Philadelphia's zoning bonuses are doing exactly what they were designed to do on one South Philly block.
Permits have been issued for a four-story, 63-unit residential building at 1015 S. 3rd St. in Queen Village, Philadelphia YIMBY reported on Oct. 9. The building will have 50,615 square feet of floor area above a basement, plus a shared roof deck, a green roof and parking for 21 bicycles.
Summer Corner LLC is the listed owner. Harman Deutsch Ohler Architecture is the architect, and WYD Construction LLC is listed as the contractor.
How 36 units became 63
This is where the story gets interesting for anyone who follows city zoning.
The property is zoned RM-1, a residential multifamily district. According to the plans, 36 units are allowed by right. The project picks up 18 more units through the city's mixed-income housing bonus and nine more through the green roof density bonus. Seven of the units will be affordable under the mixed-income rules.
The mixed-income bonus also lets the building reach 45 feet, seven feet above the base height limit of 38 feet. The plans provide 26% open area, including two irregularly shaped rear yards.
In plain terms, the developer agreed to include affordable units and put a green roof on top, and in exchange the city allowed 27 more apartments than the base zoning would. That's a big jump on a single lot, and it's the kind of trade city planners hoped developers would make when they set up the bonuses.
For builders, more units on the same lot means more of everything: more kitchens, more bathrooms, more fixtures, more doors and more mechanical runs, all packed into the same footprint. It also means more coordination on a tight city site where staging space is scarce and neighbors are close.
The project is also a little smaller than it started. According to Philadelphia YIMBY, the current plan has five fewer units than an earlier version.
What's in the plans
The roof deck will sit near the center of the building, with two enclosed pilot houses for access. The second through fourth floors will have recessed balconies.
The landscape plan calls for three trees in the yard and more along the site's edges, using Kousa dogwood, Eastern red cedar, Hollywood juniper and Inkberry holly. Fencing will run along the rear yards where needed.
For residents, transit is close by. The Route 57 bus stops at the nearby Washington Avenue and 3rd Street intersection, providing north-south service.
The permit lists construction costs of $3.5 million: $3 million for general construction and $500,000 for mechanical work. Contractors will recognize that permit cost figures often don't reflect what a building will actually cost to finish, so take that number as what's on the paperwork rather than a full budget. Philadelphia YIMBY doesn't give a construction start date or completion timeline.
Queen Village is one of the city's older neighborhoods, with tight streets and a lot of rowhomes, so a four-story, 63-unit building is a big addition. Mixed-income buildings like this one are part of how Philadelphia is trying to add homes, including some affordable ones, without spending public money directly on every unit. The bonuses let the private market carry more of the load.
Green roofs aren't just a zoning trick, either. They cut stormwater runoff, help keep the building cooler in summer and can extend the life of the roof membrane underneath. In a city that is serious about managing stormwater, that matters.
Why it matters for Contractors
This is a permitted job with a named contractor, so the subcontracting work is likely close at hand. WYD Construction will need help with excavation for the basement, concrete, framing, roofing, MEP, balconies, finishes and site work. The green roof and roof deck call for specialized waterproofing, drainage and roofing skills, and the landscaping plan lays out exactly what's going in the ground. If you work in South Philadelphia, reach out to WYD Construction about bid packages. More broadly, this project shows how Philadelphia's density bonuses are shaping new buildings. Mixed-income units and green roofs mean more units per lot and more specialized work per project. Contractors who understand how these bonuses work, and who can build green roofs well, will have an edge as more developers use them.