A few months back, we wrote about a pair of apartment buildings proposed for a vacant lot across the street from Frankford Hospital, and acknowledged that it would probably be a while before we saw much more development in this neighborhood, so far up the MFL line. But a four unit apartment building approved this week by the ZBA hints we might be seeing more residential projects pop up in Frankford in the coming years.

Developers bought the vacant lot at 2015 Orthodox St. a little over a year ago and probably envisioned a small apartment building even though the property is zoned for single-family use. Not only does a market rate single family home not make economic sense here, but the property’s low-density zoning doesn’t reflect how it has been utilized over time. The City’s zoning records show that this parcel once housed 4 apartments and a commercial space, including a steak shop at one point. By this rationale, one could argue that the new project coming here is actually an underuse!

As we can see in the plans from KJO Architecture, the project look very different, compared to the building that stood here previously and the adjacent property, which looks like it’s been renovated a couple times since 2007. The development team is taking a very clever approach with the 20′-wide lot, putting the front door in the middle of the building to create two true front units and two true rear units. By putting the entrance and the common stairs in the middle of the building, the efficiency of the units will be better than most quadplexes getting built these days.

The property owners recieved support from local RCO Frankford Neighborhood Advisory Committee, which surely helped pave the way to the ZBA approving the relatively minor zoning variance requests here. And kudos to the ZBA for sensibly allowing the small apartment building, where four units will now replace a lot that’s been vacant since Obama’s first term. Considering the number of vacant lots (often adjacent to each other) in this neighborhood, it might make sense to proactively upzone these blocks to allow multi-family and mixed-use projects by-right. With the finances of building new housing in neighborhoods a little further out from Center City rather tenuous, any steps to reduce uncertainty could help bring more residential investment in pockets of Philadelphia that have long been overlooked.