200K SF Mixed-Use Project In The Works For One Of Philly's 'Most Challenged' Corners
A nonprofit developer plans to build a mixed-income apartment complex that would include a grocery and health center near a busy Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority transit center in North Philadelphia.
Nonprofit Frankford Community Development Corp. has tapped developer Mosaic Development Partners to build a 195K SF apartment complex with affordable and market-rate units just east of the bustling SEPTA stop at 5113-5115 Frankford Ave., according to a proposal submitted to the city's planning commission Tuesday.
The project would sit adjacent to the second-busiest transit center in the city, the Frankford Transit Center, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Plans call for the top four floors of the proposed five-story Frankford Plaza to house 74 market-rate units and 60 low-income units built with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. Units would range from 406 SF studios to 1,007 SF three-bedroom units, the plan shows.
The first floor of the proposed Frankford Plaza would be reserved for a 19K SF grocery store and a 40K SF city-run community health center, filling a gap for both services. There are no health centers within a mile radius of the site, according to a city map.
The site of the proposed development was the former home of the Penn Fruit supermarket, which was demolished due to financial hardship, according to a 2020 city memo.
“Since Frankford is one of the most challenged communities in Philadelphia, it makes this location equally ideal for low-income housing and the much-needed services that this development will bring to the broader community,” Frankford CDC said in the development package.
Frankford Plaza’s entrance will be less than a mile from the area's nearest bus and train stations. The complex will feature a bike share station and parking in the rear of the building. The proposal states that the project aligns with the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and City of Philadelphia's 2035 comprehensive plan to add housing near such transit hubs.
The proposed apartment would join among just a handful of mixed-income developments set for the city this year, Bisnow reported this week.
The property's CMX-3 zoning could potentially qualify the project for more floor area, units or dwellings than usual under the city's mixed-income zoning bonus. Right now, bonus rules require one-bedroom units to cost no more than $1,075 per month, among several other requirements.
Michael Johns of MDesigns+MWJ Consulting is lined up to help secure LIHTC. Johns is a former city planner, however, and will have to recuse himself from the project if it moves forward, according to the Inquirer.
