The 4224 Baltimore development site in 2013 (Photo by West Philly Local).

There’s finally some news on a development across from Clark Park that has been years in the making. The developers are set to proceed with the construction of a 132-unit residential building at 4224 Baltimore Avenue, the project that was first announced eight years ago and took a few years to get zoning approval.

The work is expected to begin within a few weeks, according to Barry Grossbach, Zoning Chair at Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA), and will include installation of the fence around the construction area, removal of trees in the area, removal of existing sidewalks and installation of concrete barriers to provide temporary sidewalks, closure of parking around the construction area, and finally, beginning of excavation work.

Zoning approval was granted in June 2015 and building permit was issued in May 2019.

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4224 Baltimore Avenue project rendering (via U3Ventures.com).

After more than six years of planning, building permits were recently issued for the 132-unit residential/commercial complex on the vacant lot across from Clark Park at 4224 Baltimore Avenue.

Permit for the construction of the six-story building was issued on May 7, according to the City’s Department of Licences and Inspections.  Continue Reading

Future 4224 Baltimore Avenue construction site now has a community garden (the gate has been removed by the gardeners).

We finally have an update on 4224 Baltimore Avenue, the site slated for construction of a 132-unit residential building with ground floor commercial space that has been in the works for four years.

Some work is finally scheduled to begin on the site, according to the Spruce Hill Community Association Zoning chair Barry Grossbach. Crews will be entering the property to remove overgrown vegetation and perform a general cleaning, and additional soil testing on the lot will take place in the near future.

“The community has been anxiously waiting for progress on the site and we are now at the point where activity will be more pronounced,” Grossbach recently wrote in an e-mail.  Continue Reading

The lot at 4224 Baltimore Ave.

After years of planning and community meeting after community meeting, people are starting to wonder if the grand residential building proposed for the corner of 43rd and Baltimore will ever get built.

Residents look over plans during a community meeting on 4224 Baltimore Ave. in September 2014 (Photo by West Philly Local).

“I’ve given up going to the Farmers’ Market on Saturdays because I’m tired of people asking me what the problem is,” Barry Grossbach, the chair of Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee said at a recent meeting.

In case you had forgotten, construction on a 132-unit residential building at 4224 Baltimore Ave. complete with a full-service restaurant overlooking Clark Park was supposed to begin this summer. Delays on construction projects in the city are not that uncommon, so observers of the process waited. Soil samples were taken, more engineering studies were ordered, construction plans were submitted and re-submitted. But nothing has happened at the large, empty lot at 43rd and Baltimore.  Continue Reading

The firm overseeing development of a prime piece of real estate at 4224 Baltimore Ave. – across from Clark Park – has announced that it will take its chances with the zoning process and will go ahead with plans to build a 132-unit residential complex.

“[U3 Advisors] will comply with every regulation of the zoning variance process and we look forward to meeting with area RCOs, community groups and interested neighbors,” said Tom Lussenhop, the firm’s senior vice president.

Lussenhop said the firm will file an application with the Zoning Board of Adjustment soon.

There was some doubt that the firm would go ahead with its plans after news surfaced that appeals to City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell for an ordinance that would allow them to sidestep the sometimes tumultuous zoning process were rejected. The parcel’s owner, Clarkmore LLC, already has permission to build a small residential building that would have no commercial amenities and very limited parking. But the plans for the 132-unit building, which grew out of a series of community meetings, include underground parking and commercial space. That plan requires zoning changes for the parcel.

A series of public hearings will be scheduled once the zoning change request is filed, including a community meeting with the Spruce Hill Community Association planning committee.

“Spruce Hill will follow its traditional process of dealing with this zoning application once a filing has been processed,” said the planning committee’s head Barry Grossbach.

(See all our posts on 4224 Baltimore here).

Plan Philly yesterday got in touch with City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who said she will not introduce an ordinance to “spot zone” the vacant parcel across from Clark Park at 43rd and Baltimore.

Blackwell told Plan Philly’s Jared Brey that she is reluctant to push for special zoning for this project out of fear that other developers, including those involved in the row over the property at 40th and Pine, will line up at her door asking for ordinances. Blackwell said she supported the project, but advised the developers to go through the zoning process, which will include a public hearing.

We reported last week that the property owner, Clarkmore LLC, was pressing Blackwell for a special ordinance that would allow them to forgo the zoning process. Clarkmore currently can build a “by right” 92-unit project that includes little parking and no retail. It wants the ordinance for a bigger 132-unit building that includes parking and ground-level retail and would require zoning variances.

For a recent history of the property and the process that led to the current proposal, see this collection of posts.

There’s a lot to this story. Go to Plan Philly for more details.