that does lay it does lay out in this area to be able to do it here well i thought you just put it
there because it'd be easier in terms of the water sources well there i mean yes there is that aspect
Yes, we're back right up to the washer. Yes, for sure. I mean, and it but again, it allows for a larger bedroom and a larger living room. You know, do you need that large of a kitchen? So for multiple reasons, it was why we put it back in this area. But I mean, if it were a concern, you know, walking, you know, I don't know, 12 feet, or, you know, maybe 15 feet to get to the bathroom.
um you know it could be located in this area at three o'clock in the morning that's a long 12 feet
okay that's all my kids do it but i guess you know they're younger it's not so
yeah that's that's even with them that's a little we haven't had any problems but thank you
questions from our attorney not at this time mr chair questions or comments from the audience
hands up. Wait, I have a hand up from a David
Nelson. I will allow them to speak. Sure.
David Nelson, please unmute.
Yes, can you hear me? I can. Could you
please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
My name is David Nelson.
D-I-V-D-I-V-I-D
Nelson. N-E-L-S-O-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do. Mr. Nelson, could
you turn your video on, please?
Yes, I can.
I'm going to put my glasses on.
You could start your testimony.
My name is David Nelson.
I am...
Then we're rejoining us,
Panama, shortly, Mr. Chair.
Excuse me.
And I talked to the neighbors
when they posted the zone in Heron.
A lot of neighbors walked up to me
and asked me what it was about,
and I informed all the neighbors
but it was about the zoning herring that's why a lot of people came out to the rco meeting
and they you know and they're and i talked to them about you know what was going on they all
was okay with it you know i lived around here for 28 years i know all the neighbors when they saw
the um the herring notice they all walked up to me and i explained it to them they all was okay
with it and in the back and they do have excess in the back to get in and out for a trash if they
do want to go in and out the back they do have an entrance in the front an entrance in the back
they have enough room for two cars to park back there thank you david where do you live
a 287 right next door to white fence adjacent property oh you're the adjacent owner okay great
that's my thought thank you anyone else in the virtual audience
do not see any hands mr chair planning commission
michael gall with the philadelphia city planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no
change to the existing rsa 5 residential single family attached zoning at this location the
property has a documented history of multifamily use dating to the 1950s and the appellant has
demonstrated that the proposed use would not cause undue detriment to neighboring properties
beyond what might be expected therefore the city planning commission recommends the board grant
Therefore, the City Planning Commission recommends the board grant the proposed special exception for multifamily residential use.
the proposed special exception for multifamily residential
Thank you.
Mr. Orphanitis, we're going to hold this until October 1st.
We're going to just talk a little bit about it in the executive session.
Understood.
And we'll vote at 9.30 a.m.
I'm sorry, on what date, October 1st?
October 1st, 9.30 a.m.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
All right, so I think we have a lot of people in the audience for number 21, MI-2025-004-704, 4045 to 61 Main Street.
Adam Labor is the attorney.
so um this is a uh a reconsideration hearing um hillary i'll start with the preamble
okay the evidence and testimony from the original hearing in this matter
are incorporated into the record for this hearing the scope of this hearing is the applicant's
request for greater height variance than previously granted by the board after the original hearing
for a point of information the applicant will make a presentation the board and council will
have questions there will be public testimony only on the issue relative to the height and
planning commission will then make a recommendation and before we start
hillary emerson has a letter that i believe she wants to read into the record
um yes good morning mr labor um morning members of the board um we received a letter um from
council member jones that he asked to be right into the record at the start of the hearing so
i'm going to do that now um dear chairman bergman and members of the zoning board of adjustment
thank you for the board's extensive review of this very important case along manny young's
main street in the heart of my councilmatic district for years i along with other stakeholders
have been striving to positively transform this area, and this project has the potential to finally
do just that. Following the ill effects of Hurricane Ida in 2021, the former G.J. Littlewood
& Son Incorporated site at 4045-61 Main Street, the subject property, has sat empty and desolate.
