004 683
North American Street
I vote yes
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes.
James Snell, my vote is yes.
Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
Number four, the result of hearing for MI 2022, 002-378-3107 Clifford Street has been rescheduled to Wednesday, February 1st at 9.30 a.m.
Case number five, MI 2021, 005-318-649-North 11th Street.
John Monlach from Planning will be voting on this case.
I vote yes.
Excuse me, Mr. Chair.
I just wanted to note that Ishmael Shahid is recusing himself from this case.
Thank you.
That's why we have an alternate.
right is my vote is yes john monlock my vote is yes okay jim snell james snell my vote is yes
thank you number six mi 2021 005 319 610 north 11th street ishmael will be recusing himself again
john munlock will be voting i vote yes john munlock my vote is yes
james snow my vote my vote is yes thank you number seven mi2022-003-270-2201 east tayoga
Street. I vote yes. Revised plans, two pages, stamped by ZBA, January 25th, 2023. Ishmael and
James Snell also vote on this. James Snell, my vote is yes. Ishmael Shaheed, my vote is yes.
thank you excuse me are those votes with provisos uh mr snell and mr shaheed i said revised plans
two pages stamp by zba january 25th 2023 okay i apologize that is yes with proviso
vote is yes with proviso thank you we're going to our regular list mi 2022 004 831
on 3816 to 40 Market Street.
Meredith Trego is the attorney.
We have two letters from RCOs in support.
And I believe the council person is in support.
Am I right, Hillary?
Yes, that's correct, Mr. Chair.
We have a letter of support from the West House
and Saunders Park RCO, which was the coordinating RCO,
as well as a letter of support from Spruce Hill Community Association and the council member.
as well as a letter of support from spruce hill community association
and the council member is also in support thank you thank you very much
chair we have a matthew mcclure coming back in sure sure okay good afternoon mr chairman matt
mcclure with meredith trego okay could you uh uh say your name please and spell for the court
reporter? Sure. It's Matthew, M-A-T-T-H-E-W, McClure, M-C-C-L-U-R-E. I'm with the law firm
of Ballard Spar, 1735 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103. I'm also here with Meredith
Trego, T-R-E-G-O, of the same address. Meredith, could you state your name too,
please, and spell for the court reporter?
Is she there?
She's probably elevating herself right now, Mr. Chairman.
Okay, thank you.
I only anticipate that I will be speaking today, though.
Okay, that's fine.
And I swore you already, right?
You do not, but I'm ready.
You're going to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Absolutely.
Okay, could you identify your client in relationship to the property?
Sure. Mr. Chairman, our client today is University City Science Center, as well as Wexford Science and Technology.
The Science Center is the owner of the property and co-developer, and Wexford Science and Technology is also the co-developer.
This is a series of projects that has been done in the Ute City area.
And with me today, I have four witnesses, if I may start.
Okay. Our vice chair just has a few questions for you.
sure good afternoon council do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its
accuracy mr vice chair i do thank you have you emailed all the required documents that are for
this for this case five days in advance to this hearing mr vice chair yes thank you mr mcclure
please share your screen and proceed
I'm about to share the screen in a second.
I'm trying to find the share screen button on the...
Green button at the bottom?
There it is. I'm sorry. I apologize.
Too much technology. Can you see that?
There you go.
Okay, Mr. Chairman, again, Matt McClure on behalf of Wexford and the Science Center.
With me today is Rod Voss, AIA.
He's with Ballinger. He's a principal. He's our architect.
Mr. James Gleaton, professional engineer. He's with David Mason Associates. He's our civil
engineer for the project. We have Michael Davidson, professional engineer. He's with
drive engineering. He's our transportation, traffic, and pedestrian engineer. Then Mr.
Pete Kramer with Wexford, as well as Mr. John Grady with Wexford. A little bit about the project
before I start. Mr. Chairman, it's a 910,000 square foot project, 17 stories, mixed-use
development that's going to be constructed in two phases. In the property that's along
Market Street to the north, south 38th to east, south 39th to the west, then Ludlow to the south.
It's going to have 513,000 square feet of R&D and office space, 31,000 square feet of ground floor
retail, 8,000 square feet of public rooms, a 1,000 square feet community room, and 780
above-grade structured parking spaces. This project will be really the southwest capstone
of the larger Wexford Science Center U-City Life Sciences Innovation District, which you will hear
Mr. Voss discuss today. It will be developed in two phases. Each one is going to be a separate
condominium unit under a land condominium and if you look at exhibits 7b and exhibit 12 of our
packet you will see that there is a lot consolidation permit this is now one lot
and then we have an amended referral and we will refer later on to the amended plans the only
change in the plans has been we previously were pursuing a unity use arrangement we have we've
abandoned that we have consolidated the two lots and then we're imposing a condominium regime so
is treated exactly the same for zoning purposes.
The request of relief is a special exception
for non-necessary parking garage.
The property is buy-write from a use
and dimensional perspective under the zoning code.
Regarding RCO outreach,
we were happy to hear that you heard
that the lead RCO, according to RCO,
the lead RCO, according to RCO, as well as the council persons in support.
as well as the council person is in support.
We've had a series of meetings going back really since last February.
And if you look at exhibit 17 of our packet, you will see that we've had these meetings starting back in last February of 2022.
Our official RCO meeting was on October 6, 2022.
