Whenever we cover a project on or near Baltimore Avenue, we always look at that project through the lens of how it relates to the commercial corridor. And this makes sense, because Baltimore Avenue and nearby 52nd Street are the centers of commerce in this part of West Philadelphia. But when we present Baltimore Avenue as purely a place for businesses, we ignore the fact that people live there, too. Not only are there numerous apartments located above ground-floor businesses, but there are some blocks that are much more residential than commercial and have zoning that reflects that reality. One example is the 4300 block, across the Clark Park. Another is the north side of the 4800 block of Baltimore, where businesses are the exception, rather than the rule.

The long vacant lot at 4829 Baltimore Ave. is (obviously) on that block, and when we first heard that developers were looking to build something there, we immediately assumed that mixed-use would be in the cards. But as we mentioned above, much of this side of the block is zoned residential, with a single-family home being the only by-right option at this address. Given the location though, the plentiful population looking for rental apartments nearby, and the challenges of mixed-use development on a property zoned for residential use, the developers are looking to build a five-unit building instead. West Philly Local reports that the developers came before Cedar Park Neighbors in March, and were asked to return with fewer units and a smaller footprint. We reached out to CPN to learn about the outcome of the followup meeting last week, but have yet to hear back.

We don’t know what will ultimately get approved here, but from the looks of that rendering, the building won’t exactly blend seamlessly with the surrounding Victorian architecture. This is one of the major challenges of construction in this part of town, as it’s pretty much impossible to recreate most of the beautiful details that define the architecture of the area while building on a budget. Some builders have given it the old college try, like a project across the street that was built a few years back. We appreciate the effort guys. Meanwhile, another property across the street is in the process of getting a new facade, and we’ll be curious to see how it looks in the end.

Cedar Park is home to some of our favorite architecture in the City, but barring a neighborhood historic designation, we’ll continue to see contemporary designs creep into the architectural character of the neighborhood. We wonder, in the same way that the City grants density and height bonuses for projects that meet certain standards, could the City take similar steps to reward projects that make certain architectural choices in certain neighborhoods? We’re not expecting developers to recreate designs from the 1800s, but a little bit of extra effort could go a long way.