Development News

In 2008, after two years of transition and multiple moves to make way for the Convention Center expansion, the Asian Arts Initiative moved into their current home at 1219 Vine Street. Now, nearly five years later, AAI is still looking for ways to make their presence known in "Chinatown North" (an area also referred to as the Loft District, Callowhill or Eraserhood).
 
AAI’s recent attempts to solidify the neighborhood's identity are rather ambitious -- the community-based arts center is aiming to revitalize four blocks of Pearl Street, an alleyway that runs from Broad to 10th just north of Vine Street. The goal is to turn the street into a public space, outdoor gallery and gathering spot, bringing together the area's diverse communities.
 
Currently in the early planning stages, the Pearl Street project has been on AAI's radar for a number of years. "Since we moved into this space we’ve been staring at Pearl Street outside our windows," says AAI Executive Director Gayle Isa. "The alleyway is a place you don't want to be right now. It has a reputation as dark and dangerous."
 
Until recently, the project was little more than an idea. "We were actually approached by a funder who was interested in partnering with us on one of our pet projects," says Isa. "We pitched the Pearl Street renovation and they were on board."
 
AAI is hiring Oakland-based landscape architect and artist Walter Hood -- he was in town recently collecting feedback from stakeholders along the alley. Hood will be back in Philadelphia this summer to conduct further research. Final designs are expected in the fall.
 
That group of stakeholders is exceptionally diverse: there's the homeless shelter Sunday Breakfast Mission, folks from the Philly Streets and Planning Departments, the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (the group behind the upcoming Eastern Tower Community Center) and Post Brothers, the developers behind upcoming luxury condos along the alleyway.

"The constituents really reflect the diversity of the neighborhood," says Isa. "The alleyway is a chance to tie them together.... Everyone we've met with has had an overwhelming sense of enthusiasm. There is a lot more openness to working together than I would have expected."
 
Few details have been worked out, but the overall vision involves improved public space, public art, lighting improvements and multi-sensory programmed activities meant to enliven the street. Green features will also be included, with the hope of eventually connecting Pearl Street to the long-envisioned Reading Viaduct project.
 
Source: Gayle Isa, Executive Director, Asian Arts Initiative
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Easter Seals of Southeastern Pennsylvania Bucks County Division has an impressive new home. The former Temple Shalom synagogue in Levittown features 19,000 square feet of space -- double that of Easter Seals’ old location -- and boasts six times more land, which means more educational programs and services for kids who need them most.

Easter Seals of Southeastern Pennsylvania provides a broad range of educational and therapeutic services to over 4,000 children, teens and young adults with physical and developmental challenges. The Bucks County division provides services for nearly 400 families. That number is sure to grown -- many of the center's programs and services had a long waiting list.

Last year, the group decided that their current facility on Trenton Road could no longer meet their needs. That led to the acquisition of the nearby synagogue. The building's grounds already featured beautiful outdoor areas ideal for Seals programs. All the organization needed was some creative thinking to turn the synagogue into a state-of-the-art educational facility for the disabled.

Local architects at Havertown's Casaccio Yu Architects were up for the challenge. The firm created a design informed by Easter Seals' mission.

"We took very seriously the importance of the Brooks Center to the community," says says George Yu, principal with Casaccio Yu. "We wanted to design an environment that would be warm, nurturing and family-oriented. We incorporated natural light, soothing colors and airy open spaces that are flexible and adapt to the changing needs of students and staff."
 
The renovated building boasts several classrooms, speech therapy treatment rooms, wide corridors for wheelchair access, skylights and a two-story clerestory spine that fills the interior with natural daylight.
 
“When I walk through the building, I can see and feel the dedication, compassion and love the Easter Seals teachers have for the children," says Yu. "It is overwhelming and wonderful to think that our design makes these relationships even more rewarding."
 
After a month in their new facility, the Easter Seals staff are equally overwhelmed. "We are still pinching ourselves when we come to work every day," exclaims Adrienne Young, Bucks County division director, in a recent blog post. "Our new building is more amazing than we could have ever dreamed!"

