An artist’s rendering of 4306 Market St. The city approved the adjacent building to the right in October.

The 4300 block of Market Street, which includes a Checkers, some vacant lots and a handful of row homes, will likely look completely different by next summer.

A proposal for a six-story, 22-unit apartment building at 4306-4310 Market St. met with a favorable reaction from the Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee on Monday. The building would be fit in between a cluster of existing row homes and another building, 4312 Market St. that was approved last year. The two projects are related.

The proposal would combine three lots into one for the building (one is the former site of the Dirt Factory). The proposed building would include 13 two-bedroom apartments, 5 one-bedrooms and 4 three-bedrooms. No information was available on proposed rent prices, but developers said the apartments would be “higher end” and not aimed at students. There are no affordable housing units proposed as part of the project, which several zoning committee members asked developers to reconsider.  Continue Reading

The Millcreek Tavern at 42nd and Chester Ave. will soon be gone and a five-story, 42-unit residential building aimed at students could soon take its place.

Developers pitched a preliminary plan to the Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee on Monday night for the building, which would require variances for height and number of units. Representatives of Core Development told the committee that they purchased the building about 10 days ago, are in the “very early conceptual stages” and have yet to apply for the variances.  Continue Reading

Developer Ryan Spak, left, discusses “5050 Baltimore” during a zoning meeting at the Calvary Center last night (Photo by West Philly Local).

A 12-unit residential building with ground-floor commercial that includes below-market units proposed for the corner of 51st and Baltimore drew overwhelming support during a Cedar Park Neighbors zoning meeting last night.

Proposed by West Philly-based developer Ryan Spak, “5050 Baltimore” would be a three-story building built on three oddly shaped lots at the triangular corner of 51st and Baltimore. The project needs zoning variances for an additional two residential units. Ten units is allowed by right. The project also needs a variance for a “group practitioner” – a mental health counseling non-profit – which is one of the tenants for the proposed commercial space.  Continue Reading

Centennial Village, the mixed-use rental project with 51 units of affordable housing and 7,227 square feet of commercial space, officially opened in West Parkside on Thursday with a grand opening ceremony. Community members, City and State officials, project funders, and Centennial Village new residents were in attendance.

The project has transformed 52nd Street between Columbia and Parkside Avenues and nearby areas by rejuvenating 44 formerly vacant lots and buildings. It includes a 30-unit apartment building, a mixed-use building with six residential units and two commercial spaces, and the renovation and new construction of seven single-family homes and one duplex.  Continue Reading

Artist’s rendering of 6-story apartment building proposed for 4312-20 Market Street. The white box on the first floor is a driveway that goes through the building to access five off-street parking spots in the rear of the building.

The Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) zoning committee heard plans for 36-unit “higher end” apartment building last night that would be built across five fenced-in vacant lots on the 4300 block of Market Street.

The six-story building would include two- and three-bedroom apartments, a roof deck and five off-street parking spots at 4312 through 4320 Market Street. Its proposed design includes a driveway cut through the middle of the building to access the five off-street sites. That driveway, which would require drivers to pull across the sidewalk along Market Street, caused some concern for zoning committee members.  Continue Reading

A group of community organizations are standing with residents of Dorsett Court (4710 Locust St.) and Admiral Court (237 S. 48th St.) apartment buildings who were recently given bogus eviction notices to scare tenants out and make way for the sale of the buildings. A court decision has staved off eviction for at least a few more weeks.

Residents and supporters gathered in front of the buildings, which are adjacent on the corner of 48th and Locust, at a rally yesterday organized by the Philadelphia Tenants Union (PTU), a grassroots organization focused on protecting renters from unfair evictions. Community Legal Services and the Public Interest Law Center are also assisting the roughly 70 residents who received the eviction notices. Some video of the event is available on the PTU Facebook page.  Continue Reading