Owners of former industrial sites in Manayunk building residential mixed-use projects was a story we covered frequently in 2024, and from the looks of it that trend will continue in the new year. At the very least, things are continuing to progress at 4045 Main St. since our visit last April.

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The current view of Main St and Shurs Lane
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Revised renderings of 4045 Main St proposal

Back then, the owners of the former Manayunk Dyeworks were preparing to go before the Philadelphia Historical Commission, as the property sits within the Main Street Manayunk Historic District. While the Commission initially denied approval of the seven story project for being “too large in size, scale, and massing” in May, a revised proposal was approved in July. As we can see in the revised plans from CBP Architects, setbacks have been added or enlarged to reduce the massing of the building and lessen the visual impact.

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Rendering of the previous proposal, highlighting portions that have been revised
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Rendering of the revised project from across Main Street

The development team presented these plans to the Manayunk Neighborhood Council this week, in anticipation of going before the Civic Design Review board in early 2025 and eventually the ZBA in March. The foundational issue is whether it makes sense to pivot from industrial use on this stretch of Main Street, an issue we covered only a few weeks ago for a different project. While the anachronistic industrial zoning would typically have the silver lining of not having a height limit, the Main Street/Manayunk and Venice Island Neighborhood Commercial Area Overlay District impose a 38′ limit. Considering the vast majority of Manayunk is zoned for single family homes and properties along the Schuylkill River offer the best chance for density, maybe this height limit ought to be relaxed?

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Aerial view looking northeast of the previous scheme
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Aerial view of the scaled down proposal

The 162 parking spots for 163 apartments is roughly double the amount of required parking, but it makes sense given the need to keep the apartments and essential building infrastructure off the ground level to mitigate damage and protect lives during future floods.

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Evening rendering of the proposed building from across the street
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Rendering of the proposed building behind SEPTA's Regional Rail train

With a 42 unit apartment project right next door at 11 Shurs Lane proceeding, we’re in for a real transformation of the entire block. Hopefully it’ll serve as a good reminder that the easiest way to create some context for apartment buildings is to just allow additional buildings nearby that provide a similar scale.

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A rendering of the 11 Shurs Lane project towering over the existing building on Main St,

Considering the zoning board gave their blessing to a similar mixed-use development down the street at 3900 Main St only a few weeks ago, we think it’s pretty likely some version of this project ultimately gets approved, even with opposition from the RCO. With all of the residential units in the pipeline for this pocket of Manayunk and the federal government awarding the City more than $13 million to build the Wissahickon Gateway Trail earlier this week, it certainly seems like this portion of the Main Street corridor will look pretty different in a few years. Let’s hope that 4045 Main St. gets the approvals it seeks and can contribute to that change.