A couple of months ago, we told you about plans for a new mixed-use development on the northeast corner of 23rd & Christian. The developers in this case are the principals of the Senior Resource Group, a company that helps seniors choose insurance carriers. This company has been renting office space at this location for the past few years, and is now looking to build a new building to house their headquarters.

Current view

Revised rendering

When the developers presented to SOSNA two months ago, they proposed a five-story building with commercial space on the first floor, office space for their company on the second floor, four apartments on the third floor, and three bilevel apartments spanning the fourth and fifth floors. At that meeting, many neighbors stood up to voice their opposition to the project, expressing opinions that the proposed building was too tall, that it didn’t fit into the architecture of the neighborhood, and that it needed to provide parking for the residential units.

Taking some of that feedback into account, the developers made a couple of design changes to the project. Notably, they’ve eliminated living space on the 5th floor, leaving only pilot houses up there. Additionally, they set back the fourth floor on the building’s eastern side, easing the transition from the adjacent three story home. Check out this elevation drawing to see what we mean:

Seems like a reasonable change

Will these changes be enough to satisfy the neighbors? We sure hope so.

If you ask us, this project is a tremendous upgrade over the building that’s there today and would be a great addition to the neighborhood. The height of the building should not be an issue. As proposed, it stands only five feet higher than the height that’s allowed by right. It seems that the architects could probably even chop a few more feet off, but that would result in undesirably low ceilings in the commercial space. And considering some of the taller structures on nearby Christian Street corners, five feet does not seem like such a significant ask.

This huge building is one block away

As for the architecture, it shouldn’t have a role in the conversation of whether the building should get built. Personally, we like the look of the building that Harman Deutsch designed. A bunch of commenters agreed with us in a previous post. Others strongly disagreed. And that’s the thing about architecture. Two people can look at the same building and have diametrically opposed opinions. But that’s all it is- opinion. Does the building fit into the “character” of the block or the neighborhood? No way! Would a faux-historic design with brick veneers make this project any better objectively? Who’s to say? The answer is nobody.

As for the parking issue, can we just stop please? The zoning for this parcel doesn’t require parking. And frankly, if they were to provide parking, the first floor commercial space, the most exciting aspect of the proposal, would be significantly reduced if not eliminated. And the fact is, they’ve proposed seven apartments that are all under 1,000 sqft in an area that’s tough to park but convenient to walk or bike to Center City. Would people with cars really be attracted to these apartments?

Want to learn more about the project? Want to express your opinion? Come to the SOSNA zoning meeting tonight at 7pm at the Saint Charles Senior Center at 20th & Christian. This project is 1st on the agenda.

See you there?