 S. 44th Street sitting between two row homes just south of Walnut will not be empty much longer. A request has been submitted to the City’s Zoning Board of Adjustment by the owners to obtain a permit for construction of a four-unit residential building. The new building is being proposed as a semi-detached structure.

The plan for the building was presented to the Spruce Hill Community Association’s Zoning Board earlier this week, and will most likely be back before the SCHA Zoning Board at their next meeting in July, according to SCHA Zoning Chair Barry Grossbach. “We are at a preliminary stage on the 44th Street project,” he wrote in an e-mail.

We’ll keep you posted about the next meeting since community feedback is always welcome on new development projects in Spruce Hill.

The Dirt Factory, the community compost facility that opened at 4308 Market Street six years ago, has closed due to the sale of the property. The facility is currently looking for a new home and is not accepting composting donations from the community at the moment, according to The Dirt Factory website.

The University City District opened the facility in 2012 and transformed an empty lot into a neighborhood asset. It’s not yet known what the new owner is planning to do with the lot. So far no construction permits have been issued. A new “higher end” apartment building is being proposed next door to the lot – at 4312-20 Market.

Artist’s rendering of 6-story apartment building proposed for 4312-20 Market Street. The white box on the first floor is a driveway that goes through the building to access five off-street parking spots in the rear of the building.

The Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) zoning committee heard plans for 36-unit “higher end” apartment building last night that would be built across five fenced-in vacant lots on the 4300 block of Market Street.

The six-story building would include two- and three-bedroom apartments, a roof deck and five off-street parking spots at 4312 through 4320 Market Street. Its proposed design includes a driveway cut through the middle of the building to access the five off-street sites. That driveway, which would require drivers to pull across the sidewalk along Market Street, caused some concern for zoning committee members.  Continue Reading

The public is invited to attend tonight’s Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) Zoning Committee meeting to learn more about new development projects in the area. Some of the projects on the agenda (see below) were presented at earlier meetings, and this is an opportunity for community members to ask questions or provide comments. The meeting will take place at the SCHA office (257 S. 45th St), beginning at 7 p.m.

The meeting will discuss the following three projects:

• Apartment building at 4045 Baltimore (see rendering): Presentation and discussion of façade materials for use at this apartment complex under construction. This project was presented for the community last year and submitted for approval by the Zoning Board of Adjustment at the end of 2017.  Continue Reading

3.0 University Place rendering (via www.30universityplace.com)

It looks like the developers are finally ready to proceed with the construction of 3.0 University Place at 41st and Market, five years after the project was announced.

Construction site at 41st and Market (Photo West Philly Local). 

This environmentally-friendly office building is on the way from University Place Associates, the developers behind the 2.0 University Place building at 41st and Powelton. 3.0 University Place is being built where the old Pep Boys used to be at 41st and Market St. The developers tout the new building’s LEED v4 Platinum environmental certification, and claim that tenants can take advantage of energy- and water-efficient systems, as well as cleaned and filtered indoor air.

3.0 University Place is the latest in the trend towards upscale, tech-oriented buildings pushing ever westwards into West Philadelphia, following developments like Cira South, Schuylkill Yards, 3675 Market, the Pennovation Center, Campus Commerce Center, and Penn Medicine’s Center for Healthcare Technology.  Continue Reading

The design for the new “Broken Chains” mural at 500 S. 52nd St. (southwest corner of 52nd and Larchwood).

A new “Broken Chains” mural at 52nd and Larchwood, where several buildings are undergoing extensive renovation, will be unveiled Saturday, May 12th at 3 p.m.

The original Broken Chains mural (see below), a tribute to Black empowerment and leadership, will be removed as part of the ongoing renovation of the building at 500 S. 52nd (southwest corner of 52nd and Larchwood), one of several buildings near that intersection that the local development company, Spak Group, is renovating from the ground up. When completed, the building will include ground floor commercial (a sit-down restaurant) and three apartments.  Continue Reading