Haverford Square Properties wants to transform an industrial stretch of Lancaster Avenue into a residential and small-business hub, with 420 apartments and more than 30,000 square feet of commercial space across three projects.
The ambitious plan would unfold between 50th and 52nd Street, with the 215-unit Cathedral Yards at 5140 Lancaster Ave. to the northwest and the 160-unit Lancaster Yards to the southeast at 5022-32 Lancaster Ave. Cathedral Yards would take the place of the Greater Bible Way Temple, a church that burned down in 2019.
The two complexes would comprise four connected six-story buildings, with roof decks and commercial space on the ground floors. A smaller building at 5100 Lancaster Ave. would include 45 mostly two-bedroom apartments, and Haverford Square’s headquarters.
On Tuesday, the Cathedral Park Community Development Association held a meeting about the project. Attendees shared a variety of concerns, but the chief issue was parking. The project has 65 parking spaces for more than 400 units.
“That building is gorgeous, but it has an issue and that issue is parking,” said Kim Fuller, a neighborhood leader. Haverford Square noted that because the project sits directly on a trolley line, and enjoys frequent bus service, parking is less necessary.
Rents will be kept relatively low for new construction, with a one-bedroom unit priced under $1,650 and two-bedroom units under $1,900. Sixty percent of the 420 units will be one-bedrooms, and the rest two-bedrooms.
Haverford Square will offer “workforce rents for, like, a SEPTA driver or city worker,” said German Yakubov, president of the development group.
“[Households] making between 12 and 16 bucks an hour that have two incomes can easily afford a brand new apartment with amenities that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford in Center City or Northern Liberties,” he said.
Permanent homes for food trucks?
Haverford Square began in 2008, first building in Mantua, and concentrating on West Philadelphia neighborhoods like Belmont and Parkside.
“We’re able to control a lot of the costs,” said Yakubov, because Haverford Square has its own construction company and in-house architecture. “And because we’re able to build in other places, we’re able to negotiate better pricing for a lot of our material.”
For this project, low rents are also manageable because the company purchased the land for the three properties for $4.5 million, relatively cheap.
Ten percent of the apartments in Lancaster Yards and Cathedral Yards will have affordable rents as part of Philadelphia’s Mixed Income Housing Bonus program, which allows developers to build denser projects than zoning would typically allow — as long as they include affordable units.
Those 42 units will be available to people making less than 50% of area median income, or under $42,000 a year for a one-person household.
Yakubov says the commercial space is key to the project, and Haverford Square plans to seek small businesses in the neighborhood, such as food truck operators who want to move into a brick-and-mortar space.
“We’re really targeting businesses that have a following already, but don’t have the financial means to open up a brick-and-mortar location,” said Yakubov.
“We don’t anticipate opening any bars. We’re not going to have any places to serve alcohol or smoke shops or sell cigarettes or anything that would be a negative impact to the neighborhood,” he said.
Parking wars
At a Tuesday evening meeting, residents pushed back on the project, some saying the proposed buildings were too tall and others sharing fears of displacement.
But the most significant and frequent feedback was about parking.
Haverford Square proposed 65 parking spaces at Cathedral Yards, and none at Lancaster Yards, highlighting nearby bus and trolley routes.
“Please take it into consideration to eliminate that bottom row [of the building] and put parking in. Parking is so important,” said Fuller, an employee of Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr., who represents the area.
Audible groans rang out when Yakubov noted that many of his company’s tenants do not own cars — partly because they often have rental vouchers that are reserved for lower-income residents.
“No one bought it,” said Mark Harris, of the Cathedral Park Community Development Association, in an email following the meeting.
At the end of the meeting, 21 attendees voted to oppose the project before the zoning board, while four were in support. Comments on Zoom were more supportive of Haverford Square’s plans, compared with the in-person attendees.
Yakubov said on Tuesday that he would consider adding more parking in place of some commercial space.
Zoning approvals
Neighborhood support could be important for Haverford Square’s plans. Although the Philadelphia-based developer already owns the three properties on Lancaster Avenue, they need permission from the Zoning Board of Adjustment to move forward on this project. The board takes community feedback into consideration.
As currently proposed, the project exceeds the allowed number of units and is taller than existing land-use regulations allow.
Yakubov says additional height is needed to accommodate commercial space with high ceilings.
He argues that the zoning board has recently given other projects permission to build above height limits along Lancaster Avenue, so he is optimistic.
Although the Haverford Square project does not have many immediate residential neighbors, the nearby One Art Community Center is critical of the developer’s plans. The nonprofit organization sought to buy the Greater Bible Way Temple property to expand their services.
Greater Bible Way Temple sold to Haverford Square properties instead. In advance of Tuesday’s meeting, One Art sent an email to its supporters criticizing Yakubov.
“We’re concerned about the increased traffic. … We have questions around the increased pollution and parking issues, sanitation issues, and the rise of the cost of living for the current residents,” said Malaika Gilpin, co-director of One Art, at the Tuesday night meeting.
In response to the group’s concerns, Yakubov suggested bringing One Art programming into the commercial space in the proposed project.
Yakubov said zoning board support is not essential to the project. If the project does not get approval, Haverford Square will move forward with a smaller version of the project without commercial space.
“If for whatever reason the wheels fall off and we’re not able to get zoning relief, we’re ready to proceed,” said Yakubov. But, he added, “I think that the commercial component it would be a huge boost to the community and to the city.”
Editor’s note: This story has been edited to update the number of units in the proposed development.
