can kind of visualize how a car would enter.
Excellent.
I'm sorry if I didn't cover that well.
So this is just for residents.
It's not for the public.
So residents would drive into that curb cut
off of 7th Street
and they would go counterclockwise.
I'm sorry, clockwise.
They would go clockwise and stop
and they would be met by the valet.
they would depart the car there
and then the valet would continue clockwise
with the car
into that elevator
and then that elevator would take it up
to whatever level they choose
there's three levels of parking
and then when
you want to have your car
you would call
either call or use an app
to let them know you want your car
brought down in say 10-15 minutes
and they bring your car
back down to the lobby and they pick you up there okay so then when you when you get to that second
floor obviously it would just be a traditional valet operation the vehicle would exit off that
second floor or third or fourth floor whatever floor that they choose and and it would be you
know traditional valet layout gotcha okay and then when you showed the kind of rendering of
how the parking would look.
Ah, okay.
And that's
that 7th Street there?
This is 7th Street, that's correct.
So this is that entrance from 7th Street,
which is one way headed towards Sansom.
So a car would be coming up this direction,
they would turn into the motor court,
and then they would be met by a valet.
Gotcha.
OK. All right. Thank you. No problem. All right. So let's turn back. I do want to show the board the changes that were made to the Sansom Street facade, since that's, of course, very important.
So, David, if you can just using this image here, can you just explain some of the changes that were made as a result of discussions with the community?
Sure. I think the new design is a little more traditional in nature. So it will blend with some of the existing historic buildings. We're incorporating brick. We sort of match the rhythm of the columns with some of the neighboring buildings.
buildings and the storefront again would be similar to the neighboring buildings there's
a and we have that some created some recesses at the left and right side of
And we have created some recesses at the left and right side of our building to really articulate our building from the neighbors out of respect.
But you can see, by and large, there's a lot of brick.
The tones, the color tones will be similar to the neighboring buildings.
And the top of that area is really set back.
That's where the tower starts.
So we're really lined up as precisely on the heights of the neighboring buildings.
In terms of overall massing, in your opinion as an architect, architect practicing in the city of Philadelphia, do you believe that this building will be out of scale or character with the surrounding neighborhood in light of the additional proposed GFA that was refused by L&I?
I do not.
I think it's going to be, I think it will fit in.
I think primarily because we've respected the neighborhood in terms of the base of the building, and then we've set the tower back both from Sansom Street and from 7th Street.
So it's going to be more of an internal tower to the block.
Now, as we've mentioned, this application requests a variance for exceeding the maximum FAR.
While the code would allow for 1,200 percent, this application requests 1,493 percent.
Given that Toll's prior approval was granted by Wright, where does the additional necessity for FAR in this iteration largely derive from?
Yeah, it's primarily caused by the fact that we have parking.
We have 21,000 square feet of parking, and that counts towards FAR, and that's pushing our FAR calculations up.
So it's primarily the parking and the fact we're not using the ALP portion of the property facing 7th Street.
Thank you.
Board members, I can conclude with David at this point.
Before I move into some argument and then bring up representatives from Pearl Property,
I want to give you the opportunity, if you had any questions for David about anything relating to the design or anything like that,
if you had any questions you wanted to ask him at this point.
I have one quick question. So is that one commercial space or will it be subdivided into several?
Yeah, go ahead, David.
Oh, I'm sorry. It's a fairly small space. It's more than likely going to be one retail or cafe space. Not both. It'd be one tenant.
and that that was really one of one of the more significant changes that was made in this newer
iteration to accommodate that residential lobby entrance from sansom street obviously adding that
that through way from sansom street required that the commercial space be reduced slightly
it was already a small space but now it's really really meant for a cafe or something of that nature
and the fifth floor amenity space is going to be trees and things like this like more like a
park sort of yes yes that's that's a great way to just describe it so um you can you're just
there you go um the the whole perimeter is a planter so that would be you know for uh for
both shrubbery flowers and trees to try to capture that, the essence of a green terrace.
If you look, if you remember our renderings, we had trees and greenery illustrated. But that is
our client's desire is to create a very special terrace up there that's people for people to
relax and kind of view the park, view the treetops in the park. And is it accessible
for all the
units or just the units
on that? I believe it's for everyone.
