For the thirsty hordes that typically descend on Manayunk every weekend, a project currently under construction has slightly diminished the parking options. Previously, 4304 Cresson St. was a parking garage. Considering its location underneath the rail tracks, this seemed like an extremely reasonable use for this big old building. Incidentally, a public swimming pool was located here at least until the 1960s, so it's possible the building wasn't so old after all.
But that's pretty much an academic conversation at this point since the building is all but demolished. A new building has risen from its ashes.
According to permits, developers are replacing the parking garage with eighteen apartments on this nearly 10K sqft lot. From the looks of it, there will still be some parking on the first floor, but we'd imagine that those spaces will only be available to the people who live in the building. Curiously, some of the old brick walls from the original building remain standing- we wonder whether that represents enough of the original structure to have the City consider the new building an addition/renovation instead of new construction. Or maybe they just haven't gotten around to knocking down the last vestiges yet.
Note, the building goes all the way to Station Street, where we imagine many residents will choose to enter the building instead of schlepping the additional half block to Cresson Street. Nice to see the developers utilizing the entire lot, creating frontage on both sides but driving access on only one side. If this project proves to be a success, it could show the way for additional redevelopment under the tracks in Manayunk.