Philadelphia’s Civic Design Review Committee reviewed
plans for a 113-unit, mixed-use apartment complex at 24th Street and Washington
Avenue on Tuesday ahead of a zoning board hearing at which the developers will
seek a number of variances.
The project is proposed for an oddly shaped property at
2401 Washington, which is currently vacant but for a billboard. The proposal
calls for a building of varying heights, five stories at its tallest point,
with retail space along Washington Avenue. It would have 57 parking spaces for
cars and 53 spaces for bikes. The units would be a mix of studios and 1-bedroom
and 2-bedroom apartments.
The property is currently zoned I-2, a medium-impact
industrial category. Residential development isn’t allowed in that district, so
the developer will need a variance for the use as well as for the depth of the
rear yard.
The project would also include a small park, open to the
public, and a private dog run for residents.
The Committee’s comments on the project were fairly
limited. There was a suggestion to rethink planting grass on an area of the
property that would be regularly cast in shade, a recommendation to seek LEED
certification for sustainable design, and an urge to make the storefront space
as tall as structurally possible along Washington Avenue.
Christopher Stomberg of South of South Neighborhood
Association, the local Registered Community Organization, said that his group
had voted to support the project. SOSNA’s zoning committee voted unanimously,
6-0, to support the project, its general membership supported the project 38-7,
and the near neighbors voted 7-5 in favor.
But other nearby residents said that SOSNA’s support
didn’t represent them. Madeleine Shikomba, of the North of Washington Avenue
Coalition, said the project is too big and has too many units. Another
Coalition member and Democratic Committeeman, Jonathan Purnell, said the
development would make it even harder to park in the neighborhood.
The project would have one parking space for every two
units, which is more spaces than the code requires for the current zoning.
Hercules Grigos, an attorney for the developer, Green Construction LLC, said
that the project was designed for IRMX zoning—Industrial Residential Mixed-Use—which
some neighbors say is the appropriate zoning classification for the Washington
Avenue corridor west of Broad Street. If the corridor were to be remapped that
way, it could maintain its industrial character while permitting a denser
population in the neighborhood.
In the Central District plan, the Planning Commission recommend mostly ICMX—Industrial Commercial Mixed
Use—along the north side of the corridor. The South District plan, currently
underway, will also include recommendations for the other side of Washington
Avenue.
Neighbors have differing visions of how the corridor
should be remapped. Some want to allow more residential density while others
want to restrict the avenue to commercial uses.
Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, who is ultimately
responsible for deciding whether and how to remap the area, is still “doing the
due diligence” to determine what zoning category is best for the area, according
to Steve Cobb, his legislative director.
As for the 2401 Washington Avenue project, Johnson has
yet to make a determination about whether he’ll support it at the zoning board.
At the Committee meeting yesterday, Grigos agreed that the development team
would meet with near neighborhors from the North of Washington Avenue Coalition
before the ZBA hearing, on Feb. 18th. Councilman Johnson said he’d wait until
all neighbors has weighed in before deciding whether or not to support the
project.
“I’m excited by the level of investment coming to
Washington Avenue, and this project represents the latest example of that
investment interest,” Johnson said in a statement to PlanPhilly. “Washington
Avenue is on the move, and we are working to plan, from a zoning perspective,
for a future that will welcome new uses while allowing our existing businesses
to prosper. I understand that the proposal for 2401 Washington was positively
received at South of South Neighborhood Association and Washington Avenue
Property Owners Association meetings. The developer is currently discussing the
project with near neighbors. I await the result of those discussions.”
Theoretically, of course, the zoning board’s
determination will be made on the merits of the developer’s case, regardless of
who supports or opposes the project. The board previously ruled in favor of a residential project in an industrial district
at 16th and Washington, which Councilman Johnson also supported. That ruling
was overturned, however, by a Common Pleas Court judge last month.
The developers of that proposal have not said yet whether
they’ll appeal the decision.
Source: PlanPhilly
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