The developers of Schuylkill Yards, the $3.5 billion commercial and residential development near 30th Street Station, announced this week that they will spend $5.6 million on community initiatives, including affordable housing.

Brandywine Realty Trust’s “Neighborhood Engagement Initiative” will focus on local job creation and training, supporting local and minority-owned businesses and building affordable housing. The firm pledged to provide $3.1 million toward housing and job training in the first phase of Schuylkill Yards development, set to begin this summer.

Curbed Philadelphia reports that the $3.1 million will go into a community fund to be shared between the nearby Powelton Village and Mantua neighborhoods for housing projects. Brandywine will also provide $500,000 to the Enterprise Center to help develop minority-owned businesses. Other plans include providing funding for the Construction Apprentice Preparatory Program to help local workers prepare for jobs in the construction industry.

Schuylkill Yards will include 6.9 million square feet of new commercial, retail and residential space on 14 acres stretching from 30th Street Station west to 33rd Street and from JFK Boulevard south to Chestnut. It is scheduled to be completed in two phases over the next two decades.

The much anticipated construction of Trolley Portal Gardens, the project that will include a remodeled 40th Street Trolley portal, a public space and a restaurant, has begun. Philadelphia general contractor Domus will begin excavating the building foundation as early as the end of this week, according to Chris Richman, Communication Manager for University City District.

The work will spread to a larger area, called “the apron,” after the Trolley Tunnel Blitz concludes in mid-July.

The groundbreaking ceremony for Trolley Portal Gardens was held in December 2016, but it took some time to obtain necessary building permits. The last remaining permits were finalized earlier this month, according to the project website.  Continue Reading

While graffiti still covers the front of the old West Philadelphia High School building and it may seem like not much work has yet been done on converting the early 20th century building at 48th and Walnut into loft apartments (the project was first announced in 2012,) a part of the building, now called West Lofts, is ready to welcome its first tenants next month, according to reports.

The first 35 units have been leased for July 1 move-in, and more units are currently for lease for August and September move-ins, according to a report by Philly Curbed.

Upon completion, West Lofts will have 268 studio, 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments, many of them bi-level, ranging from $995 to $2,430. The building will also include a restored gym, a co-working space and a coffee shop, according to Philly Curbed.

If you want to see photos from inside the building (they may surprise you!), go to Philly Curbed.

The Jubilee School, a private K-5 school located at 4211 Chester Avenue, will be hosting a ceremony honoring the site of the MOVE bombing (at the intersection of Osage Avenue and Cobbs Creek Parkway) on Saturday, June 23, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. The event is open to the community and will feature performances from local poets and artists, including scholar Sonia Sanchez.

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission approved earlier this spring the placing of a historical marker. Students of the Jubilee School, who have studied the 1985 bombing of the MOVE headquarters at 6221 Osage Avenue for the past two years, approached the PHMC with a nomination, according to the The Philadelphia Tribune.  Continue Reading

Proposed apartment building renderings.

A proposal to build a 49-unit, 6-story apartment building on a parking lot at 4045 Baltimore Ave. was largely met with approval during a hearing before the Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee last night.

Officials from New Horizons Housing, which owns several buildings in the area including one next door the proposed structure, told the zoning committee that their vision when they bought the property in 2001 was to eventually build more apartments on the parking lot. An apartment building occupied the space until a 1980s fire destroyed it, creating a vacant space that was transformed into the present-day parking lot.

Demand for parking lot spots among residents in the adjacent New Horizons building at 4045 Baltimore has dwindled in recent years. People in the community are renting fewer of the spots as well, according to New Horizons general manager Russell Galligher.  Continue Reading

Residents are invited to learn more about development projects on Thursday, June 15 at the Spruce Hill Zoning Committee’s monthly meeting. The proposed construction of an apartment complex in a parking lot on the 4000 block of Baltimore Ave (see Google Street View below) is on the agenda.

The proposal for 4045 Baltimore Avenue was first unveiled by the developers in the Fall 2016. The complex would include 48 units, interior and off street parking, and 17 bicycle spaces.

The meeting will take place at the Spruce Hill Community Association building (257 S. 45th Street), beginning at 6:30 p.m.  Continue Reading