SEPTA approves a transit-oriented development deal in Conshohocken

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SEPTA’s board of directors recently approved a deal with a local developer to lease the agency-owned property next to Conshohocken’s renovated regional rail stop for a transit-oriented development.

SEPTA’s Chief Strategy and Planning Officer Jody Holton said there was plenty of demand for a mixed-use project.

“There was significant interest in this area and a confidence in the market that they could deliver high-quality multi-family units,” Holton said.

Philadelphia-based Alterra Property Group won the competitive bid against nearly half a dozen other companies for its residential project with parking.

“We envision it as a mixed-use project that is very much in the early planning stages,” said Leo Addimando, managing partner of Alterra Property Group LLC, declining further comment.

Alterra’s ground lease is worth $600,000 in rent, which increases 3% after four years, and the 99-year-long deal is worth $332 million overall. In addition, the developer agreed to offer SEPTA revenue sharing in the project, subject to further negotiation.

But before anything is built, Alterra Property Group still needs a zoning variance from the borough of Conshohocken because residential developments were banned in 2022.

“Borough administration has reached the conclusion that residential occupancy in that area of the borough has been maximized from an emergency management perspective and planning commission perspective,” said Michael Peters, an attorney and borough solicitor, during a November 2024 meeting.

Several thousand people are already living near the train station and officials worry about emergency management issues with so many residents.

To help alleviate some of the borough’s concerns, SEPTA invested in a pedestrian crossing during its regional rail station renovations.

“We put tremendous investment in access to the waterfront and evacuation routes on that new grade crossing at Oak Street,” Holton said.

SEPTA also signed a memorandum of understanding that promised extra surface lot parking while the project is underway.

“That public investment that we’ve made combined with adding parking spaces for SEPTA commuters in this joint development proposal really is a unique opportunity for the borough to have a better waterfront experience than just a surface parking lot but still providing those spaces for our commuters,” she said.

And if the project fails to get a zoning variance, the vacant lot will be turned into parking.

“This MOU does not obligate the borough to approve or give any special consideration to that [transit-oriented development],” Peters said during a second November 2024 meeting about the deal.

That’s a more amicable stance than staunch opposition to the plans just two years ago.

In July 2023, SEPTA hit the pause button on previous plans to build a $48 million park and ride that would have included a 500-space parking garage.

The project was part of PennDOT’s plan to divert more vehicular traffic from I-76, especially during peak commuting hours. The Federal Highway Administration’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program money was earmarked for the project to meet Clean Air Act requirements. More than $10 million has already been transferred to SEPTA, according to PennDOT.

SEPTA used $9.75 million to purchase the 6.5-acre lot next to the regional rail station in November 2022. Funding was an issue, but at the time Conshohocken borough officials were against any new residential development near the station.

“Building a garage on its own has become essentially unaffordable in our current budget situation,” Holton said. “So we agreed with the borough that we would continue to look at a surface parking lot in the event that they don’t want to do this joint development.”

That would bring a total of 225 parking spaces to the station, about 100 existing spaces plus an extra surface lot with roughly 125 spaces.

Still, borough officials declined an interview request for this news story.

“To date, the Borough has not received a land use application for a transit-oriented development on the subject property,” Conshohocken Borough Manager Stephanie Cecco said in a statement. “Once received, any application would be processed pursuant to the Borough’s land use processes, in compliance with state law. To help ensure those processes are able to proceed without complication, the Borough has no additional comment on the matter.”

This isn’t the only transit-oriented development in the works for SEPTA. A similar plan is underway in Ambler’s regional rail station stop.

The decision to move forward with residential projects nearby SEPTA’s existing transportation network was lauded by political action committee 5th Square organizer Jarred Johnson.

“This represents a tremendous opportunity to enhance both the local community and the regional transit network,” Johnson said during the SEPTA board meeting Thursday. “Communities especially around a major city like Philadelphia thrive when transit is complimented by dense, mixed-use development.”