Source: George Yu, Principal, Casaccio Yu Architects
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Earlier this month, the prospect of land banking in Philadelphia made serious progress when Councilwoman María Quiñones Sánchez and Councilman Bill Green reintroduced enabling legislation in the City Council. Now, a diverse advocacy coalition of builders, civic associations, realtors, design professonals and other anti-blight organizations is urging the bill's immediate passage. To aid their cause, PennFuture, the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (PACDC) and other allies have launched PhillyLandBank.org.

The establishment of a land bank allows a city to acquire or group parcels of land in a strategic manner, facilitating development opportunities. Most importantly for Philadelphia, it allows municipalities to acquire property while discharging liens and other claims, charges or fines in the process -- currently, many local properties languish, saddled by delinquient property tax bills.   
 
As Flying Kite has reported, land banking has long a topic of discussion in Philly. Many see it as an efficient strategy for dealing with the city's 40,000 vacant and abandoned properties. Currently, blighted properties drag down the total value of city real estate by $3.6 billion, or about $8,000 per household.

Up until recently, local land banking efforts have stalled -- mostly due to the fact that the state legislature had yet to authorize cities to establish them. That legislation passed the General Assembly in Harrisburg last October, finally giving cities this powerful tool and renewing the fight to bring a land bank to Philly.
 
PhillyLandBank.org is the movement's biggest advocacy tool to date. PennFuture's Andrew Sharp believes the website will allow higher levels of cooperation and communication between the diverse set of backers.
 
"The first thing we’re aiming for is getting a hearing on the bill in April," says Sharp. That hearing, he explains, is critical to reaching the group's goal of getting the bill passed by June.
 
Going forward, the website will send out emails, feature regular updates on the city's push to establish a land bank and offer lessons from land banks across the nation.

Source: Andrew Sharp, PennFuture
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

A historical society satellite office - brewery combo, a showcase for incremental stormwater strategies, an opportunity for façade renovations for small businesses -- these are just a few of the many ideas generated at last weekend's urban design charrette, co-hosted by Flying Kite at the Germantown Mennonite Historic Trust.

Flying Kite partnered with the Young Architects Forum (YAF), the Germantown United Community Development Corporation (GUCDC) and Philly Office Retail to make the charrette a reality. Over 40 designers and community members came together to generate ideas for improving the 6100 and 6200 blocks of Germantown Avenue -- a stretch of Germantown's commerical corridor that borders Mt. Airy.

"Even though I know YAF has a talented group of designers to pull from, the level of ideas attained in a few short hours still amazes me," says YAF's Jeffrey Pastva. "The group was able to quickly assess the state of the area and offered multiple ideas on how to engage the community on a path forward."

Solutions ranged from grand schemes to small fixes. It was the small ideas -- those that can easily overcome traditional barriers such as cost, implementation and community buy-in -- that particularly interested folks from GUCDC.
 
"There were great ideas for short-term uses -- gardens, temporary plazas for outdoor movies -- and creative, art-focused uses, like an art/bus stop with a green roof that could bring energy and vitality to the area," says Garlen Capita with GUCDC. "Those ideas can definitely gather enough momentum to become real projects."
 
Capita was also impressed with the designers' focus on transit and sustainability. "There was a strong push to have a more green, sustainable approach to redevelopment that was more sensitive to the needs of walkers and transit users, and not just focused on more parking and auto-oriented users,” she explains.

The energy and enthusiasm in the room during the charrette was palpable. "It got a lot of people talking," says Liz Einsig Wise, executive director of the Mennonite Historic Trust. "It encouraged folks to meet new neighbors, strengthened partnerships with institutions like Settlement Music School, and [pushed people] to have more conversations towards wherever this takes us." 

"Our next step is to present some of the initial concepts to members of the local business alliance, historical organizations and faith-based organizations, and to meet individually with the business owners and organizational leaders," says Capita. "We’ll discuss the vision for the corridor, priorities and action items that we can work to support and eventually implement."

