420-unit apartment proposal on Lancaster Avenue hits roadblock at the zoning board

An ambitious plan for 420 apartments and commercial space in West Philadelphia’s Cathedral Park neighborhood hit a snag as the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment ruled against the project, the developer said.

Haverford Square Properties sought to build taller than the property’s land use rules would allow, but the zoning board ruled against the developer this week after a contentious hearing Oct. 21.

The project is planned to be 51 feet tall, but the existing zoning restricts it to 45 feet.

“The additional height here is absolutely crucial to support a viable mixed-use development in this location,” Meredith Ferleger, a Dilworth Paxson zoning lawyer, who represents the developer, said at the Oct. 21 hearing. “Bluntly put, a building of 45 feet high cannot support the necessary height for a commercial space that will attract tenants to this area.”

Haverford Square is proposing the 215-unit Cathedral Yards at 5140 Lancaster Ave., the 160-unit Lancaster Yards at 5022-32 Lancaster Ave., and a 45-unit building at 5100 Lancaster Ave. The project would include 42 affordable units.

The area is partially industrial and riddled with vacancy. While there are rowhouse blocks nearby, none of the properties directly abuts single-family homes.

“There could be [neighboring rowhouses] in the future, though,” Tya Winn, a member of the zoning board, said during the hearing.

“This is a lot of density,” Winn said. “While I can try to see your vision, it’s not the reality in most places in Philadelphia. ... This is going to be a lot of height in a place where there’s nothing that high.”

German Yakubov, president of Haverford Square Properties, pushed back against such criticisms at the hearing. He argues that the extra height is needed to allow higher ceilings to attract tenants to the proposed 30,000 square feet of retail space.

He also argues that height variances have been given for other projects on Lancaster Avenue.

“What we’re proposing, there’s an unsafe structure directly next to it, there’s an abandoned building across the street, there’s a junkyard literally across the street from here,” Yakubov said. “What we’re doing is to transform the neighborhood.”

Several neighborhood groups spoke against the development before the zoning board, with many criticizing the density and lack of parking.

Haverford Square would include only 65 parking spaces, arguing that the development sits on a trolley line and has bus access.

“The dramatic increase in population density from 420 units will severely strain our community’s infrastructure and the public services, and we think that it will become overcrowded,” testified Malaika Gilpin, co-director of the One Art Community Center, which is near the proposed project.

One Art Community Center had earlier sought to buy the property once occupied by Greater Bible Way Temple, which stood at 5140 Lancaster Ave. until it was demolished after a 2019 fire. The congregation eventually sold the property to Haverford Square instead. Haverford Square’s proposal preserves the remaining church tower.

Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr., who represents much of the area, supported the developer’s proposal, noting in a letter that “the design and ground floor retail are a welcome addition to the neighborhood.”

Nonetheless, the zoning board ruled against Haverford Square. Yakubov said he planned to petition for reconsideration.

If the developer doesn’t get the zoning board’s permission to move forward, Haverford Square has a smaller version of the project. It would feature no parking, up to 4,000 square feet of commercial space, and 389 residential units.

“The by-right application is going to have zero parking and almost no commercial,” Yakubov said in an interview after the ruling. “It’s going to be effectively lower moderate income housing as opposed to [this larger plan] that would be there to revitalize the area.”