It's for all residents
to use. Okay.
That is correct.
And is it going to be like a
I see trees and what have you
is there going to be some
sort of
I don't
I'm not seeing that there'll be
anything other than
And I don't mean, I don't mean it to be, well, I guess what I'm asking is while folks are there sitting around in this space, is there going to be any way for them to have food, drinks, anything?
And board member Gasson, if you wouldn't mind, I can have representatives from Pearl Properties answer that question.
And board member Gasson, if you wouldn't mind, I can have a representative.
They have several buildings in Philadelphia that they have built and amenitized.
If you would prefer, I can bring somebody up now or I can wait and bring them up in a little bit and have them answer that.
We can wait.
Okay, perfect.
I will make sure that we ask them that.
All right. So before I bring up representatives from Pearl Properties to adopt my testimony and answer any additional questions you have relative to building operations or construction, things of that nature, I will conclude briefly as our arguments are largely captured within the Memorandum of Law that I've submitted to the board at Exhibit 14.
We do submit that our witnesses and evidence presented today have conclusively established each basis upon which this property suffers a unique unnecessary hardship leading to the variance request before the board.
We further submit that the evidence presented establishes the applicant's entitlement to special exception relief.
First, in terms of the two requests for variance, the applicant submits to a hardship in light of the zoning code's technical application of dry vial width rules, excuse me, to valet-operated garages.
And let me just bring up an image of one of the floor plans so you can try and get a better sense of what I am arguing here.
the testimony established that the drive aisles are nearly double the required width
leading out of the vehicle elevator into the parking spaces to comply with the code
separate 24 foot wide drive aisles would need to be provided in between all of these valet spaces
which of course would be terribly inefficient and unnecessary given the solely valet operation of
this garage. Unfortunately, the zoning code does not have any provisions that capture this type
of operation. This minor dimensional variance fulfills the spirit of code, which encourages
parking designs that limit impact on neighboring uses, increases safety, shields parking areas,
and allows flexibility in addressing vehicle parking.
This proposed parking meets all of those elements.
The drive aisle variance is the least minimum modification of the code to provide relief.
This is a pure technicality of the code as applied to a valet garage,
and this is not the first time the board has heard and granted relief on an identical basis for a valet garage.
By way of example, for another case I presented to this board, the board granted variance for similar relief for a valet garage at 3025 JFK Boulevard back in 2021, and that information is publicly available on Atlas.
Pearl Properties has significant experience operating garages of this type in other developments
it has in Philadelphia, and that experience will ensure that the valet operations are conducted
safely and efficiently, and we do have representatives that can answer any questions you have from them
on that regard. Now, regarding the gross floor area, the board has heard testimony that the
A roughly 36,000 square foot overage in gross floor area derives directly from specific design aspects of the previously approved but unbuilt project that was lacking in on-site parking, as well as design considerations stemming from the irregular shape of the lot.
And just by way of context, the board may or may not recall that Toll Brothers' prior project had no on-site parking, and that was really something that came up in a lot of conversations that Pearl had with the local community when it was looking to design their version of this project.
The board also heard testimony of the applicant's unsuccessful pursuit of additional bonus options that would have rendered this refusal null.
Well, the applicant submits it would not be possible to relocate three floors of parking underground due to the significant excavation that that would entail, which would risk jeopardizing the integrity of surrounding historic structures.
That excavation is also rendered much more challenging given the unusual shape of this lot.
You also saw that the design is meant to not over-excavate this site, specifically to ensure that they can increase the protection of those adjacent structures.
increase the protection of those adjacent structures. Had it been feasible to locate
three floors of parking underground, it would have allowed this parking square footage to be
excluded from the gross floor area calculation. The zoning code encourages additional density
in center city, and this development was designed specifically to address many concerns espoused
during the former development process that was fully entitled and yet unbuilt, given the infeasible
prior design. The slight increase in allowable GFA is the least minimum deviation from the code
to ensure a viable development that more closely aligns with the immediate community's vision for
the Jewelers Row District. In terms of congestion in public streets, public endangerment, neighbors'
use of their properties, overcrowding, environmental impacts, and infrastructure considerations.