Source: Jeffrey Pastva, Young Architects Forum; Garlen Capita, Germantown United CDC; Liz Einsig Wise, Executive Director of the Mennonite Historic Trust
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

The Ambler Boiler House is a paragon of adaptive reuse. After a century as an asbestos production plant -- followed by a period of vacancy and a short stint as an EPA-classified brownfield site -- the site has achieved a complete turn around, earning LEED certification in its new life as a multi-tenant office building.
 
The transformation was 10 years in the making for the iconic structure, which sits adjacent to Ambler’s SEPTA regional rail station. After years of financial setbacks and false starts, in late 2011, the folks at Summit Realty Advisors found the final piece of a complex monetary puzzle needed to make the $16 million project a reality  -- they earned a $2.5 million EnergyWorks grant through the regional EnergyWorks program.

This was the first commercial loan awarded through the program, which up until then promoted energy-efficiency improvements in housing and urban development projects. 
 
"Ambler has experienced a substantial rejuvenation over the past 15 years," says Matthew Heckendorn, principal at Heckendorn Shiles Architects, lead designers for the renovation. "The Boiler House was an abandoned eyesore and shell with environmental contamination issues. It now has a new life as a successful commercial property."
 
The project employs numerous sustainable design strategies: it's transit-oriented, an example of adaptive reuse, a case for brownfield redevelopment and a showcase for creative financing. With its new LEED certification, energy efficiency can be added to the list. LEED-mandated features include a geothermal well, high-efficiency glass, and a reflective roof system.
 
The architects were particularly happy to preserve the plant's historic heritage. "What we take most pride in is the preservation of rough, industrial details married to a clean and contemporary office design," says Heckendorn.

Two of six tenants have already moved into the 48,000-square-foot facility, with one tenant space under construction and three others under design. The next round of tenants are expected to move in this spring and summer. 

Source: Matthew Heckendorn, principal, Heckendorn Shiles Architects
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

With support from local developers, community groups, residents and now the zoning board, the Waldorf School of Philadelphia is picking up and moving. They are taking over the long-abandoned St. Peter's Episcopal Church at Wayne Avenue and Harvey Street, right in the heart of Germantown.

The move has been a long time coming. The 16-year-old school outgrew their New Covenant campus and is in need of more space.
 
"The church had been on our minds for a few years," says Cristina Shiffman, School Chair of Waldorf. "We researched a number of ways to acquire it, but found we couldn't purchase and renovate the property ourselves."
 
The school approached Ken Weinstein's Philly Office Retail, hoping they would buy the property and then lease it back to Waldorf. A major developer and stakeholder in Germantown, Weinstein and his company obliged.

"It's a Frank Furness design," exclaims Weinstein. "If we didn’t do something the buildings would have to be torn down in five years."

After a few years of negotiating and planning -- including an application for a special use zoning exemption (the property was zoned for residential use only; the exemption is now in place) -- Weinstein will purchase the church for $435,000.

Plans for the four buildings on the historic church's two-acre site include extensive renovations to add classrooms, redoing the aging roofs and adding floors inside the sanctuary. The building's façade will be entirely preserved. Weinstein says the project's cost will hover around $4 million. They expect to break ground this fall.

Shiffman says initial reception from the community has been encouraging. The school is already working with the Friends of the Wissahickon to take stewardship of a portion of the park adjacent to the new school grounds. They hope to use the green space for nature walks and educational activities.

In the years to come, Shiffman expects other adult education activities and community events to become the norm on school grounds. "We’re really pleased with how everything has come together so far," says Shiffman. "We’re excited to see what’s possible in Germantown."

Source: Cristina Shiffman, School Chair, Waldorf School of Philadelphia
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

After two-and-a-half months On the Ground in Germantown, the area's many assets become immediately apparent. The rich history, beautiful housing stock and diverse community are enough to make other Philly neighborhoods envious. But it’s also become clear that some of these assets are underutilized.

The City Planning Commission, led by Northwest Community Planner Matt Wysong, is looking to change that, starting with the Central Germantown Business District Beautification Plan, officially adopted last September. The Plan aims to improve Germantown’s primary business district at the nexus of Chelten and Germantown Avenues.

