Planned Low-Rise Apartment Complex for Southwest Philadelphia Moves Forward
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A massive apartment complex slated for Southwest Philadelphia got an initial okay today in a City Council committee.
But in the face of some community opposition, approval is by no means certain.
The Korman Company is proposing a $102-million development in the Eastwick section of Southwest Philadelphia, near the Heinz Wildlife Refuge.
The current plans call for 51 two-story buildings built in four phases, for a total of 722 apartments, placed on what is now unused land controlled by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority.
At the hearing, Korman attorney Peter Kelsen tried to minimize one big concern -- traffic:
"If you look at how much traffic would actually be generated by this development when it's fully built out, and the impact of that traffic, I think you're going to find it is really fairly insignificant," he said.
Korman also needs a zoning change, which will be debated in Council's rules committee on June 12th. And 2nd District councilman Kenyatta Johnson, whose district includes Eastwick, made clear that he won't move the zoning bill out of committee until he is satisfied that community concerns -- including traffic -- have been addressed.
Kelsen says if approved, construction would begin in the summer of 2013, with completion of all four phases by 2018.
