The other day, a reader gave us the heads up about demolition at 1014 E. Moyamensing Ave., a former nursery on a block that's entirely residential aside from a pet store/record store a bit to the north. The building that disappeared served as a nursery/day care for twenty-five years, and before that it was a storage garage. The building was nothing special, in our opinion.
According to permits on the property, a four-story, five-unit apartment building will soon get built here. No word on whether they'll be rentals or condos, though we'd bet on rentals. The reader who told us about this situation expressed some surprise that this project was taking place on a block that's full of single-family homes and that the developers didn't have to appear before QVNA to get community approval.
You can't quite tell from looking at the properties next door, but these lots go back to an incredible depth. Also, despite the fact that many properties on this block are single-family homes, the entire block is actually zoned for multi-family development. Per the new zoning code, the number of units permitted in multi-family districts is tied to the size of the lot upon which the building gets built. As the former nursery school was located on a rather large 2,300 sqft parcel, the five units in the new building don't require any variances, and the project therefore didn't have to come before the community.
Looking at the zoning archive, it looks like the project had to go before the Historical Commission at some point, perhaps because the building is located in a historic district. Also, it looks like there was a previous proposal for a single-family home here. Makes us wonder what led to the change in plans. Anyone who lives nearby have any insight?