Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell was at a building site at the corner of Farragut and Sansom this morning as a modular apartment building was being dropped into place.

Another pre-fab, modular apartment building is going up along Sansom Street. This one is behind the Sunoco at Sansom and Farragut.

Even Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell was on hand when they started dropping the pieces in place on Tuesday morning.

The building’s units were dropped in one by one by a crane parked along Farragut Street.  Continue Reading

Developers present plans for a 21-unit apartment building at 46th and Spruce to the Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee on Monday night. (Photo by West Philly Local)

Plans to build a four-story apartment building to replace the burned-out, single-floor building on the corner of 46th and Spruce drew concerns about parking and the flurry of new nearby apartment building construction last night during a meeting of the Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) zoning committee.

The proposed brick and metal panel building at 4534-36 Spruce St. would include 21 mostly two-bedroom apartments, ground-floor retail and a rooftop deck. The developers need a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment to get to the building’s proposed height – 44 feet.

A 2011 fire gutted the current structure, a transitional housing facility. The building has been vacant since the fire.

Parking was the biggest concern at last night’s meeting. The proposal does not include on-site parking, and nearby residents are concerned that this building along with the new 40-unit apartment building at 46th and Walnut, and the 15-unit building built between two Victorian twins on the 200 block of S. 45th Street will make finding a spot exceedingly difficult.  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.

The $3.5 billion development of 14 acres of parking lots and concrete dead space west of 30th Street into eight high rises connected by green public spaces and retail officially has a name – “Schuylkill Yards.”

The project, which was presented Wednesday by Drexel and master developer Brandywine Realty Trust, will begin with the conversion of the 1.3-acre parking lot across 30th Street from the train station into public space that includes a large, oval lawn criss-crossed with walkways. That project is scheduled to break ground later this year.

Other pieces of the plan include replacing the Bolt and Mega Bus stops along JFK Boulevard with glassy high-rise office and residential buildings, dedicated bike lanes along Market Street and a green and event space that will be called “The Grove.” The tallest high rise, which will sit a couple of blocks west of the 30th Street Station between Market and JFK will be about 950 feet tall, about the same height as the Comcast Center.  Continue Reading

Locust Moon Comics, a local publishing business that until recently also had a shop near 40th and Chestnut, has revealed plans to move into the former church complex at 47th and Kingsessing. The plans will be discussed during a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 6 p.m.

The complex, which is undergoing extensive renovation, began welcoming its first tenants this winter. One of the first commercial tenants to move onto the grounds, Children’s Community School, is holding an open house at the new space on Friday, Feb. 26, from 9 – 10 a.m., with more open houses scheduled for March 10, April 1 and April 28.

Along with two childcare centers, Children’s Community School and Little Learners, The Soapbox Community Print Shop & Zine Library was also announced as a likely tenant for the complex. The organization was raising funds late last year to help cover space renovation and moving expenses.

Locust Moon Press and The Soapbox will present their plans during Tuesday’s zoning meeting of the Southwest District Services at Kingsessing Recreation Center (50th and Kingsessing). Here’s more information from Locust Moon’s Facebook page:

“There’s a community meeting to assess our viability for the neighborhood. The Soapbox Publishing Center and Zine Library will also be presenting their exciting plans for the basement of the church. This meeting is a crucial step in getting into this wonderful new space. Please come out and show your support for independent comic publishing in West Philly!”

The firm of renowned architect Frank Furness designed the 115-year-old church building, which was saved from demolition last year and converted into commercial space.

Construction has finally begun on the five-story mixed-use residential project on the southeast corner of 43rd and Sansom Streets.

The plans to build the 31-unit apartment building on the vacant lot near the Bravo Advanced Care Center were presented in early 2013 and approved by the Zoning Board of Adjustment then. However, it took nearly three years for the construction to begin. The permit to construct the building’s foundation and ground floor, which will include two commercial spaces, was obtained in November 2015, according to the City’s Office of Licenses and Inspections.

Future work will include modular residential construction on the 2nd – 5th floor, according to L & I.

The project, which is being built “by right” and did not require community input, will also include 10 off-street parking spaces and a bike rack.

The building will occupy 121-133 S. 43rd St., and most of the 31 apartments will be between 600 and 750 square feet.