"Downtown Germantown was the King of Prussia of the 1950s," says Wysong. "With investment down and vacancy up, the district needs a facelift."

With the plan as a guide, the Planning Commission will implement a series of short- and long-term physical improvements to the commercial corridor over the next few years. The first, and most dramatic, is the reconfiguration of the plaza-like bus stop at Chelten Avenue and Greene Street.
 
"We're looking to fix the function and use of the space -- the basic things," explains Wysong. "We want to make spaces live up to their potential."
 
The improvements will increase transit access and safety for bus riders, and a pedestrian plaza will be created, tying into nearby Vernon Park, another open space Wysong believes is currently underutilized.
 
"The plaza can become a back door to Vernon Park," he says. "We want to take the vibrancy of Chelten and integrate it into Vernon Park."
 
The plaza’s final design has yet to be completed. The Planning Commission and Germantown United CDC held a design charrette at Flying Kite’s On the Ground space (322 W. Chelten Ave.) in February to jumpstart the process.
 
The Commission is also looking to implement streetscape improvements on Chelten between Germantown and Greene. New street trees, addition plantings and enhanced newspaper stands are all potential ideas.
 
Wysong says that even more dramatic improvements are set to take place longterm. Facelifts to Maplewood Mall and other targeted areas throughout the district will take place over the coming years.
 
"These current improvements are pilot projects," says Wysong. "They’re getting the ball rolling. By next summer, if all goes according to plan, you’ll really start to notice a big difference."

Source: Matt Wysong, Philadelphia City Planning Commission
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

James and Bob Smiley, the father-son duo that runs the online-only Frankford Gazette, are constantly looking for ways to bring attention to their upstart news outlet. Their latest mission brings the phrase "bridging the digital divide" to life -- with help from the Frankford CDC, Gazette pages will soon be publicly projected for the whole neighborhood to see.
 
James and Bob are constantly looking for ways to bring Gazette news to residents who don't have access to the internet. To this end, they now publish 1,000 print copies a month through a partnership with Kidz Partners. 

The new window projection project builds off these efforts. The display -- which will be projected onto the first floor of the NorthEast Treatment Center building on the 4600 block of Frankford Avenue -- will be up-and-running in the next few weeks.
 
"No one else is doing anything like it," says James. "This is a new way people can consume news and another avenue to get people engaged."

The idea originated at the 2012 Online News Association Conference that James attended in San Franciscio. Sponsored by sponsored by the Center for Public Interest Journalism, James says he engaged in numerous conversations and debates about how other online outlets increase access to their content. From these conversations, James got the idea to broadcast the Gazette on the side of a building.

James and Bob ran the idea by the CDC's Michelle Feldman and the three of them got to work figuring out the best place to display the news.
 
The NorthEast Treatment Center was an obvious candidate due to its location on the heart of Frankford Avenue. They've been an incredibly valuable partner -- the Center's IT staff is installing the necessary equipment.

"They’ve been very much on board from the beginning," says Feldman.
 
Once all the kinks are ironed out and content is selected, the projection will run during daytime hours. 
 
"People can just walk by and consume the content as they see fit," says Bob, who adds that other locations along the Avenue are currently being scouted for future installations. 
 
The pair's excitement about their new venture is palpable -- both men note that it is definitely one of the "cooler" things the Gazette has accomplished in its five-year run.
 
But, as Bob adds, it's about more than being cutting-edge: "As cool as this is, ultimately we want to reach people who can’t otherwise be reached," he says. "Knowledge is power." 

Source:  James and Bob Smiley, Frankford Gazzette; Michelle Feldman, Frankford CDC
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Valley Green Bank is expanding its regional reach by opening a new branch at Broad and Tasker Streets in South Philly. It will be the bank's first official foray into the area and its third location overall.

The bank opened its first location in Mt. Airy in November 2005, and quickly became known as an alternative to national banks for small businesses and developers looking for loans. For Valley Green Bank, being a "community bank" means small asset holdings, remaining locally owned and operated, retaining an ability to lend to smaller clients and conducting most of its business in Philadelphia. 
 
