Large Roxborough apartment project adds more family units and makes changes to appease neighbors
The developer projects more demand for large, family-sized apartments in Northwest Philadelphia, compared to Center City.
A large new apartment proposal for 4889 Umbria St. in Roxborough has been altered to appease some neighbor concerns, with more brick incorporated into the facade and design tweaks to ease congestion.
The developers, Philadelphia-based Genesis Properties and Newtown Square-based GMH Communities, also reduced the number of apartments from 384 to 369.
But the actual number of bedrooms increased from 481 to 486, as they shifted to larger, family-size apartments.
“I love the increase of twos and threes [bedrooms] and the availability to families, which I don’t find very common as a developer,” said Maria Sourbeer, vice president at Mosaic Development Partners and a member of the city’s Civic Design Review committee. “The money’s in the studios and ones.”
The design team explained that the developers felt this corner of Northwest Philadelphia would have strong demand for larger units.
Last November, the project’s initial consideration at the Civic Design Review committee saw pushback to its fortress-like design.
Philadelphia-based Oombra Architects sought to soften elements of the project, increasing plantings and street tree coverage.
More brick has been added as a building material, in a bid to echo the older industrial buildings on the project’s southwestern edge.
The 123-space bike parking facility has been moved from the third to the first floor.
The developers also relocated the parking garage entrance from busy Parker Avenue to Smick Street, which had not previously been publicly accessible. The project includes 380 spaces.
“[We] want to commend you in taking the process seriously,” said Ximena Valle, an architect who chairs the CDR committee. “We recognize that you could have come here with no changes made. ... Overall, there’s a big win here.”
The Civic Design Review process makes recommendations but cannot force developers to accede to its critiques. The last time the Philadelphia City Planning Commission studied its efficacy in 2019, it found that only a third of projects adopted CDR recommendations.
Although the project offers nearly one parking space for every apartment — far more than they are legally required — the local community group still held concerns about the amount of parking included in the project as the bedroom count rose.
Otherwise, they largely embraced the changes.
“There are going to be more cars on the street. I don’t think there’s any question about that,” said Marlene G. Schleifer of the Ridge Park Civic Association. “But we were pleased with the work that the developer has done to comfort us a little bit and make it easier to swallow.”