And then obviously the non-opposition letter that came in, as well as I've pointed out to earlier non-opposition emails, which we received in Exhibits 18A and 18B of our packet.
We completed CDR successfully in one meeting on November 1st, 2022, and that was confirmed by a letter November 3 from the Planning Commission.
I have a list of exhibits, which you can either wave me reading into, but I would take note that we have exhibits one through 23 in the packet. Mr. Chairman, do you want me to go through and read them?
or? I think we can accept them. Thank you so much. So with that, Mr. Chairman, if it's okay,
a brief argument. As you know, a special exception is neither special nor exception.
It's a permitted use subject to having this hearing. That is why we're here today. The
applicant is obligated, however, to meet the requirements of 1460310 of the code, which is
The specific standards for above ground accessory parking standards, which we will provide testimony on that today, and we will show that we demonstrate our compliance, and otherwise the project is by right.
So with that, I would like to have your permission to elevate Mr. Rob Voss, V-O-S-S, of Ballinger as a panelist.
Mr. Voss, please raise your virtual hand.
He's coming back in now as a panelist here.
Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Administrator.
Hi, could you state your name and spell for the court reporter, please?
Good afternoon.
Hi, could you state your name, please, and spell for the court reporter?
Yes, Rob Voss, spelled R-O-B, last name Voss, B as in Victor, O-S-S.
Right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Proceed, counsel.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Voss, could you describe your educational background and work experience?
Certainly. I hold two degrees from a Catholic university in Washington, D.C.,
one for a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and one for a Bachelor of Architecture.
And have you testified before zoning boards in the past and been qualified as an expert in architecture?
Have you worked in a prior other mixed use life science projects across the country?
How about in Philadelphia?
I would like to exhibit, point to exhibit 22 of our book, which is the resume for Robert
I would like to offer Mr. Voss as an expert in architecture.
Okay, fine.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Voss, could you explain your role of the project?
Yes, I am the project director.
and could you um please describe the site location i'm going to point to exhibit 10a
and there's two exhibits here if you want me to scroll down but could you please describe the
site sure the site is located in an area in west philadelphia that is bounded by 38th street and
39th street on the east and west sides and ludlow street and market street on the north and south
could you briefly describe the existing use of the project of the property
Yeah, the existing use is a surface parking lot.
And could you please describe the proposed project specifically in relation to the surrounding UC development?
Certainly. I believe there is a slide to reference.
Thank you very much.
I'm pointing to 10B, Your Honor.
Okay, proceed.
The project in which we are discussing is the Western Most Project within the U-City Master Plan, and it is a life sciences building that is built in conjunction with and in support of the additional life science projects that exist within this area of Philadelphia.
Mr. Voss, and what zoning district is this in?
CMX 4.
Okay, I'm pointing to exhibit 9 of the packet.
Okay. Is the property surrounded by other CMX4 properties, Mr. Voss?
Yes, it is.
Are you familiar with the requirements for CMX4 zoning district and other zoning districts?
Are you familiar with the requirements for CMX4 Zoning District and other zoning code requirements for the project?
Could you walk us through the plans on Exhibit 11 and specifically talking about the above ground parking garage and how it functions?
I'm going to go to Exhibit 11 right now. If you don't mind, just ask me which exhibits to point to while we're going through your testimony.
Sure. The image on the screen is an image showing the massing of the project, shows the scale of the project relative to the neighboring existing development.
I would point out that it is set back from 38th Street in recognition of the width of that street.
If you go to the next plan, Exhibit 11B, the ground floor of the building is multiple uses,
primarily retail with a public room and loading.
Where is the loading?
The loading is located off of Ludlow Street in the south side of the building.
And the garage?
The garage entrance is off of 39th Street, where the green arrow is pointing.
The garage enters off of 39th on a ramp and brings you up to five floors of parking.
And we have some renderings around the building to show you how that parking is enclosed with
the facade.
this is a naturally ventilated garage so the garage does have perforations around the perimeter
but they're perforations that obscure any visibility of the structure behind
and where the garage is not perforated it is enclosed with a more traditional facade of
terracotta and glass curtain wall you see some images here of the nighttime views
but the records show that we are showing exhibit 11d which are the project renderings
and this image here uh shown on exhibit 11d is showing the pattern of that facade
on the garage that is perforated
and elevations of those of those areas here thank you mr boss um does the property cmx
for zoning district require parking spaces for the proposed use no are there any limit or cap
on the number of parking spaces that one may provide no is your understanding this parking
garage will serve not only this property, but the larger U-City project and neighboring properties
as well? Yes. Aside from the need for a special exception for the above ground garage, does the
proposed project require any other special exception or variance relief from the zoning
board? No. In your professional opinion, Mr. Voss, would the grant of the request a special
exception in any way cause a detrimental impact on the health, safety, and welfare of the
neighborhood, exceeding that which you would normally expect from the proposed use? No. Okay.
Will it cause overcrowding of the land? No. Will it impair adequate supply of light and air to
adjacent properties? No. Will it burden water, sewer, school, park, or other public facilities?
no will impair or permanently injure the use of adjacent conforming properties no will endanger
the public health safety or welfare no okay i have no further questions for mr voss unless
the board has any questions uh anyone on the board have a question no mr chairman
okay everybody's now i have a question for mr voss proceed
mr voss so the actual parkings looks like a lot most of the interest is all if can you go back to