I'll incorporate those arguments into the applicant's entitlement for special exception
relief, as the evidence presented has established compliance with each of those considerations
as applicable under both variance and special exception standards.
As mentioned, the application received one referral for the above-ground accessory parking.
As is required by Section 3037E.1 through .3 of the zoning code, as well as Section 803.1C.4.b, the above-ground accessory garage is permitted by special exception in the CMX-5 zoning district.
Furthermore, the evidence presented to the board has established that the above-ground
accessory parking will not cause any specific detrimental impacts, provided at Section 3037E.1
through .3, beyond that which might normally be expected from an above-ground garage.
In fact, the evidence has established quite the opposite, that this design will serve
to mitigate impacts that one might normally expect from an above-ground garage, both without
an internal circulation area and one that is not valet-operated and heavily managed.
The requested variances and the special exception will not cause congestion in public streets.
To the contrary, the significant on-site parking, which is required, will mitigate concerns
expressed from the prior development.
The valet design of the garage will facilitate efficient ingress and egress and will ensure the circulation is monitored 24-7 to avoid any spillover.
At Exhibit 10, the board will see motor court turning plans reflecting feasibility of the proposed design.
Please note that these were not updated to reflect the addition of the vehicle elevator,
and they were also not updated to reflect the clockwise circulation of the motor court.
These motor court plans were prepared under the prior design, which would have created a cross in traffic.
And that was something that was updated based on additional discussions with the community.
The change in circulation aside, these clearly show the efficient operations of this motor
port area.
And the change that has been made would not fundamentally alter the operation that is
shown in this diagram.
There are no other vehicular access points on 7th Street on this block, further limiting
pedestrian and vehicle conflicts.
In addition to the designated loading areas on South 7th Street, the internal loading area will be managed by on-site staff, and Pearl Properties has the necessary experience and expertise to ensure that those operations will not cause any congestion.
And let me just bring this up so, again, you can see the loading areas.
and you can see that right here, which is accessed through the motor port.
Furthermore, as shown on this updated image, Pearl Properties is in the process of pursuing
two additional loading zone areas on 7th Street, which will further contribute towards the
mitigation of any congestion that would be caused by the loading. The applicant has and will
continue to have significant coordination with the streets department, which included a developer
services meeting that was held at the beginning of the development process. Importantly, the access
points in circulation design and loading are not directly relevant to the special exception for an
above-ground garage, as those are concerns that would similarly exist whether or not the garage
whether or not the garage was above grade or below grade.
was above grade or below grade.
The variance and special exceptions sought will not substantially or permanently harm the neighbors' use of their properties,
cause overcrowding, or impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjoining properties.
The evidence established that the proposed building, including the additional GFA,
remains consistent with other dense buildings in this area
and is only a slight increase from the previously approved but disfavored design.
The evidence has established that the significant design and operational considerations have generated this proposed design, which will reduce impacts well below what might be expected from an above-ground design.
Given the scale of the building, the additional GFA will not be discernible, particularly in light of the evidence you heard relative to the skyplane compliance of this project.
The proposal will not place any burden on public facilities, nor will it create any environmental impact.
The proposal continues to undergo review by applicable reviewing agencies, including the Water Department.
Given that a project of similar mass was already reviewed and issued a building permit on this site,
that would have required prerequisite reviews by all applicable city agencies
and the sufficiency of the area infrastructure and utility capacity has already been conclusively
established. The proposal is consistent with the comprehensive plan and will directly serve
to heal the void and reinvigorate the Jewelers Row area with additional retail and pedestrian
traffic. Members of the CDR committee in the letter included at Exhibit 15 acknowledged that
this is a much better and more creative proposal than the prior one, and that it will be a quote
asset to the community. We submit the evidence before the board today shows full compliance
with the zoning code, and we respectfully ask that this board grant the requested variances
and special exception for this exciting and transformative development that is quite
literally a decade in the making. At this point, I will bring up Reid Slogoff and or Jim Pearlstein
from Pearl Properties, ask one of them to adopt my testimony, and then I'd be happy to open them