The owners of 555 City Ave. in Bala Cynwyd, Pa. have decided to expand the office building — taking advantage of a relatively new overlay district along the City Avenue corridor.
Property owners along the Lower Merion side of City Avenue were eager to see the zoning ordinance take hold. The overlay has the potential to spur new development and it's finally getting put to use with many property owners exploring their options. The zoning promotes taller buildings and denser, mixed-use development that aims to be more pedestrian friendly in a designated area but on both sides of City Avenue.
The overlay district was controversial. Opponents worried taller buildings would mean more traffic congestion and be a detriment to the residential communities. It also has the potential to pull office tenants out of Center City who are seeking breaks on Philadelphia taxes but still want to be close to the city and in brand-new buildings.
It looks like 555 City Ave. could potentially be one of the first to take advantage of the overlay.
“You have a lot of owners taking a hard look on how they can modify their current sites by potentially redeveloping it,” said Scott Gabrielsen of Binswanger who represents 555 City Ave. in its leasing. “It’s really changing the landscape of what can happen in Bala.”
The Robbins and Rubin families, which own the 11-story, 128,000-square-foot office building, considered a variety of different plans for the site and decided that a single-story, 15,000-square-foot stand-alone structure would work best while still retaining ample parking. It will be called the Annex at 555. The property will be marketed as a medical office building and will only get constructed once it’s pre-leased, Gabrielsen said.
Source: Philadelphia Business Journal
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