We went to the South Philadelphia HOMES community meeting earlier this week and despite the fact that a member of the community accused the moderator of spouting "fake news," it was a pretty tame evening. That's not to say that any of the projects got community support, but no police presence was needed so we'll call it a win.
First on the agenda were two identical projects on the 2000 block of Oakford Street, a block that marks the beginning of Oakford as it springs off of Point Breeze Avenue. Developers are looking to build four story duplexes at 2009 and 2021 Oakford St., which are currently sitting empty. In between these lots, a different developer is currently working on a single family home.
Needless to say, four story duplexes didn't go over very well with many people at the meeting. Some people were upset about the height, others about the density, and others argued that their taxes would increase as a result of the projects. Interestingly, the properties are zoned for multi-family use and the proposed height and open area are both permitted by the zoning code.
So why was the project refused? In this district, a duplex requires a lot that's 720 sqft in size and these lots are only 672 sqft. Basically, if the lots were 48 sqft larger, the duplexes would be permitted by right. This could be considered a hardship at the ZBA and we can see a world in which the developers get their variance. It's also possible that the ZBA will consider the new home that's under construction on the block and insist that the developers will be just fine building single family homes.
At the meeting, the developers made the point that building duplexes would allow them to address a common complaint in Point Breeze, a lack of affordable housing. The new home on this block isn't yet listed for sale, but we'd think it will sell for more than $450K when it's finished. Condo units, on the other hand, should each sell for around $300K. While even these price points are well beyond the reach of many people in the neighborhood, these types of units should add to the economic diversity in the neighborhood. Considering that the developer for these projects is in the market rate development business, that's not a bad outcome, in our estimation. Still, what ultimately happens here will be up to the ZBA.