Artist’s rendering of the proposed seven-story apartment building at 40th and Market Streets.
The Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee got a first look at a project that will likely reshape the bustling 4000 block of Market Street.
A seven-story, 42-unit apartment building with ground floor commercial space is proposed for the southwest corner of 40th and Market, right on top of one of the busiest Market-Frankford El stops in West Philly. The project would require the demolition of two properties, currently occupied by a Crown Chicken and Royal Donuts.
The proposal is an expansion of a project approved in 2017 for a thin, seven-story building at 4000 Market. Demolition of the building on that lot has been completed. During that demolition, code violations from the adjacent property were discovered that led to litigation and the acquisition of two more properties – 4002 and 4004 Market St.
The lots are zoned CMX-4 and the developer, Philadelphia-based Fastar LLC, is seeking variances for parking and the “floor area ratio” (FAR) – the amount of floor space in the building versus the size of the lot. The zoning designation requires 14 parking spaces and the proposal includes none.
Regarding the FAR, the developer could satisfy that variance by providing moderate- and/or low-income units. The city provides a FAR bonus to developers who included mixed-income housing. Several committee members asked the developer to consider mixed income housing rather than ask for the FAR variance.
The project is the latest in a flurry of development projects on Chestnut and Market Streets near the western edge of Penn’s campus. Many are “by right,” meaning they don’t require meaningful community input.
“We’re getting hammered on Chestnut Street and Market Street by developers who don’t give a sh** about what the community thinks,” Richard King, an architect who is a member of the SHCA zoning committee, told the developer.
King and others asked the developer to reconsider the lines of the building, suggesting that the building could have different levels that break up the giant block feel of the project.
The project will likely set the aesthetic and commercial tone for development further west on Market Street, zoning committee chair Barry Grossbach said, and that everything from building materials to the ground floor businesses should be carefully considered.
“What happens at this corner is critically important,” he said.
August 21st, 2019 at 10:12 am
looks good. get the low/mod units included and call it a day
August 21st, 2019 at 11:16 am
Looks crappy as hell.
August 21st, 2019 at 12:32 pm
Perfect location to live in and walk down stairs to take El east or west on Market Street to work. By right is the best way to get anything built.
August 21st, 2019 at 2:33 pm
I don’t care about the height, even taller is ok with me. But this like more UC junk, terrible. Great location, there should be a bonus for being so close to transit, and if the included/relocated the SEPTA entrance/exit into the buildings envelope they should be allowed increased size and density.
August 22nd, 2019 at 6:32 am
King is out of his mind. The building is not a “giant block” by any means. That said, the “developer” of this has never built anything before, they’re just a net owner of trash retail properties around the city. They are likely getting approvals so they can sell the project to another developer.
August 22nd, 2019 at 10:28 am
Their must be low income & Senior apartments (1-3 bedrooms) @ a ratio of 1/3 of the available units. There should be public notice of application dates.
August 22nd, 2019 at 11:24 pm
James – Wait a minute. You’re saying that not giving consideration to meaningful community input is the best way to get anything built??
August 27th, 2019 at 12:35 pm
This building is gorgeous! Great work!
August 28th, 2019 at 10:53 am
The building looks like total junk to me, but we’ve know for years this was coming. It would still be an improvement over the current spot. I have no prob w/ building, I know going in that it’s going to be crappy construction 🙂
August 28th, 2019 at 2:49 pm
Skillrod…how on earth does that look like junk?
The architecture, the style, those cool windows all fit right in to the new look of west philly!
August 28th, 2019 at 4:43 pm
Nuck Lai … Have you seen the new housing build on north side of 42nd and Chestnut? (the building they put on top of all those graves 🙂 That building had dented/scratched siding put on during the construction, it looked like total junk before it even opened. This new building looks like it’s gonna be the same thing, the cheapest possible material. Go look at the “Luna” at 45th and spruce, not even a year in and that building is falling apart. I do absolutely love OUR neighborhood (25+ years), just wanted vent on how cheap these developers are.
August 29th, 2019 at 8:07 am
Considering 4001 Market is getting a 10-story (136 foot) building across the street, this building should be even larger. I do agree the architecture leaves much to be desired- hopefully they can negotiate with SHCA for a taller building that looks better.
August 29th, 2019 at 12:45 pm
Let’s not forget the many, many displaced people who were moved to make this latest wave of “progress” possible. That so many were poorer and darker people should tell us something about the shape of things to come. Whether you spin this as good, inevitable or what not may depend on what side your bread is buttered on.
Philadelphia 2035 here we come!
August 29th, 2019 at 1:16 pm
American Dream:
No one was displaced. The upper floors of those buildings are abandoned. Stop living in a world of delusion.
August 29th, 2019 at 1:45 pm
The involuntary displacement of the residents of the Black Bottom neighborhood, as facilitated by Penn, Drexel University, University of the Sciences, and Presbyterian Hospital with the help of their allies in government is part of the history of “redevelopment” in the area.
A lot more and a lot worst is coming- that is my prediction and the City Government’s Philadelphia 2035 agenda is literally a part of the plan.
Whether you try to point attention in another direction, claim that this is good, or whatever else, likely depends not only on your biases but also your economic interests.
August 29th, 2019 at 4:31 pm
American Dream:
Be more clear next time, I thought you meant only this building. Yes, lots of people were displaced by those old redevelopment plans– well the past cannot be changed and all the people who made those plans are dead or very old. I suppose you’re right, in a butterfly effect sort of way, that redevelopment lead to where things are now in the neighborhood.
Phila 2035 was created to correct a lot of the mistakes in urban planning made in the past– it’s not a conspiracy, it’s urban planning so that developers can’t just run roughshod.
People used to be mad that neighborhoods were segregated, now people want to stop development to preserve that segregation. Make up your minds!
August 29th, 2019 at 4:50 pm
In the ongoing struggle between rich and poor, “redevelopment” is not enough on the moral side, even if it is on the profitable side. If it were as the proponents claim, then poor people would have a lot more say over their own lives, including the right to stay in one’s own neighborhood, to have a truly affordable cost of living, to have decent and humane living conditions, etc. etc.
All too often, proponents of the Gentrification agenda, in accord with Capital and the State, try to package the results into a pretty little package, implying that anti-Racism, Economic Justice and what have you are the end goal and will be the end result. That which profits the few, tends to hurt the many…