Weinstein Proposes Lofts in Germantown/Wayne Junction

**thoth** · 09-24-2012, 03:32 PM

Developer composing a new image for former Wayne Junction industrial site

Glad that I can finally post development news about Germantown, a place I think of as the most single most important neighborhood in Philadelphia. This is balancing its extraordinary potential, history, architectural diversity and cache against the vast array of tangible hazards that threaten those characteristics - namely structural decay and crime.

I think this project could be a winner. Given the fact that there are already successful lofts near the Somerset station area, I don't think it's that far fetched to imagine artists seeking space in a comparatively well-heeled area of G-town.

**seand** · 09-24-2012, 03:54 PM

Sounds awesome. But it really needs some kind commercial for the ground floor. Maybe a Rita's Water Ice or something similar.

**billy ross** · 09-24-2012, 05:49 PM

One block west of the Max Levy building (up on the palisades) is the furthest extent of the gentrification, and it doesn't really pick up along Wayne Avenue or Greene Street until about a mile north of the Max Levy building. That odd missing mile of gentrification is very frustrating, as the Wayne Junction train station is incredibly useful and it would be even more useful if more people actually used it - very many trains don't actually stop at Wayne Junction due to low ridership. Still, today it offers sufficiently frequent service to Center City that I rarely check the schedule when I use WJ, since there's generally a train to CC every few minutes. With the station renovation and the rerouting of the CHE line onto the main platform, the guessing game of which platform to use will go away, which will be a huge improvement. Adding people and activity to Wayne Junction would be a great thing. It has amazing rail and road connections, and it is criminal that it and the area around it are so underutilized.

I'm torn between whether it would make a great park and ride or whether it would make a great TOD location. Both would be an improvement over now, which is a dead zone. I figure we can go down the path of both, and whichever generates more interest is the one that gets pursued. I hadn't thought of making that old factory a parking area. My wife complains that there's no obvious place to park at Wayne Junction that feels comfortable.

**Malloy** · 09-24-2012, 09:49 PM

Cool building, cool precision grinder in one of those pics

thoth: that part of GTown sucks compared to the rest of the area. You back up to a billion rails, Rt1 and a huge rail yard. MONSTER industrial buildings and whatever crap that usually backs up to rail lines. No retail strip and a run down housing stock.

I'd rather live in Keystone lofts in Tacony I think.

**thoth** · 09-25-2012, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by Malloy

Cool building, cool precision grinder in one of those pics

thoth: that part of GTown sucks compared to the rest of the area. You back up to a billion rails, Rt1 and a huge rail yard. MONSTER industrial buildings and whatever crap that usually backs up to rail lines. No retail strip and a run down housing stock.

I'd rather live in Keystone lofts in Tacony I think.

Notice that I said "comparatively". Wayne Junction sucks, but is like six flags in comparison to somerset. Somerset definitely has more commercial options and less train yards, but more negative "commercial" activity and more squealing el trains. I'd take Wayne Junction over that.

**jen** · 09-26-2012, 11:53 AM

lofts near someset have the advantage of being adjacent to fishtown and on the el, providing a very quick ride down into hipsterville or cc. two stops to girard ave. regional rail from wayne junction, not so much. the hunting park bsl station is two stops from allegheny station.

somewhat related: has anyone else noticed the temporary ticket booth at wayne junction? the six foot fence and razor wire around a septa ticket booth don't exactly look inviting.

**billy ross** · 09-26-2012, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by jen

lofts near someset have the advantage of being adjacent to fishtown and on the el, providing a very quick ride down into hipsterville or cc. two stops to girard ave. regional rail from wayne junction, not so much. the hunting park bsl station is two stops from allegheny station.

somewhat related: has anyone else noticed the temporary ticket booth at wayne junction? the six foot fence and razor wire around a septa ticket booth don't exactly look inviting.

Interesting point - with the exception of Suburban Station, all of the main line train stations are easily accessible to each other - 30th Street, Market East, Temple, and Wayne Junction, but what's the point? It's not like there's much there there at any of the stations; with the exception of Suburban Station, they're mostly just transportation hubs with not much of interest around them. I had thought it was Wayne Junction that was the outlier, but maybe not so much. Still, that's changing, with much change in store and ongoing at just about all of those stations that is livening them up and will continue to do so, even around Suburban Station, too. At the risk of stating the obvious, I think the area around Suburban Station is a good example of the TOD model that all of these stations will gradually move towards, and as Drexel moves towards 30th Street and the hipness of 13th Street takes over Market East and Temple builds up a residential area in the wastelands around the Temple U station then by necessity Wayne Junction's star will rise, just as Fishtown's and Northern Liberties' ascendance is helping the el and nearby stops on the el. Six minutes from Wayne Junction to Temple. Four more to Market East. Five more to Suburban. Five more to 30th Street. Not too shabby, once there's more reason to go to those stations.

**green77** · 09-26-2012, 08:03 PM

Another major barrier to making this a better place to invest is the intense blight going north on Wayne Avenue. it's the corridor itself that is severely blighted, not nearly so bad east or west. It's technically mixed use, but obviously failing today.

**eldondre** · 09-26-2012, 09:41 PM

I'd rather live off the hunting park stop than.Somerset. market east is close enough to nightlife to make it useful (thus making WJ stop useful)

**green77** · 09-26-2012, 10:51 PM

what's happening at the Somerset El stop?

