Zoning board approves plans for apartments and yoga studio at former Propper Brothers site

Get ready for big changes to the historic Propper Bros. furniture store building at Levering and Cresson streets in Manayunk, as plans for apartments and a yoga studio moved forward Wednesday.

The zoning board approved a variance request from building owner Sam Kroungold to allow residences in the building, which is zoned for commercial use, and to create three first-floor retail tenant spaces from the current two. Plans call for 10 apartments on the second floor, eight on the third floor, in a combination of one-and two-bedroom layouts between 700 and 1,000 square feet, attorney William J. O’Brien said.

On the street level, the Palm Tree Market on the Cresson Street side will be joined by a bikram yoga studio on the Levering Street side and a third, smaller retail space that, as yet, doesn’t have a tenant. Kroungold said he sees the spot as perfect for a discount designer shoe shop for women.

Kroungold’s plan had the support of the Manayunk Development Corporation, Councilman Curtis Jones Jr.’s office, and received a standing ovation at last week’s Manayunk Neighborhood Council meeting.

The building has no parking of its own, but tenants’ leases will include one parking spot for each bedroom, in lots nearby.

Kroungold has owned the 40,000 square-foot, four-level building since 1972, but the Propper Bros. furniture store predated him, operating at the site since 1888. Construction on the building’s interior is expected to start shortly.

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