City Hall is a whirlwind of activity as City Council nears its summer recess, which begins after next week’s session. Amid furious last-minute negotiations about the Kenney administration’s Rebuild initiative, substantial…
When plans for a new mixed-use development at 15th and Hamilton streets in Spring Garden were posted online in advance of this month’s Civic Design Review, the project caused a stir…
Philadelphia’s Zoning Board of Adjustment didn’t make a decision today over whether a gun shop can open in a shooting range close to Spring Garden Street, but the debate previewed what…
A proposal to open a gun shop near Philadelphia's Spring Garden Street is confronting a growing resistance from neighbors and community groups. The plan calls for selling weapons inside an existing…
For this week’s Streetviews Q&A we sat down with Robert Cheetham, founder of the civic minded geospatial and software firm Azavea, about the big opportunities ahead in open data as an…
The Historical Commission Friday agreed with the recommendation made by its Committee on Historic Designation that an art deco garage on Fairmount Avenue be designated historic. The 85-year-old structure, designed by…
The slow but certain rebirth of North Broad Street has seen some surprising transformations and inspired proposals. A former auto showroom, and later a state office building, became luxury apartments…
Earlier this year, Council President Darrell Clarke introduced a bill that would create a new zoning overlay in the area bounded by Broad and 18th, Spring Garden and Callowhill streets. The…
Last week, a bill was introduced into City Council which would create a new Neighborhood Commercial Area (/NCA) zoning overlay in Spring Garden for the purposes of banning new pawn shops,…
The Zoning Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a handful of variances on Wednesday for the new location of Whole Foods supermarket at 22nd St. and Pennsylvania Ave. Developer Neil Rodin’s plans…
A bank company founded on solid immigrant success eventually failed in a period of economic despair. But its architectural legacy lives on. “Look Up!” is a PlanPhilly feature that encourages…
If the Parkway’s new mantra is “More park, less way” then the rallying cry for improving Eakins Oval might be “More park, less parking.” With its tall trees, beautiful fountains, and…
New bike lanes are in on Fairmount Ave, and they're already getting plenty of traffic. The lanes showed up last week and run the length of Fairmount from Ridge Avenue near…
Philadelphia now has long-range plans for future development within the Central and University/Southwest districts. The city planning commission adopted both comprehensive plans at its Tuesday (June 11) meeting. From now on,…
A plan to make walking or biking pn Spring Garden Street between Northern Liberties and the Central Delaware Waterfront a more pleasant experience - and by extension, to attract future development…
A surprise — and quite dramatic — appearance by the City's Chief Integrity Officer, Joan Markman, capped the Historical Commission meeting on Friday morning. Ms. Markman was the last to testify…
The draft comprehensive plan for Philadelphia's Central District calls for revitalizing civic spaces in Center City, encouraging more development along Ridge Avenue and North Broad Street in West Callowhill, and making…
Last October, PlanPhilly graduate intern Amanda Mazie wrote about VIADUCTgreene's grassroots efforts to get the public to imagine what it would be like to transform an abandoned rail viaduct's unplanned green…
To address the growing business needs of Francisville, Spring Garden, Brewerytown and Fairmount while preserving the four neighborhoods’ unique identities, the Fairmount Area Business Association is growing and rebranding as the…
A snowstorm postponed one vote, poor attendance another and a mail-in vote a third, but after approximately two months of public meetings, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia has gathered votes…