Concept for 25 story apartment building with retail and restaurants presented in West Conshohocken

During the January 9th meeting of West Conshohocken’s Borough Council there was a presentation from a developer that involved a 289′, 25-story mixed use building that would involve ground floor retail, several floors of parking, 258 apartments, and a rooftop restaurant. Adjacent to the building, a park would be constructed in what is now the parking lot for borough hall. The above rendering shows the view from the intersection of Front and Ford streets.

The developers involved are Michael Sloane and Chris Magarity, who own WestSide Bar & Grill and Catch 101 in West Conshohocken (along with Jasper’s Backyard in Conshohocken) and Plymouth Meeting-based Korman Properties (specifically the AVE brand). The properties are 17-37 Front Street, which is everything between the borough hall and William Street.

The purpose of the presentation was for the developer to seek feedback from the borough council and public to determine if it is realistic to move forward to seek approval. No application has been submitted.

_{This rendering shows borough’s hall’s parking lot transformed into a park with a circle driveway to serve the borough hall, retail, residences, and restaurants.}

Members of borough council expressed concerns regarding the height of the building and whether it aligns with the borough’s vision plan, specifically its vision for a town center. Members also expressed that they did like that it brought the opportunity for more retail/restaurants to the borough. There were also questions as to how the spaces within the parking garage portion of the building would be allocated between retail, residents, and the borough’s needs.

There were few members of the public there and those that were there were there for different issues before the council (which we will have articles on). A member of the George Clay Fire Company expressed concerns about the height of the building and the manpower and equipment needed to fight a fire

A few items about the proposal:

The buildings bulk decreases above the parking garage floors. The upper floors winnow to make the building look less imposing
The height is currently 289′. The height of the office building across Ford Street is approximately 221′. Zoning code currently allows up to 250′ on the river side of Ford Street
The apartments would be a mix of studios, one bedroom, and two bedrooms, that would be determined by what the market demands
The apartments would be priced for the high-end market
The borough hall property is owned by the borough and the developer’s proposal does not include acquiring it

If you read MoreThanTheCurve.com’s predictions for 2024, this was not where we thought a big apartment building would be proposed (we did think something we would proposed, but nothing this ambitious). However, our prediction wasn’t a wild guess, we believe there will be at least (possibly two) proposals for large apartment buildings on the West Conshohocken side of the river.

What happens now? The developer will likely revisit the plan with the feedback received in mind and make a second presentation in the future.

More to come.

Acknowledgement – Sloane and Magarity’s restaurants advertise on MoreThanTheCurve.com
Renderings – Provided by developer