In Germantown

When we visited some of the new buildings and development underway on the 6600 block of Germantown Avenue earlier this year, we predicted more change would be forthcoming for this portion of the neighborhood's commercial corridor. It turns out we didn't have to wait very long to be proven right

Most of Northwest Philadelphia is zoned rather restrictively, with large sections only allowing for the construction of single family homes. Many areas even prohibit rowhomes, the most Philadelphian of housing typologies. Fortunately there are a few pockets, often near Regional Rail stations, where at least a bit of density is

Aside from the main arteries of Germantown and Chelten Avenues, most of Germantown is zoned for single family homes. So it's a cause for celebration when we hear about projects that offer any kind of density, especially when those projects aren't on one of those major corridors. For example, when

In January of 2022, the City of Philadelphia hit developers with a double whammy: a reduction of the value of the property tax abatement and a new construction tax. In anticipation of this change, developers rushed to pull building permits to vest their projects under the old, more favorable tax

Folks have been living in Philadelphia for a long time, so under any patch of grass there's at least a chance you might stumble upon some archaeological artifacts. That might seem like a banal observation, but with the recent proliferation of historic districts in Philadelphia, it's proven to be a

We're always down for a stroll around town, and the city looks extra magical with a few inches of snow on the ground. Ditto, a playoff win for the hometown football team. On a recent walk, we noticed progress at the mixed-use project at 6237-45 Germantown Ave., across the intersection

Germantown has experienced a bit of a development boom recently, so we weren't shocked to hear about another apartment building working its way through the City's permitting process. Developers went to the ZBA this week, looking for approval for a 21 unit building at 70-80 E. Wister St., a short

While much of Germantown is zoned for single family homes, there are a few pockets where apartments are permitted, like the property next to Germantown Town Hall which we covered earlier this month. Due to the limited by-right opportunities in this evolving neighborhood, blocks with more permissively zoned properties can

Germantown is a walkable neighborhood with access to parks, shops, and restaurants without all the hustle and bustle of Center City, so it's not surprising we've been seeing residential projects pop up here recently. At this week's Civic Design Review meeting we got a chance to learn a little bit

Germantown has unfortunately seen huge amounts of disinvestment over the past several decades, as our recent stops in the area have showcased. Perhaps the most controversial of all is the former Germantown High School at 5901 Germantown Ave., which was sadly shuttered over a decade ago, eventually selling for only