Chestnut Hill property comes up for sale

A building that houses the Diane Bryman Rug Shoppe in Chestnut Hill is on the market and is a rare opportunity for a developer to do a bigger project in the heart of this tony Philadelphia community and on its main thoroughfare. The site is comprised of three contiguous properties at 8034-8040 Germantown Ave. and totals 11,000 square feet. It is listed for $1.75 million. The building dates back to 1929 when it was used as a car dealership. In 1960, Diane Bryman, known as the “First Lady of Oriental carpets,” opened up a rug shop in the building. The store is now having a liquidation sale and Bryman has decided to sell the property. “The fact that it’s on Germantown Avenue and it’s substantial in size is something that doesn’t come up for sale often in Chestnut Hill,” said Adam Gillespie, a broker with SSH Real Estate, has the listing. It also has what Gillespie called “great” zoning, which would allow a developer to raze the structures and construct up to 20 residential units or 2,000 square feet of office or retail space. What does make the zoning a little tricky is that a sliver of the rear of the parcel touches a residential property. “What is allowed by right likely won’t be built but the community is supportive of some mixed-use development,” Gillespie said. New development doesn’t often come to Chestnut Hill. However, Bowman Properties began construction of a mixed-use development at the former Magarity Ford dealership at 8200 Germantown Ave. Source: Philadelphia Business Journal