In offering two pages of detailed commentary, they did
not go easily into that good night. Still, the Civic Design Review Board (CDR)
eased the way for Ridge Flats, a mixed-use project from Grasso Holdings that
faces Kelly Drive, to move on to the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Located near the Falls Bridge, sited between the Drive
and Ridge Avenue at Calumet Street, the building is designed by New York-based
Morris Adjmi (MA) Architects with locally-based Onion Flats as architect of
record. As presented Tuesday, the six-story building will offer 206 apartments,
194 parking spaces, bike parking spots, a living green wall on Kelly Drive, a
robust retail program (including the possibility of a grocery store), and a
corner cafe.
MA Architect Michael Zweck-Bronner’s presentation on the
building showed a staggered U-shaped design that he said attempts to gesture
toward the river, allowing breathing room, with a terraced rooftop on the
second floor (complete with pool). Material choices skew mostly glass and steel
arranged in a grid material. Although relieved by ground floor retail, the
Ridge and Calumet facades appear more massive, a sticking point for just about
everyone in the room, including CDR board members, community representatives,
and Planning Commission officials.
“The building seems a little relentless,” observed Nancy
Rogo Trainer, CDR chair. She wondered if even a “small notch” would break what
she called a “monotonous, regular, and large” exterior. “It needs some kind of
life,” she concluded. “It can’t feel like a wall between East Falls and Kelly
Drive.”
At one point, developer David Grasso took the podium to
highlight the project’s street improvements and spoke of his commitment to
activating and improving Ridge Avenue’s commercial climate. By including what
he called hotel-level furnished apartments, Grasso said he believes Ridge Flats
offers an “elevated” program that surpasses that of typical multi-family
projects.
In his overview, Planning Commission staff member Jack
Conviser noted that the site is currently zoned CMX-2.5, but even if it
receives CMX-3 up zoning, as seems likely, it will still require a few
variances. He praised its Complete Street compliance and overall public
environment but expressed concerns about the design. These included the
remoteness of one outlying retail space, the presence of a three-lane lay by
(he recommended it be cut to two lanes), the need for a curb cut on Kelly Drive
(required, said architects, by PennDOT) and the viability of the green wall,
and the building’s proposed 300-feet of unbroken width.
In assembling their comments, CDR members batted around a
few suggestions. Landscape architect Anita Toby Lager disagreed with Conviser
and said that the hydroponic wall would fill out, but she emphasized the need
for a good maintenance plan. Michael Johns, an architect and Housing Authority
executive, agreed with the need for a three-car-wide lay-by while Rogo Trainer
disagreed. Architect Daniel Garofalo suggested that the designers push beyond
meeting Energy Star sustainability regulations and strive for third-party (i.e.
LEED) certification and Rogo Trainer seconded that. Garofalo also suggested
that reorienting the building’s facade system so that it better responds to
exposure to sun and shade might help give it more texture, while developer Leo
Addimando said that even the presence of different colored panels could achieve
that.
In the end, the board accepted most of the Planning
Commission’s staff recommendations and declared the review process completed.
The second project on the agenda, the renovation and
expansion of 2400 Market Street, was pulled by the developer.
Ridge Flats - CDR - May 2016: Download file
Source: Plan
Philly
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