Developer seeking approval for apartment community at 400 West Elm Street in Conshohocken

Last night Conshohocken’s Zoning Hearing Board voted 3-0 to provide Corson Street Acquisitions, LP two variances for a proposed apartment community at 400 West Elm Street in Conshohocken. The two variances involve the bulk of the building and the flood plain.

The apartment community would consist of a 13-story building with 352 units. There would also be a two-story parking garage with 189 spaces and 248 surface parking spaces.

The developer has been attempting to redevelop this vacant property since 2014. It was originally approved to be an apartment community and then later was approved to be an office building. During the hearing, a representative of the developer stated that AmerisourceBergen and Hamilton Lane’s selection of SORA West and Seven Tower Bridge for their headquarters over 400 West Elm drove the decision to revisit apartments.

A view of the proposed apartment community from the river.

The project is not yet fully approved. It will need to go before the Planning Commission to seek its recommendation for a conditional use application. Multi-family housing is allowed within the zoning district (Special Planning District 3) by conditional use. The Planning Commission vote will be a non-binding recommendation to Borough Council to grant or not grant the conditional use. Borough Council will then make a final determination.

The apartment community would be the third apartment community and the fourth multi-family community within this area of Conshohocken (Special Zoning District 3). LCOR is currently constructing a 304-unit apartment community at 51 Washington and High Street Residential is projecting to complete construction of the 280-unit Matson Mill apartment community at 101 Washington Street in 2022. The Grande, a multi-building condominium community, opened more than a decade ago.

More to come.