If you live in Manayunk or Roxborough and you’re throwing a rager, Javies Beverage at 4889 Umbria St. might be your go-to beer distributor. If you’re looking for a fun idea for your kid’s 7th birthday party, Majesty Elite Gymnastics, located at the same address, offers two hour party packages and the birthday kid even gets a free t-shirt. Have you been thinking about turning over a new leaf and unleashing your inner Ron Swanson? Try Philadelphia Woodworks and someday you might build a chair out of mahogany. As you can probably guess, you can also find this business at the same address as the aforementioned beer distributor and gymnastics studio.

Historically, the Manayunk Plush Manufacturing Company operated a facility at this location, joining several other plush and textile concerns in the area in the early part of the 20th century. The factory occupied a site that covers about four acres, though 75% of the property is currently vacant, with much of it overgrown. Soon though, this well located property should experience a sea change, as local developer GMH Communities is planning a significant project here. Earlier this month, the developers pulled a by-right zoning permit to construct an eight-story apartment building with 384 units and 380 parking spots.

As the project is being pursued by right, we don’t have fancy renderings to share, but we can share some elevations and site plans from the zoning application. The drawings from Oombra Architects show the demolition of a roughly 10K sqft cinderblock building on the eastern portion of the property, but the preservation of the other buildings on the site. An eight-story building will weave its way around those buildings, with the bottom three floors dedicated to parking and the five upper floors used for the apartments. The main section of the building will have two internal courtyards, both providing some outdoor space for building residents and also dramatically increasing the number of windows in the building. One of those courtyards will include a pool.

Given its history, the property was once zoned exclusively for industrial use. In 2017, City Council re-mapped the property to IRMX, which allows mixed-use by right. In a somewhat unusual arrangement, the industrial and commercial uses in the existing buildings make the addition of hundreds of apartments totally kosher. The project also needs 115 parking spots, but the developers are planning 380, just shy of 1:1 parking. This seems crazy, given that the Ivy Ridge Regional Rail Station sits right across the street. Then again, maybe it’s not so crazy, given the uncertainty around Septa service as PA fumbles and bumbles its way toward a budget.

While the project is allowed by right, it’ll still be a while before any demolition or construction can begin, as the unit count will trigger the Civic Design Review process. A mandatory community meeting will add at least a couple months to the timeline, as will the likely requirement from the CDR committee to present twice. Its not always clear if this public consultation results in better looking buildings, but at least it means we’ll get our mitts on plans and renderings of one of the larger proposals we’ve seen this year. Look for a followup once the project lands on a CDR agenda this fall.