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Thu
Nov 3
2011

Project H.O.M.E. Mega-Project Probably on the Way in Francisville

Last week, when we wrote about the 30 unit residential project on the southern side of the 1400 block of Fairmount Ave., we alluded to a large-scale development from Project H.O.M.E. and People for People on the triangular lot across the street.

The big triangle

Currently, this half-acre lot contains a tent and a stage, but in the coming months it will turn into a pretty dramatic construction zone, provided the ZBA grants the requested variances.

Looking south

From 15th and Fairmount

Currently, the developers are proposing a four story LEED certified building with 55 apartment units, second floor office space for Project H.O.M.E., a ten-space parking lot on 15th St., and about 12K sqft of retail space on the first floor, with almost all of the commercial frontage on Ridge Ave. The residential units will include 47 efficiencies and 8 one bedroom units, with residents of between twenty-five and forty of the units receiving some rent subsidies. Rents are expected to be $700/mo for efficiency units and $900/mo for the one bedroom units. All of the units will target residents who require affordable housing.

The facade of the building will be mostly brick facing, and the bay windows will use composite fiber board. The commercial spaces will have large windows to make them more inviting for tenants and customers. There will be a green roof over at least some part of the building, and numerous street trees will be planted around the site. We have one rendering from architects Kitchen and Associates, and it’s a view of the building looking north, up Ridge Ave.

Looks alright

Plans for this project have been going back and forth between the developers and the community for quite awhile. The community voted the project down back in August, but at the very crowded FNDC community meeting a couple of weeks ago, the revised project received community support by a roughly 60/40% vote.

A project of this size will obviously have a significant impact on Francisville and Spring Garden. It’s not entirely clear just what that impact will be. Long-time neighbors and new neighbors alike have concerns about the tenants for this project, fearing that a large-scale affordable housing project could negatively effect the value of their homes and their quality of life. Neither is a definite outcome by any means, but either remain a possibility.

On the other hand…

If leased properly, the new commercial spaces on Ridge Ave. could provide residents with much needed commercial services. We imagine no one would complain about a small market or a pharmacy on this site. Interestingly, representatives from FNDC suggested the possibility that some of the space could be leased for a “Francisville Marketplace,” an indoor/outdoor concept where small, local merchants or residents would be able to lease a small areas, creating a hyper local bazaar for the neighborhood. An interesting idea, certainly, that may or may not be viable. Additionally, the new commercial spaces would likely spur new development on Ridge Ave., one of the more depressed commercial corridors in the city.

This project looks like it will absolutely be a game changer for the eastern end of Fairmount Ave. Exactly what that change ends up being is, at this point, anybody’s guess.

5
COMMENTS
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Posted in Fairmount | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments
  • Steve S.

    The one thing I don’t have a problem is the residents, actually. Project H.O.M.E. isn’t just a homeless shelter; it’s a transitionary facility from homelessness to having a roof over your head and making it on your own. The way Project H.O.M.E. runs their facilities, it’ll be like an apartment complex with extra-comprehensive tenant services. There are already some H.O.M.E. facilities down Fairmount Avenue a bit, and they blend in well with the neighborhood, with few, if any, complaints.

    The next compliment I have is that H.O.M.E. took the community criticisms seriously and decided not to just plunk its head offices down on the ground floor (like they were previously planning), helping along retail. Ground-floor offices are a very deadening use of potentially salable space.

    That commercial faces Ridge doesn’t surprise me. Francisville, for some time now, has been aiming to target commercial development towards Ridge. This should not surprise. Ridge was once one the city’s most vibrant commercial corridors, but has devolved to an absolutely grotesque degree. Revitalization of just one stretch of this road between Dobson Mills and Spring Garden would be a start on revitalization of this whole stretch. The key question, though, is whether cannibalizing Fairmount to recommercialize Ridge is worth it.

    Now, then, the problems: First off, although H.O.M.E. does unquestioningly great service, they do not seem to have much skill in the commercial sector. There is “supposed” to be some commercial somewhere in that big H.O.M.E. building just down Fairmount–but people outside can’t easily find it, and so it’s unlikely it does great business. It may be a wise move to allow someone with more expertise doing commercial redevelopment, e.g. Brewerytown’s M.M. Partners, to focus on ensuring the commercial element is a success.

    Secondly, the parking: Are they sure they need a lot? You do not need a lot of parking for ten cars, and it would be just as fine to have them parallel park along 15th. An extra amenity for the residents may work well in what sounds like is leftover space on the site plan, like a private–fenced-in–garden (a rain garden or Zen garden, maybe) for the residents, or perhaps a couple of killer walk-up units.

  • Ericclaywarner

    This project is short sighted. It should be a more dense mixed income project. A 4 story 55 apartment unit building practically right on top of the BSL is dismal. Especially given the opportunity with a lot this size so close to the Fairmount station. If anything this should be minimal 100 units 6 to 7 story mixed income building, with a equal percentage of unitis qualifying for rent subsidies and market rate. 

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  • http://twitter.com/F1rstCitizen First Citizen

    Anyone know what the income limits are supposed to be?  $700/mo for an efficiency and $900 for 1 BR aren’t exactly low rents.

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