With skyrocketing prices for new construction homes in Center City, it comes as no surprise when we hear about surface parking lot owners looking to cash out and developers looking to help them. So when a reader gave us the heads up about plans for residential development at the corner of 22nd & Lombard, we were far from shocked.
A hundred years ago, there were four buildings here, and we'd wager that at least one of them had some kind of storefront. Today, the other three corners of the intersection are all commercial, with a 7-11 on the southeast corner, Doobies on the northwest corner, and Pure Design on the southwest corner. The parcels that compose the parking lot are also zoned commercial.
Developers have plans to build four homes on the parking lot, though we don't have a great grip on the details. We would guess that they want to build four homes fronting 22nd Street, which would allow for 17' wide homes. Building the homes fronting Lombard would result in 15' wide homes. Each of the homes, as proposed, will have a parking spot, but we can't figure out whether those would be in the form of front-loading garages or whether they'd be accessed by a rear drive aisle. If the homes do front Lombard, Addison Street might provide access to parking in the rear. The project went to the ZBA earlier this week but was continued, likely because the developers haven't presented to CCRA as far as we can tell.
We'll try to get some more specifics on the project once they present to the neighborhood. It should be interesting to see whether the neighbors are upset that they'll be losing a surface parking lot which is clearly well used. We'll also be looking to find out whether people want the corner to remain commercial, as it's zoned. Additionally, we'll try to figure out why the developers had a zoning hearing scheduled without meeting with the community. First project in Philly, maybe?
Update: A commenter who lives nearby got a flyer that indicates that the project has been revised to three homes.