Philly Developers And Residents Square Off Over Future Of Historically Industrial Washington Avenue

It might not have seemed remarkable when a grocery-anchored shopping center proposed for the corner of Washington Avenue and 24th Street was supported by a registered community organization and the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment at the body's meeting on Feb. 19.

But commercial real estate wins like this have been hard to come by along the historic industrial corridor.

A gantlet of zoning restrictions and community opposition on Washington Avenue has stymied projects along what many see as a prime location for redevelopment. Meanwhile, competing visions for the area are putting residents, developers, lawmakers and even bike enthusiasts at odds as stakeholders grapple for resolution.

Washington Avenue divides Point Breeze and Graduate Hospital, two dense, bustling neighborhoods whose walkability, convenience and charm have attracted a powerful wave of development over the past decade or so.

Yet the western end of the street has retained the industrial zoning and five-lane road configuration that serve the warehouses and construction supply businesses that define the corridor. The zoning variance process is frustrating would-be developers and business owners even as it offers concerned residents an outsized say about what happens along the road.

Developers, business owners and the Philadelphia City Planning Commission have urged lawmakers to update the street’s zoning designation.

“I don’t think you should need to go to the ZBA for a variance,” Century 21 Forrester Real Estate agent Mike Giangiordano Jr. said. “There’s been so much demand on the residential side.”

Like Giangiordano, many in the neighborhood’s business community argue the arduous extra step is slowing economic development and the production of affordable housing prioritized by Mayor Cherelle Parker. 

That’s partly because the zoning variance process requires developers to interface with groups like the North of Washington Avenue Coalition, a registered community organization that often stands in the way of the real estate community’s grand plans for the area.

“We have been fighting against these tall buildings that have been blocking people’s light,” NOWAC President Madeline Shikomba said during the ZBA hearing last week. “We are tired of apartment buildings. They do not bring jobs. We need jobs.”

The lawmaker representing the neighborhood appears to be caught in the middle.

“Council President Kenyatta Johnson supports a mix of residential and commercial uses for the parts of Washington Avenue located in the Second Council District,” his spokesperson Vincent Thompson told Bisnow in a statement, adding that neither Johnson nor the Parker administration plan to introduce legislation changing the zoning designation along western Washington Avenue anytime soon.

The spokesperson also said that “there are residential and mixed-use developments that have already been built or are in the process of being built along Washington Avenue” despite the current zoning.

Industrial Heritage Meets Residential Demand

Most of Washington Avenue west of Broad Street is zoned for medium industrial. These areas are technically described as “mixed-use” on the city’s zoning map, but any proposals that don’t fit neatly into the medium industrial parameters require a variance from the ZBA. 

That isn't how things work on the eastern section of Washington Avenue, which is peppered with various types of commercial mixed-use zoning, or the neighborhoods immediately north and south, where new developments are governed by different kinds of residential zoning.

There is keen demand for more residential and commercial space on Washington Avenue, developers say. But some longtime residents don’t want to see their neighborhood change and are fiercely protective of their home turf.

OCF Realty CEO Ori Feibush, whose company is one of the largest multifamily landlords in the area, told Bisnow parking is often a major concern for residents when adding new density.

But he said some are also motivated by a “profoundly romantic” historic vision of their neighborhood where shopkeepers lived above their stores and laborers walked to their factory jobs on Washington Avenue from row homes nearby.

“That world is gone,” Feibush said. “We’re effectively saying we want what was there 100 years ago even if it’s not financially viable, and we’re willing to shoot ourselves in the foot.”

The variance process begat by the lack of zoning reforms on western Washington Avenue has often made it hard for some to open new businesses or redevelop existing ones along the corridor.

That is what happened to Dave Garonzik, co-owner of OpenBox Athletics at 1931-1935 Washington Ave., when he expanded the business into an additional space next door last year.

The first section of OBA opened at 1931 Washington Ave. in 2017. Garonzik was taking over an existing gym, so he didn’t need to request a variance at the time. That wasn't the case when he decided to expand into the space next door.

The co-owner, who previously worked at Newmark and the Buccini Pollin Group, signed a lease with OCF in October 2022 but wasn’t able to open the doors until August 2024.

He said the zoning variance process and delays at the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspection contributed to the situation. OCF gave OBA one year of free rent to account for the expected delay, but it ran out long before the new space was opened.

“We paid a year of rent without being able to operate in the space, which was super frustrating,” Garonzik said. “Large companies can handle waiting, they can handle the cash flow of paying the rent. ... For small businesses, it’s really hard.”

He described the process of getting a variance granted as slow and cumbersome.

“You basically put in an application that you know is going to get rejected,” Garonzik said. “You have to go to community groups, you have to go to the ZBA, and then after that you finally get the decision about whether you’ve been approved or not.”

He didn’t recall there being any community opposition to OBA’s expansion and said the ZBA voted unanimously in favor of his proposal.

“I think the most frustrating part of the process for me was, aside from the time, the fact that we knew we had a slam dunk of an application,” he said. “There was very little chance that the community board wouldn’t want us to be in that space.”