The subject property has been under contract multiple times with different developers who
attempted to devise viable development schemes yet none were successful. The current proposal
is a game changer. The site is arguably one of the more challenging sites to develop in Maniunk
creating tremendous hardships for any developer including a significant floodplain elevation
that extends higher than the height of a typical floor. The rear neighbor 11 Shures Lane is
markedly higher than the subject property due to its position atop the bedrock and rock
outcropping. Additionally, the rear of 40, 45 to 61 Main Street is adjacent to an elevated railroad.
These combined factors make rear-facing residences on the first and second floors of the subject
property impossible. The subject property is located within the Maniunk Main Street Historic
district requiring that the proposed development incorporates much of the existing civil war era
industrial facade into the plans for state-of-the-art modern residences for these reasons
and more excuse me for these reasons and more the pending request for variance relief to allow an
additional eight feet nine and a quarter inches in height is warranted and necessary lower main
Street struggles with vacant retail storefronts, exacerbated by the impact of Hurricane Ida.
The proposed redevelopment would be a shot in the arm for Main Street, bringing 163 dwelling units
to patronize our stalwart businesses and to attract new businesses. The proposed project
has the potential to jumpstart investment and development along Lower Main Street,
which is desolate, isolated, and by many accounts, depressed.
Unlike other areas of Main Street, Lower Main Street struggles to attract investment and attention.
I firmly believe that the success of this project will encourage additional private investment along Lower Main Street,
whereas quashing this proposal would set back Lower Main Street even further,
dissuading private investment and serving as a signal to developers that Lower Main Street is not worth the investment risk
compared to other areas in Philadelphia.
The project, as presented, has received an unprecedented amount of
The project, as presented, has received an unprecedented amount of support from impacted
near neighbors, including 48 impacted near neighbors within 500 feet of the subject property,
residences, businesses, and a house of worship located directly across the street from the
subject property.
Thank you for the Board's continued consideration.
Sincerely, Curtis Jones, Jr., Councilmember, 4th District.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
yes chairman bergman you know as you know we had a great deal of testimony
we do that a couple times yes sir let's take a few times so um why don't you start your
presentation and and as stated this will be about why you need additional height
is that right yes we are uh absolutely agreeable and appreciative of this opportunity
Mr. Chairman and members of the board, as the board is aware, I have the privilege of
representing 4045 Main Street LLC, which is an urban convergence entity, and Andrew Zakroff,
who is sitting here in the physical hearing room today, Vice President of Acquisitions
and Development.
In addition to Andrew, Robert Littlewood is in the second row.
Mr. Littlewood is a fifth generation member of the family business G.J. Littlewood and son
who cares greatly about this property. In a public hearing vote on May 21st of 2025
this board granted variance relief in this matter with the condition that would reduce the proposed
project height by eight feet nine and one quarter inches from the proposed 68 feet nine and one
quarter inches to 60 feet even urban conversions respectfully sought reconsideration of this
condition in light of several factors and we will pinpoint uh and contain our testimony today
to the to this point historic preservation objectives and requirements uh to keep
a little bit closer i beg your pardon thank you historic preservation objectives and requirements
to keep the new floor structures from being visible through retained historic window openings
thereby increasing overall height of the new construction this mr chairman and members of
the board is in keeping with the philadelphia historical commission's july 23rd 2024 approval
which is part of the submitted record additionally we sought this opportunity to appear before you
to review building sections, which establish that any residences at the rear of the second
floor level would be non-viable. We've described them as subterranean, and Mr. Layden, the architect,
will share additional detail on that momentarily. This is due to topographical conditions that are
particular to this site natural rock outcroppings for example which necessitate raising
functional occupiable areas in the proposed new construction this is different and distinguishable
for example and it's actually uh shown in this slide that is on the board from the property
along Shores Lane just next door, 11 Shores Lane. 11 Shores Lane, very interestingly,
has effectively a natural base in that it's raised higher up. It does not suffer,
is not burdened from the same conditions. And we'll get into that. As well as market-driven
data, which necessitates, based on well-accepted principles, a 10-foot, 8-inch floor-to-floor
height in new construction projects, which allows for 9-foot-high ceilings.