**thoth** · 09-27-2012, 07:27 AM

Originally Posted by green77

what's happening at the Somerset El stop?

good question.

Welcome to Zombieland - Metropolis

**green77** · 09-27-2012, 08:20 AM

yeah, that's the SOmerset stop I'm familiar with-- I know that New Kensington CDC is working on a big plan for the area from there down to Lehigh, including the massive vacatn factory, but not sure if this is what the above was referencing, or if there is actually some major redevelopment or building rehab going on.

Originally Posted by thoth

good question.

Welcome to Zombieland - Metropolis

**billy ross** · 09-27-2012, 08:49 AM

Everything needs to be taken with some perspective. Right now Wayne Avenue is nasty for about six blocks north from Wayne Junction. It used to be crappy much further north. Mastery taking over Pickett has really improved that formerly hellish stretch at Rittenhouse, at least on that side of the street. Seven blocks north of Wayne Junction, the intersection with Hansberry has really turned over the past few years. I remember standing there and realizing that Wayne Avenue was pleasant at that stretch, and being surprised. Essentially it turns between good and bad just north of Manheim now, but the trendlines are good. Making Wayne Junction a destination will help speed that transformation. Meanwhile, Pulaski Avenue has gotten fixed up almost all the way down to the Max Levy factory, with only about a block of nastiness left, so that should be an easy transition.

Just remember how gorgeous Wayne Avenue is near Carpenter's Woods, and watch as that niceness and quaintness slowly, inexhorably works its way towards Wayne Junction. Like I said, right now as you go south it starts to fall apart at Rittenhouse, picks back up again once you get past the commercial district (say Maplewood/School House Lane), then stays pretty quaint until mid-block between Hansberry and Manheim, then you fall off a cliff. I've been watching it for years, and the progress has been palpable, although I'd be happy to see it speed up. I'd LOVE to see the intersections at Manheim and/or at Seymour clean up, since they're worse than the stretch between Seymour and Wayne Junction. I think that the intersection at Logan is better than it used to be, for instance. Germantown Settlement's demise should help with the intersection of Walnut Lane and Wayne Avenue, which has been a bit of ghetto dumped into an otherwise nice stretch of Wayne Avenue. The building that Germantown Settlement used to own on that corner is screaming for someone who cares to take it over and make it a place for people with choices, not people who are accustomed to getting the water to their apartment building shut off. Hopefully someone will make a splash by doing something nice with the collection of Furness buildings behind it, on Wayne Avenue at Harvey Street, which are gorgeous and intact, although presently vacant, I believe.

**jen** · 09-27-2012, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by eldondre

I'd rather live off the hunting park stop than.Somerset. market east is close enough to nightlife to make it useful (thus making WJ stop useful)

maybe cc night life. in this case we're talking artists lofts more likely to appeal to those who don't typically spend their nightlife-time in center city.

also, do the trains from wayne junction run as frequently as the el? even at night?

**green77** · 09-27-2012, 01:25 PM

IMO it's very important for anyone looking to bring investment and a positive turn around to work with the Nicetown CDC- they have been having some positive results through their work on the Germantown Ave corridor south of Wayne Junction--

**thoth** · 09-27-2012, 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by green77

IMO it's very important for anyone looking to bring investment and a positive turn around to work with the Nicetown CDC- they have been having some positive results through their work on the Germantown Ave corridor south of Wayne Junction--

Why, do you work for them? Seems strange to engage the Nicetown CDC for a project in Germantown. Seems like G-town has so many affordable housing/econ development non-profits running around they wouldn't need to import more from outside the neighborhood.

**eldondre** · 09-27-2012, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by jen

maybe cc night life. in this case we're talking artists lofts more likely to appeal to those who don't typically spend their nightlife-time in center city.

also, do the trains from wayne junction run as frequently as the el? even at night?

nope, though neither runs late at night, and I'd rather be a block from wayne jct than a block from somerset. going the other direction, I'd also prefer to go from cc to an artist gallery near wayne jct than take the el to somerset.

**billy ross** · 09-27-2012, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by thoth

Why, do you work for them? Seems strange to engage the Nicetown CDC for a project in Germantown. Seems like G-town has so many affordable housing/econ development non-profits running around they wouldn't need to import more from outside the neighborhood.

Nice town CDC built a bunch of new houses about a block south of Wayne Junction. Wayne Junction is built against the ridgeline that represents the southern border of Germantown. From WJ to Broad and Erie is a hop, skip, and a jump.

**green77** · 09-27-2012, 02:59 PM

We're talking about Wayne Junction, the link between Nicetown and Lower G'town- Nicetown's latest development comes right up to Windrim Ave. They've been able to secure millions in tax credits and have some strong business community connections. Also, I did not say work"for" but "with".

Originally Posted by thoth

Why, do you work for them? Seems strange to engage the Nicetown CDC for a project in Germantown. Seems like G-town has so many affordable housing/econ development non-profits running around they wouldn't need to import more from outside the neighborhood.

**thoth** · 09-28-2012, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by green77

We're talking about Wayne Junction, the link between Nicetown and Lower G'town- Nicetown's latest development comes right up to Windrim Ave. They've been able to secure millions in tax credits and have some strong business community connections. Also, I did not say work"for" but "with".

Sounds like the Nicetown CDC should probably focus on Nicetown instead of trying to reach into other neighborhoods.