OBA’s initial application to L&I was denied in December 2022. Its variance request was accepted by the ZBA four months and one week later in April 2023, according to city records. This gap isn't unusual, board spokesperson Bruce Bohri told Bisnow in a statement.

“We do not have a reason to believe that this or other parcels along Washington Avenue are unique compared to appeals from other parts of the city,” he said.

'It's Important For People To Have Voices'

NOWAC member Tiffany Green sees the variance process, which requires developers to interface with RCOs, as an important opportunity for resident input.

“It’s important for people to have voices,” she said during last week’s ZBA meeting.

The group opposes zoning updates that would make lots along the corridor automatically eligible for many mixed-use projects, even though those changes were recommended by the city’s Planning Commission as part of the 2035 comprehensive plan.

NOWAC still threw its support behind the shopping center proposal at 2400 Washington Ave. even though the plan also includes new apartments.

“Our group has mainly opposed any residential,” Green said, adding this project is different because “it’s only 30” units.

The largely vacant site used for outdoor storage will be transformed into a grocery-anchored strip center with a restaurant, food hall and offices. The adaptive reuse project proposed by My Dang of 24th Street Properties LLC would preserve two historic industrial buildings on the lot.

It will also feature a 152-spot parking lot that would keep the project in line with western Washington Avenue’s auto-centric character.

The site has been vacant since 2004, Dang’s attorney Michael Mattioni said during the ZBA meeting. Plans for a similar project there were scuttled by the Global Financial Crisis in 2008.

The lawyer said Dang wouldn't need a zoning variance if the site were within an “industrial residential mixed-use district,” which is one of the new designations recommended by the Planning Commission.

“This particular area lacks businesses,” Green said. “A lot of residents in this area for a long time have had to travel long distances, like to Oregon Avenue or all the way down to Grays Ferry, just to shop.”

That’s something she and Garonzik can agree on. The gym owner is particularly excited about the 247-unit apartment building under construction at the former site of the Frankford Candy chocolate factory at 2101 Washington Ave. The Aldi and CVS slated for the ground floor will bring much-needed everyday retail options to the neighborhood, he said.

Feibush said he hopes the chocolate factory project’s mixed-use format and underground parking will be a blueprint for future developments along Washington Avenue.

“Some version of that is consistent and replicable,” he said. “There’s no negative to it other than that it’ll be different from what was there before.”

There is also an 18-unit mixed-use building under construction three blocks away at 1731 Washington Ave. and a similar 55-unit development proposed for the site of a warehouse on the corner of 16th Street.

Cyclists Vs. Drivers

While NOWAC is supporting the strip center proposal at 2400 Washington, the project’s auto-centric nature drew the ire of a different RCO called the South of South Neighborhood Association, which has strong ties to Feibush and OCF.

“We’re concerned about the conflict point with pedestrians and cyclists,” said Nicholas Fealey, the leader of the organization’s Vision Zero Committee, which is focused on minimizing traffic deaths.

Feibush shared similar critiques at the hearing. He wanted the ingress and egress points for the shopping center moved from Washington Avenue to 25th Street, which the CEO said would help address those concerns.

The developer is still upset that a 2022 proposal to make the western end of Washington Avenue more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly didn’t come to fruition.

It would have cut the roadway from five lanes down to three, shortened crosswalk distances and separated cyclists from auto traffic by placing bike lanes behind a buffer of parked cars. The plan was similar to one implemented on eastern Washington Avenue, which led to a 181% increase in peak hour bike lane use, according to a city review.

Feibush and other urbanists argue extending the project west of Broad would prevent accidents and save lives, but NOWAC has maintained the proposal isn't in line with the corridor’s character.

“We do not want these bike lanes and stuff on Washington Avenue because it interferes with what Washington Avenue was originally designed for, and that was [medium industrial] and businesses,” Shikomba said during the ZBA meeting.

Johnson considers himself an ally of cycling advocates, but those concerns led him away from supporting the project.

“Community leaders, residents and others who live near Washington Avenue have agreed with Johnson’s decision and were concerned that reducing the avenue’s lanes would direct traffic to other, more residential streets and create additional congestion on a major artery for the neighborhood,” Thompson said on the council president’s behalf.

“Johnson continues to support implementing safety features like speed cushions, curb cuts, better lighting and traffic signals along Washington Avenue and has led the effort for the city of Philadelphia to invest $320,000 in City Capital Funding for safety improvements.”

Feibush, who challenged the council president for his seat during the 2015 elections, said this wasn't enough.

“When it comes to the preservation of life and safety, I don’t understand how you could pick the middle ground,” he said.

But Giangiordano sees a third way forward on Washington Avenue.

“It’s car-heavy, but as more developments pop up, it’s going to have to change with the times,” the real estate agent said. “You’re going to have to incorporate more room for pedestrians and cyclists. ... You’re going to have to incorporate some more urban living conveniences.”

Giangiordano said lawmakers, community stakeholders and developers can come to some sort of consensus.

“It has to be a balance,” he said. “With community input, there could be a scenario where everyone wins in that situation.”

CORRECTION, FEB. 26, 4:53 P.M. ET: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the agency that denied OpenBox Athletics' initial permit application. It has been updated.