New workforce housing in East Mt. Airy would serve ‘forgotten missing middle’

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TierView Development wants to bring 81 units of workforce housing and 2,700 square feet of commercial space to a leafy section of Germantown Avenue in East Mount Airy.

The proposal, steps from Gorgas Lane near Lovett Memorial Library, also calls for 11 parking spaces, 42 bike stalls and a green roof.

If approved, the four-story building would rise between two of Northwest Philadelphia’s busiest commercial corridors, in an area where real estate developers are building a growing number of market-rate multifamily and mixed-use properties.

“My entire mission with the buildings that I build is to provide neighborhood housing,” said Tierview principal Jenn Patrino. “We are trying to provide housing for that sort of forgotten missing middle.”

Patrino’s remarks came Tuesday following a presentation before the city’s Civic Design Review committee. The advisory group, composed of architects and planners, provides feedback on proposed developments early on in the approvals process.

TierView is seeking two zoning bonuses to add the height and density needed to complete the project at 6915 Germantown Ave., which would consist of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.

For now, the half-acre site is only zoned for 55 units. But another 26 units can be added through the city’s green roof bonus and mixed-income zoning bonus. The latter requires that 10% of the project, or nine units, be affordable to households earning 60% of area median income, or AMI. That translates to $64,500 for a family of three.

The average AMI for the rest of the building would be around 80%, said Patrino.

During Tuesday’s meeting, nearby residents raised concerns about the project’s density, and its potential impact on traffic congestion and public safety.

Engine 9 and Ladder 21 of the Philadelphia Fire Department would sit less than 400 feet from the new development. Neighbors said they worry the building would generate additional traffic on Germantown Avenue and potentially slow down response times.

Claudia Becker, who lives on the 100 block of East Gorgas Lane, found the size of the proposed building more troubling, calling the project “enormous.”

“This block really is a refreshing green pause between commercial districts, and proposed development completely violates that pause,” Becker said.

The development would occupy a half-acre site that is currently home to more than 50 trees, including a dozen so-called heritage trees — trees that cannot be removed without obtaining a special exception from the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

TierView’s proposal, which would sit next door to a public park, calls for removing three heritage trees from the site, as well as dozens of other trees to make room for the property.

The company plans to put back a total of 33 trees and pay a fee for not replanting the rest.

Following Tuesday’s presentation and discussion, the committee asked TierView to return for a second and final review.

A zoning hearing has yet to be scheduled.