A developer wants to create 48 new townhomes on the lot bounded by Wharton, Capitol, Woodstock, and Reed streets. It's a large new development that has been turned down by the Zoning Board once already: the original plan was to create 50 townhomes on the same lot, but the appeal to the Zoning Board of Adjustments only includes 48 houses.
It looks like the townhomes will be pretty typical of new construction in Point Breeze: they're rowhomes that use brick, stucco, and metal panels on the exterior. According to this document, all the homes are three stories, and each home has a roof deck with a green roof on top of the pilot house (the structure that contains the stairs and door to the roof deck). The first time these homes were announced, they were going to have three bedrooms, two full baths, and three half baths each.
What don't these townhomes have? Parking. These homes don't have garages, and there's no shared lot included in plans. A post about the project on Naked Philly explained that the developer was hoping to encourage new residents of the homes to interact with the neighborhood: "Without parking, the folks who buy these homes will walk around the neighborhood, patronize its businesses, and enjoy the walkability that this location offers in terms of proximity to Center City."
Whatever the reason, it's likely that the lack of parking will be a major sticking point for neighbors. Even developers who include ample parking in their projects are often pushed by neighbors to include more.
· 2012 Wharton Street [Civic Design Review]
· Holy Smokes, Fifty Homes Planned for 20th and Wharton [Naked Philly]
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