Spotted in the Italian Market: 9th and Washington Project Inches Forward

Zoom in just a tad and you’ll recognize the spot: The Anastasi Seafood restaurant, nestled between 9th and Darien Streets, looks out to whirring Washington Avenue, all the while the plot of land to its rear and its adjacent parking lot sit quietly amid the hustle and bustle.

It’s a familiar scene, right? Well, get ready for that to potentially change if the site owners’ plans go accordingly, which so far seems to be the case.

Here is a look at the conceptual designs.

As we told you this past August, Midwood Investment & Development is looking to build a 5-story mixed-use building at the 32,000-square-foot site. The new building, designed by Morris Adjmi, would come with 70 market-rate apartments, two levels of underground parking, plus an estimated 18,000 square feet in retail space slated to house local retailers, as opposed to a big chain. (It’s “the anti-Cheescake [Factory] project,” Midwood President John Usdan told the crowd that month to ease their worries (one of the company’s past projects was the new Cheesecake Factory at 15th and Walnut).

Now, PlanPhilly’s Jared Brey has announced the most recent news regarding the project:

The Planning Commission voted on Tuesday to recommend a bill that would allow a 70-unit apartment complex to rise at 9th Street and Washington Avenue in the Italian Market.

….

The developers, Midwood Investment & Development, are planning to hold another meeting with the community group before the bill goes to a committee hearing in City Council, probably sometime next month.

According to Brey, the bill calls for the site to be zoned CMX-3 (currently, the property is zoned CMX-2). Midwood says it will try to bring in Anastasi Seafood as one of the tenants in the proposed building.

• Planning Commission approves rezoning for Italian Market apartment project [PlanPhilly]
• Previous coverage on Midwood Investment & Development [Property]