There’s nothing quite like strolling around leafy West Mount Airy on a pleasant summer afternoon, so earlier this week we decided to check in on the construction of the Royce Building at 367 W. Hortter St., down the street from SEPTA’s Upsal train station.

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The Royce Building from across W Hortter Street

As you may recall from our previous coverage, this project generated some opposition from neighbors upset about the loss of the Joa Market and the construction of another multi-family residential building in this relatively quiet corner of Philadelphia. Fortunately, this transit oriented site was zoned CMX-2, which allowed the multi-use building to proceed by-right.

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The new 4 story apartment building In front of the substantially taller condo building down the street
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The condo building down the street is a reminder that multi-family housing is part of the architectural vernacular of Northwest Philadelphia. Unfortunately this building could not be built today, as the land is currently zoned for a detached single family house (RSD-3)

Construction is now done and leasing is underway, with rents ranging from $1275/mo for a studio to $1600/mo for a 2-bedroom unit. Looking at the seemingly completed building, it feels safe to say that neighbor fears were largely overblown. The 24-unit apartment building (with ground floor retail) fits comfortably in the context of the street. In fact the four story building remains significantly shorter than the large tree next door. The building isn’t going to grow any taller, unlike its leafy neighbor.

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View of the Royce Building from Greene Street

There were no signs to indicate what might be coming to the available first floor commercial space, but with very few of the surrounding blocks zoned to allow non-residential uses, let us hope this spot is soon filled in. We’d vote for another produce market returns to this location, which we imagine would be a winner with the neighbors.

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The new building largely matches previous renderings, though the current lack of street trees is noticable

One can’t help but wonder why more of these neighborhood scaled mixed-use projects aren’t allowed in much of West Mount Airy. As SEPTA continues to publicly consider reducing service or even closing down the nearby Chestnut Hill West line, it seems obvious allowing more residents to live, shop, and work near Regional Rail stations would help re-grow stagnant ridership. Heck, it might even convince officials to save the line.