The bank is not entirely new to South Philly -- since 2010, a lending team led by Robert Marino has been operating here, leading to a strong collection of small business clients.
 
"In South Philly, it's apparent that businesses care about community and vise versa," explains Leslie Seitchik, director of marketing for the Valley Green Bank. "We want to be a part of it." 
 
Community banks also work to have a physical presence in the neighborhoods they serve. Thanks to that established portfolio of South Philly clients, the Broad and Tasker location is the perfect fit. (Valley Green also has commercial loan centers in Center City and Radnor.)
 
Valley Green promises to hold true to its original business model at the new location. "What has made us successful over the years has been our ability to lend when larger banks haven’t been able to," says Seitchik. "Because we’re small and nimble, we’ve been able to support the small business community."
 
Valley Green sees a lot of potential to expand its real estate client base in South Philly, along with the retail side of their business. "We want community members to come bank with us, to open up anything from a checking account to money market accounts," says Seitchik.

In keeping with the bank's vision, the design of the new branch opens up the building to the both streets with large windows, welcoming in the neighborhood. Designed by local firm Metcalfe Architecture and Design, the renovation is expected to be complete this June. 

Source:  Leslie Seitchik, Director of Marketing, Valley Green Bank
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

This past Thursday at the Academy of Natural Sciences, three teams were awarded the top prize in Infill Philadelphia: Soak It Up!, the widely publicized and much anticipated national green stormwater design competition. (Flying Kite previewed the contest in October.)
 
The event was a collaboration between the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD), the Community Design Collaborative and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In all, 28 teams, 101 firms and 315 professionals from across the country submitted proposals that explored the potential of green infrastructure tools. Submissions came from places as diverse as Seattle, New York and St. Louis.  

Teams were asked to address the unique stormwater management challenges and opportunities at one of three Philadelphia sites. Each site embodied a different urban context and land-use challenge (industrial, commercial or neighborhood).

Submissions ranged from greening existing warehouse facilities to creating neighborhood-level EcoDistricts and tackling sewage overflow problems, to determining creative ways to green surface parking lots and large shopping centers.

Of the 28 entries, nine finalists were selected to present their entries to a jury and the public. The jury then selected three winners – one for each study area.
  
"We wanted projects that were innovative," explains juror Nathan Boon with the William Penn Foundation. "We also looked for submissions that could actually be implemented, ideas that can be replicated over many areas."
 
So many creative ideas came out of the exercise that PWD leaders plan to not only work with the winning teams but also the losing teams to make the designs a reality.
 
"Our expectations were far exceeded," says Joanne Dahme from the PWD. "It's given us so many new ideas for new ways to manage stormwater."
 
Over the next 25 years, PWD plans to spend $2 billion on green stormwater infrastructure improvements at varying scales across the city. Many of the competition’s ideas will be used as prototypes.

The three winners are as follows:
 
Industrial: "Leveraging Water + Plants in Zero Lot Sites," led by local firm Roofmeadow.
Neighborhood: "Greening the Grid," led by local landscape architecture firm OLIN.
Commercial: "Retail Retrofit," led by local firm Urban Engineers Inc. with Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects of New York. 

Source:  Nathan Boon, William Penn Foundation; Joanne Dahme, Philadelphia Water Department
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Twenty-four-year-old Temple architecture students Nick Auman and Keith Hartwig might have outgrown the monkey bars, but that doesn't mean they don't like to play.

Their exhibit, "Between Space," an interactive sculpture and installation, challenges the way we think about playground landscapes. A series of suspended nets designed to react to the presence of an individual, "Between Space" is currently on display at the University of the Arts as part of the Hamilton Hall Arts Initiative.

"Inspiration for the project came after observing the conditions of several public Philadelphia playgrounds in which static play elements were isolated in a rigid organizational grid," explains Auman. He and Hartwig concluded that a low-tech, low-cost solution was possible, and that it could improve the quality of public space in Philly while also expanding user reach beyond children.
 
In the display, a full-scale prototype of the playground piece (alongside models) shows how the net could be expanded to create an entire playground system.
 
