From: West Philly Local on 49th and Spruce proposal
Community gets look at 9-story apartment building proposal for 49th and Spruce
Looking from Spruce Street, the proposed 9-story building at 49th and Spruce.
Developers presented preliminary plans last night for a nine-story apartment building with ground-floor retail space at 49th and Spruce Streets to a standing-room-only crowd that voiced concerns about property taxes, parking and affordable rents.
Proposed by the developers who refurbished the nearby Croydon building, Hillel Tsarfati and Kfir Binnfeld, the 160-unit building would be built on the parking lot on the southwest corner of 49th and Spruce. The mostly one-bedroom apartments would be marketed toward “young professionals,” with rents 15 to 20 percent below market rate – similar to Croydon, Binnfeld said.
The building would include eight floors of 20 apartments each and retail on the first floor. Floors would include 12 one-bedroom apartments, 6 two-bedrooms and two studios each. Rents would be roughly the same as Croydon – currently a minimum of $975 for a two-bedroom and $850 for a one-bedroom, according to the proposal.
Sponsored by three community organizations – the Garden Court Community Association, The Walnut Hill Community Association and Cedar Park Neighbors – Wednesday’s meeting had no official impact on the zoning process as no formal proposal has yet been submitted to the city.
“We are doing this to get feedback from the community,” said Binnfeld.
If the proposal is submitted to the city, it will require a zoning variance for its size. The lot is zoned RM4 and, although there is no maximum height restriction, the building’s “floor-area ratio” is limited to 3.5 times the piece of land it is built on. The developers could build a building of a similar width and length that is five floors tall “by right,” meaning without community input. But the nine-floor proposal exceeds the floor-area ratio, triggering the need for Zoning Board of Adjustment approval and future community meetings.
Their current plan also includes:
• About 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, which could be rented to one retailer or divided
• 44 parking spaces
• Indoor space for more than 100 bicycles
• A rooftop deck
As usual, parking was a concern.
“Parking close to my home is vital to me and for a lot of people in the community,” said one resident.
Others questioned the developers on the type of retail they would pursue, requesting that locally owned businesses are given a chance to rent the space. Others suggested scrapping the apartments and building a grocery store (a couple of people suggested a Trader Joe’s).
If the developers go ahead with the proposal they unveiled last night, future community meetings will be scheduled, so stay tuned.
– Mike Lyons
http://www.westphillylocal.com/2016/...ce/#more-43746