Last week, we provided an update on a long stalled townhome project near Passyunk Avenue, sharing the news that this development would finally finish up after years in purgatory. Now it seems like a similarly paused project nearby will also be making progress soon enough. Last week, a demolition permit dropped for 2033-35 S Broad St., practically on top of SEPTA’s Snyder Station. Previously permitted for a mixed-use project, the one story commercial building has seemingly remained unoccupied and untouched over the last few years.
We last covered this property back in 2021, when developers had pulled permits to add a four story addition above the existing building. At the time, the plans called for 18 apartments above a medical office on the ground floor. We were pretty happy with the project, hoping the new contemporary structure would complement nearby historic bank buildings. But like we said, nothing has happened here over the last few years.
A new permit calls for the demolition of the building on the site to create a vacant lot, so it seems safe to say the previous overbuild plan has been modified. Does this mean that we’ll be seeing a similar plan to what was previously proposed, just 100% new construction? Could we see something proposed that’s totally new and different? Is it possible that the owners were just sick of all the violations they were getting for their vacant building and they’re simply looking to tear it down so they don’t have to deal with them?
As we noted four years ago, the site’s CMX-2.5 zoning allowed for this project to proceed by-right. Given that the project is currently being rethought, we’d advocate for even more density, given the transit-oriented nature of this address. By right, the project could accommodate 22 units, a few more than was previously proposed. Throw some bonuses in there and you could get to 38 units, assuming you can fit that number of apartments in the building’s footprint.
Incidentally, the other way to increase density here would be for the owners of this site to buy properties next door to the north and consolidate them into a larger parcel. The properties on this block are mostly one-story commercial buildings like the subject property, which is really a waste, so close to a subway stop. We don’t imagine that’s in the cards for this particular property, but we can dream, right?
In the meantime, all we can say for sure is that this building will be getting demolished sometime soon. So be sure to say goodbye if your spot for parade this Friday happens to be nearby. Hopefully we’ll have a new building underway in time for next year’s parade.