The two young architects have been working on “Between Space” since the summer 2011. The net is composed of 560 individual knots, a process that took longer than initially expected.

"The scale of work that we proposed was difficult to complete," says Auman. "We were using third party fabricators to create specialized components that we did not have the means to create ourselves." 

Their efforts were well worth it. "We envision the project being adopted by individual neighborhood parks as a temporary event installation," explains Auman, who says they have already created a conceptual design for how the installation could be used at Penn Treaty Park.

"Between Spaces" will be on display at 320 S. Broad Street through March 22.

Source:  Nick Auman and Keith Hartwig, Designers, Between Space
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Thanks to innovative stormwater practices at the Water Department and the EEB Hub’s research into developing energy-efficient buildings, Philly has been generating real solutions behind the buzzwords "green" and "sustainable." Now the suburbs are getting in on the action too – the new Morphotek Inc. manufacturing plant in Exton recently received global recognition, winning the 2013 Facility of the Year Award for Sustainability.

The Facility of the Year Awards recognize state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing projects across the globe that utilize innovative technologies. Morphotek’s plant did just that, incorporating sustainable design, construction and operating features. In the coming months, the plan is expected to earn a LEED certification of Silver or higher.

"The Morphotek Pilot Plant puts Pennsylvania on the map with one of the world's first LEED-certified pharmaceutical buildings," says Robert Dick, principal with Precis Engineering out of Ambler, one of the firm’s responsible for constructing the $80 million, 60,000-square-foot facility. Precis Engineering teamed up with Arcus Design Group Architects, Inc. and HSC Builders & Construction Managers, Inc.
 
Sustainability was integrated into the plant’s design and construction process, starting with remediation of the site (a former brownfield) and ending with the installation of on-site solar panels and water and energy conservation systems.

"Our collaborative design team worked closely with Morphotek to design and execute the project…with emphasis on both sustainability and operational efficiency," says Dick. "We are honored that the Facility of the Year experts recognized our team effort and project results."

The Facility of the Year Sustainability Award will be presented to Morphotek, Precis and the rest of the design team this April in New York City. Additional recognition will come at the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) National Meeting in November and in upcoming issues of Pharmaceutical Processing and Pharmaceutical Engineering magazines.

Source:  Robert Dick, Principal, Precis Engineering
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Just blocks from the Italian Market, Cedars Village, a 64-unit affordable housing development for seniors, is rising in what used to be a surface parking lot. Developed by the St. Maron's CDC and designed by Haley Donovan Architecture, the project offers a case study for delivering affordable housing with modern materials in a historic section of the city.
 
The project "has been welcomed by the neighborhood for it’s modern, yet contextual response," says Jim Haley, principal at Haley Donovan. "It is one of the few design-heavy affordable housing projects in Philadelphia."
 
"As with most urban projects, we had to make use of every square foot to make the project work," says Mike Donovan, another principal with the firm.

The architects had to find a balance -- they had to meet certain unit denisty requirements while avoiding designing a generic monolith.
 
"Our answer was to progressively step the street facing facades up as they moved back, carve out large chunks at the ground level and pay homage to the traditional Philly rowhome," explains Haley. "It allowed us to respect the history of the area, while still providing a solution that was dense enough for our client."
 
That was just the first of many design solutions the team came up with.
 
The site plan concessions called for 100 percent stormwater retention on site, something not easily done on an urban parcel. The designers used a building step back to create a private green roof. This helped them reach that 100 percent mark while also providing an added amenity for residents.
 
The project -- which was resurrected after years of dormancy through collaboration between developers, architects and community leaders -- is aiming for a spring completion date.
 
Source:  Mike Donovan and Jim Haley, Principals, Jeffrey Pastva, Architect, Haley Donovan Architecture
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

It’s been a few short years since Postgreen Homes made headlines with their award-winning 100K House. Since then, they’ve held true to the project’s defining principles, delivering eco-friendly new construction housing that is also affordable. The developers are now introducing a new home model to the Philly market: the Snapback Project in East Kensington.

Designed by award-winning contemporary architecture firm Interface Studio Architects, Snapback delivers a powerful punch despite its smaller than average stature.

