384 new apartments — and almost as many parking spaces — are planned in Roxborough
The proposed building would have almost one parking space for every apartment, although critics would like even more.
The largest new residential development in Roxborough’s recent history would bring 384 apartments with 380 parking spaces next to SEPTA’s Ivy Ridge Regional Rail stop.
The project is planned for 4889 Umbria St., and the development site includes several formerly industrial buildings, which house businesses like Love City Vintage Furniture and Javies beer distributor.
Most of those older structures are not slated for demolition as part of the project, although they are going to have Javies remove some alcohol advertisements from the exterior of its building.
The project is a partnership between Philadelphia-based Genesis Properties and Newtown Square-based GMH Communities. It is designed by Philadelphia-based Oombra Architects.
The building will have parking on the bottom two floors and residential on the five floors above. It needs no zoning relief to move forward but was considered this week by the advisory-only Civic Design Review committee due to the size of the project.
“It’s a by-right build, so there’s not much we can do about the size,” said Marlene G. Schleifer, a leader of the Ridge Park Civic Association. “We are working with them through their legal counsel to make the design more in keeping with the factory building in front of it.”
Neighbors have been concerned about the scale of the Genesis and GMH project, which Schleifer says is the largest new development by unit count in her corner of Roxborough.
The project’s proposed almost one-for-one parking ratio is far above what’s legally required or what most developers attempt in denser neighborhoods closer to Center City. But some neighbors have pushed for even more parking, noting that almost a fourth of the units have more than one bedroom.
The mix of units is 118 studios, 174 slightly larger one-bedrooms, 87 two-bedrooms, and five three-bedrooms. Many will have balconies.
Amenities include courtyards, including one with a swimming pool, and a dog run at the rear of the site. No retail space is included.
The developers have made some compromises in their negotiations with neighborhood groups, including incorporating more brick into the design to echo the surrounding rowhouses and former industrial buildings.
At Wednesday’s Civic Design Review meeting, the project received mixed feedback from the panel of architects, planners, and other experts.
“You’ve done a lovely job, but it is a bit of a fortress,” said Maria Sourbeer, a developer who sits on the committee.
“When you’re bringing almost 400 families, you have to put some intentionality around building a community,” Sourbeer said. “Where do these people actually interact with each other and with the existing fabric of the neighborhood?”
The Civic Design Review committee, exercising its only power, asked the development team to consider its feedback and return for a second meeting.
The 4889 Umbria site is just to the northwest of Manayunk, where larger multifamily residential proposals have become more common in recent years on Main Street and Venice Island, although none is as large as the Roxborough plan.