The area surrounding the Reading Viaduct, which is slowly
being converted into an elevated park, is preparing for an influx of
development interest.
On Tuesday, the Planning Commission recommended approval
of a bill that would rezone the area bounded by 9th, Broad, Vine and Spring
Garden streets—a formerly industrial area with a lot of remaining industrial
infrastructure. The bill, introduced by Councilman Mark Squilla, makes dozens
of zoning changes to individual lots in the area, but most are meant to
encourage greater commercial and residential density. (Check out the maps and
review the proposed zoning changes here.)
The area straddles Chinatown North and Callowhill, a part
of town that some real estate people have been tempted to call the Loft District.
The Reading Viaduct, an out-of-commission rail line runs through the area. Its
eventual conversion into a park, which some people have been tempted to compare
to the High Line in New York, is expected to increase interest in the
surrounding neighborhoods.
On Tuesday, Commission chairman Alan Greenberger said the
neighborhood is “a very fast-changing area with a lot of good demand in it.”
Councilman Squilla also recently introduced a bill creating a zoning overlay for the
neighborhood to the east, meant to connect Old City and Northern Liberties and
establish a walkable mixed-use neighborhood in a former hotbed of industry.
Also on Tuesday, the Commission voted to support a slate
of zoning changes for the area around Market Street between 40th and 46th. As
PlanPhilly previously reported, the bill was inspired by an office project called 3.0
University Place at 41st and Market. Rather than simply rezone that
one parcel, the Planning Commission staff included a bunch of recommendations
from the University Southwest District Plan, and tried to rezone for maximum
density adjacent to the transit stations at 40th and 46th.
The Commission also voted to endorse two bills aimed at
improving Roxborough’s main commercial corridor on Ridge Avenue. One bill
amends a zoning overlay in the area, banning things like drive-throughs and
parking lots. The other bill remaps some key properties on and around Ridge to
further encourage pedestrian-oriented commercial development. The bills
were introduced by Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr.,
earlier this month.
Source: Plan
Philly
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