In Philadelphia, most new construction townhomes are three stories tall, at a minimum. The Snapback units are two stories, but with an added bonus: a basement that’s five feet higher than standard. This allows more light and air to enter and gives homebuyers more flexibility with the space.

According to Chad Ludeman, president of Postgreen Homes, the idea is to deliver a flexible house with three floors worth of potential space for the construction cost of two. "The concept was solidified when we consulted for a developer in Chicago who brought to our attention that most new homes in the Windy City are constructed this way," says Ludeman.

With a higher-than-average ceiling height, the basements offer the homebuyer the opportunity to customize the home. Ludeman believes families can grow into the house, leaving the space unfinished at first but, over time, finishing it out as a spare bedroom for children, a home office or guest suite.

The homes, which are currently being framed, are selling for $300-$350 thousand, a price tag Ludeman says would have been much higher had they built traditional three-story homes. "The buyer is probably saving forty to fifty thousand dollars with this two-story model," he explains.

Ultimately, that’s what it’s all about for Ludemann and Postgreen: building new construction units with price points attainable at the Area Median Income of a Philly household. For market rate homes in the city, that number is $200-$450 thousand.

With other projects like Duplexcellence in South Kensington selling for as low as $250 thousand, Postgreen now has 14 units of affordable market rate housing under its belt. Building where land is cheap, keeping homes small and using basic finishes keeps costs low, while still allowing the projects to have a modern feel and sleek design.

"We’re not a non-profit," says Ludeman. "We still have to make money, but we’re constantly looking for ways to pass savings on to homebuyers."

Source:  Chad Ludeman, Postgreen Homes
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

The Wayne Junction SEPTA Station renovation has been underway for a little over a year and already developers and community groups are buying up nearby property, anticipating increased demand for living and working close to one of Philly's busiest transit hubs.  
 
The Frank Furness-designed station was rebuilt in 1900. It sits at the nexus of Germantown and Nicetown, and serves five different regional rail lines, making it one of the most heavily trafficked train stations in the city. Now, a $25 million renovation will bring the neighborhood anchor into the future, and hopefully spark the area's transformation.

Though progress has been slow, private investment has begun to pick up on the Germantown side of the station, notably in the Wayne Junction Industrial Historic District. Lower Germantown has tremendous potential -- it is rife with beautiful, historic, underutilized buildings. Last year, developer Ken Weinstein of Philly Office Retail bought the former Max Levy Autograph Co. building on Roberts Avenue.
 
"I was really encouraged by SEPTA's investment in upgrading Wayne Junction," says Weinstein, "otherwise I wouldn't have bought the building."
 
This past summer, Weinstein and company got to work removing asbestos and clearing the vacant structure of hazardous materials. Weinstein hopes the building can eventually be utilized as offices, lofts and artist studios.
 
Weinstein has also bought other buildings close to Wayne Junction, including the former Germantown Settlement Charter School (that project was detailed in a recent issue of Flying Kite). Transit proximity was a key factor for the school's new tenants, GreatnessIsInYou!, a community performance space, and the non-profit New Directions for Women.
 
On the south side of Wayne Junction, the public sector has entered the fray. Nicetown Court II, a collaboration between the Nicetown Community Development Corporation and Universal Companies -- with funding help from the city, state and federal governments -- is currently under construction. Once complete, the project will bring 50 units of low-income housing and retail to the 4400 block of Germantown Avenue.

That development is being built adjacent to the 37-unit first phase, Nicetown Court I, which opened in 2011.
 
Matt Wysong of the Planning Commission says the projects are "completely remaking" this section of Germantown Avenue, and hopes their transit-oriented design will promote and inspire similar development north of Wayne Junction, something Weinstein would no doubt welcome with open arms. 
 
"The market [for significant private development] isn’t quite there yet," says Wysong, who believes that market is likely years away. But with Weinstein readying his properties for the completion of Wayne Junction’s renovation in 2014, that development could be a bit closer. 

Source:  Ken Weinstein, Philly Office Retail; Matt Wysong, City Planning Commission
Writer: Greg Meckstroth