Site challenges, as well, necessitate that the project be built with 5-over-2 construction,
with five over two construction which is a term of art which means five stories of wood frame
which is a term of art, which means 5-over-2 construction.
construction over a steel or concrete podium and that other construction types would not be
economically viable or practical so that you have these conditions at the site physical conditions
which exacerbate a problem significantly we are very grateful mr chairman and members of the
board for the opportunity to share additional information specific to this one issue. Architect
Eric Layden will testify regarding the physical limitations of the site, followed, we hope,
by Dr. Peter Angelides on market forces. Also available, only should questions arise, is
Ryan Aide, Senior Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle Americas Inc., an expert on current
market conditions and a consultant on this project before bringing mr laden uh to uh testify before
you we've gone over what the board approved we are aware of the difference uh in what has been
presented uh compared to what uh currently has been approved uh the record reflects uh council
member jones's support the overwhelming support of near neighbors the historical commission
approval the uh rcos absent mnc and mnc i know will speak for itself but manny on development
corporation manny on special services district 68 total near petition signatures uh etc and you
You can see that in this documentation to refresh where we are.
At this point, and in the interest of time, I'd like to ask Mr. Layden to please come
up and present an overview of the physical limitations at the property, which relate
specifically and solely to this issue of height.
Mr. Layden.
Mr. Layton, could you please state your name and spell for the sonographer?
Yes, my name is Eric Layton, E-R-I-C-L-E-I-G-H-T-O-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
Good morning, Mr. Layton.
Let's get right to the heart of this.
Could you please go over the physical limitations of this site in your expert opinion for the
board and i'll be happy to uh advance the slides as you wish absolutely thank you mr labor um what
we're looking at right now just as a refresher for everybody is an aerial view of the existing
condition at the site the magenta line is at the property line and it is more or less an assemblage
of 27 different constructions um that are all sandwiched together on this site um the historic
commission did grant approval to could you get a little closer oh sorry i'll move it up
is that the mic one it is yeah here maybe this will be better um the historic commission did
um grant a hardship approval to demolish everything that's on the site upon receipt
of approvals for a buildable project um if you could advance the slide please uh so what i want
to start with here is to to demonstrate why we need the proviso to be um increased to 68 nine
and a quarter or to eliminate the 60-foot proviso limit, is start with this ground floor plan,
which you see is primarily parking. And what's indicated there in magenta are three section
markers, which I'll go over in a minute. And then you see six photograph dots there. I think some
of them are underneath the photographs of the participants in the meeting off to the right.
but if we turn the page I will demonstrate what the photographs are for. So one of the really
really unique situations at this site in addition to the floodplain limitation are these rock
outcroppings that exist as you see here within the building and just to be clear in addition to
these photographs the interior of this building was scanned with a laser so when you see these
rock outcroppings in the drawings. The dimensions and the heights are pulled from a point cloud
into the computer for us to create the sections that we're about to see. These are two views of
the rock outcroppings behind the building, more towards the railroad. And then if you could
advance the slide, please. The one on the right is also rock outcropping in the vicinity of the
railroad so the the north edge of the property and i just want to point out on the left side
on the left side that is the parking lot at 11 shores lane there's a building being constructed
that is the parking lot at 11 shores lane there's a
there right now um this photograph was taken prior to that this is actually the top of the
rock outcropping that we were seeing in the interior photographs just to demonstrate that
even back in the beginning when these buildings were built they had to deal with with these uh
these steep slope and rock outcroppings and they just built the walls right on top of them