Rendering of the 76-unit apartment building approved Wednesday for the corner of 48th and Chester.
The city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) yesterday unanimously approved a 76-unit apartment building proposed for the corner of 48th and Chester that has been debated for months.
The owner of the nearby Renaissance Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center is combining several parcels it owns along 48th Street and asked to change the zoning designation to accommodate the building, which includes 34 parking spots and a small courtyard. The two-tiered design includes three stories on edges of the project and four stories in the center. A members-only dog park formerly occupied the land.
First unveiled in a community meeting, the proposed project began as an 83-unit project with no affordable housing.
The project is notable for its 15 “affordable” units voluntarily included in the project and guaranteed to stay that way for at least 50 years thanks to a community benefits agreement the owner signed with Cedar Park Neighbors, a registered community organization in the area.
Attorney Brett Feldman, a West Philly resident who represented the property owner, called the project a “framework for how a project can be done privately to include affordable housing.”
But the project is also notable for the opposition it sparked. Council member Jamie Gauthier, who opposed the project, wrote that it “dwarfs all other zoning-related matters we’ve encountered since entering office last year. The vast majority of this feedback is against the project.”
Gauthier’s office applauded the inclusion of affordable units, but said that the remaining market-rate units could “reset rents for the neighborhood and cause long-term displacement,” Andrew Goodman, the director of equitable development in Gauthier’s office, told the ZBA.
An alternative to the proposal was the construction “by right”, which does not require any community input. In this case, in accordance with the current zoning, the developer could have built 14 twin duplexes with small garages.
It’s not yet know when construction will begin.
June 3rd, 2021 at 7:57 pm
This was a victory for progressive urban planning, it is great to see so many neighbors unite in support of 15 low-income units on a plot of land where this would otherwise not happen. This equitable development will restore the historic character of the neighborhood by replacing the apartment building we lost to a fire in the 1990s. I hope this development becomes the model, both in terms of unit type mix and design, for all future West Philly development.
June 3rd, 2021 at 8:28 pm
This is so much better than the by-right alternative, which was 28 luxury duplex homes that would’ve done nothing to maintain the diversity of the neighborhood, absorb new transplants, or mitigate competition for limited rental units in the area. This is a neighborhood that has seen very little new construction in the last 80 years and has actually LOST housing units over the years, and rents are gonna start rising a lot faster if the supply of housing isn’t increased.
June 4th, 2021 at 2:55 pm
For 15 units of affordable housing over 50 years, four stories should have been permitted in light of four stories in the neighborhood. Had the ZBA rejected the project to please Councilwoman Gauthier, the by right alternative would have been 14 Twin duplexes with small garages. Sounds like the developer got royally screwed over a project while getting one floor cut with 15 additional affordable units to provide over 50 years. It looks like the by right duplexes were the better choice.
June 7th, 2021 at 8:45 pm
Its still ugly. BTW, who checks to see if the promises made re lower rents are actually honored, and not just for the first couple years?
Its hard to believe that two of the above writers seem to be still using scare tactics, as in saying if this proposal didn’t go through then by right luxury twins would be built. That was never a given.
The owner could just have easily built by right 2 family student housing slop like the rest of the neighbor is being stuck with, and just rented them out. The question should have been, would you want to buy a house and live across the street from this? My guess is is most would say no. But its always easy to ask other people to do what you won’t.
June 9th, 2021 at 5:17 pm
I will sorely miss the dog park- and open wild space more generally as they build up every square inch of land they can. The vultures are here but already more are coming. I miss the more affordable rents we used to have. I will be part of the struggle for a more affordable and just neighborhood. I hope many more will join us in the ongoing fight.