There has been talk about development in the area of the Frankford Transportation Center for years. You can see all the projects that follow the El from center city up to Tioga and then it slows down. This project is long overdue and with luck it will get done.
There is a meeting on July 13th at Second Baptist where you can hear the details of the plan. Some information that I have gleaned from the internet follows.
This project is strategically located across Frankford Avenue from SEPTA’s Frankford Transportation Center (FTC) and is a transit oriented development (TOD) project which will consist of a mixed-use development, anchored by a supermarket, City of Philadelphia health center, additional retail, as well as both affordable and market rate rental housing. This project will have a significantly positive impact on the surrounding area and will also catalyze further development along Frankford Avenue.
The site includes the following parcels:
• 5129-35 Frankford Ave – 73,090 sq ft
• 5119 Frankford Ave – 13,724 sq ft
• 5113-17 Frankford Ave & 5102 Darrah Street- 19,202 sq ft
• 5127 Griscom Street – approx. 20,000
• 1522 Pratt Street – 65,808 sq ft
A. Site Description and Location
One of Frankford’s greatest assets is the combination of its proximity to Center City and its high level of transit connectivity, allowing it to serve as the gateway from Northeast Philadelphia to Center City. Frankford sits between I-95 and Roosevelt Boulevard and is served by several SEPTA bus and trackless trolley routes, the Market-Frankford Line, and Regional Rail.
SEPTA’s Frankford Station is the second busiest transit center in Philadelphia, serving an average of 41,000 customers daily. Combined with Frankford’s inexpensive real estate and vacant land, transit nodes such as FTC present an excellent opportunity to develop a new retail anchor that will attract foot traffic to the corridor and create quality, affordable, transit-oriented housing for the city’s workforce.
This project is consistent with the goals and recommendations in the City’s Philadelphia 2035 Comprehensive Plan and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission that both call for high impact transit-oriented development that would increase housing and commercial development around the transit stations and the specific recommendation to develop a health and wellness center adjacent to the Frankford Transportation Center.
