PCPC approves Piazza garage in NoLibs

A four-story, 300-car parking garage will be built behind the Piazza at Schmidt’s in Northern Liberties after the proposal was approved on Tuesday by the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. The PCPC review followed a vetting by the Civic Design Review Committee, a board that monitors the public-realm impacts of major development projects.

The parking spaces will be dedicated to residents of the Piazza, the mixed-use residential and retail project built by Bart Blatstein of Tower Investments. There will also be some parking available to nearby businesses and schools. Blatstein sold the property where the garage will be built, at 145 West Wildey Street, to Kushner Companies last year. That company is owned by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Donald Trump.

The garage is designed by Tim Haahs & Associates, a local parking-garage design and engineering firm. It will also include 35 bicycle parking spaces. The site is currently used for surface parking. It is zoned CMX-3, a commercial zoning category, and will need variances for open area, reservoir spaces and loading spaces from the zoning board.

Commission members were told that three zoning variances involving open space, reservoir spaces and loading spaces were needed. A facade review by Licenses + Inspections will also be required. The garage is surrounded, on different sides, by an apartment building, a vacant lot, row houses and a dog park, and the Piazza.

See the plans for the garage here.

Watch full video of hearing below.