51 Intriguing Units Planned for Former Rite Aid in Queen Village

The pharmacy at E. Passyunk & Fitzwater receives zoning permits for a four-story, mixed-use future from a familiar team

Sometimes, we get a heavy dose of Déjà vu when diving into our background research on a given property. When we saw an intriguing update on 704 E. Passyunk Ave., a former Rite Aid that closed recently in Queen Village, we weren’t immediately struck by this feeling. Sitting immediately next to Sweat Fitness, down the block from the venerable Philly AIDS Thrift, and sharing a wall with the lovely Bickering Birds mural by Evan Lovett, it took some further digging before we were hit by just how familiar a development story this was.

An aerial of 704 E. Passyunk, the site of a now closed Rite Aid and its sizable surface parking lot

A look at the property from 5th & E. Passyunk

An older view of the parking lot from Fitzwater & E. Passyunk

A closer look at the Bickering Birds mural on the west side of the parking lot (Image courtesy of elovettart.com)

Rite Aid has been in a bit of a pickle recently, filing for bankruptcy and selling several of their local properties over the last year. So, we weren’t totally surprised when we saw a zoning permit for this parcel pop on our radar just yesterday. These plans call for 51 units to go up across four floors, with one vacant commercial space at the corner and one commercial space already earmarked for a proposed daycare. There aren’t many details beyond that, except for the current parking lot to be incorporated into the footprint, with space for 13 cars and underground storage for 17 bicycles. Additionally, there will be outdoor space for a play area along with additional exterior space from several balconies and what looks to be a rooftop deck.

A look at the site plan, with parking accessed from garage doors along Fitzwater St. and a play area along the back of the building

A look at the proposed elevations, with the no curb cuts along E. Passyunk (bottom), but some seemingly large ones along Fitzwater (top)

Again, we have no confirmation as to what the finishes will be here, but we can hopefully take a decent guess. When looking more closely at the permit, both the developer (Yoav Shiffman) and the architect (Assimilation Design Lab) are the same as yet another former Rite Aid that’s being developed at 20th & Fairmount. Could this perhaps give us some insights as to what we can expect here?

A seemingly similar approach is being taken by the same design/development team at another former Rite Aid/parking lot at 20th & Fairmount

Honestly, we aren’t too certain if we’ll see similar finishes here, as there are some stark differences between the two properties that cause us some concern. First, the 28-unit, mixed-use proposal at 20th & Fairmount falls within a historic district, meaning the Historical Commission has jurisdiction over the design and materials to be used; this is not the case in Queen Village. It should be noted that the new zoning permit appears to show brick/brick veneer on the upper floors, though this is not binding moving ahead.

Second, and perhaps more concerning, the developers have not presented plans to the local Registered Community Organization (RCO), the Queen Village Neighbors Association (QVNA). Typically, projects over 50 units that sit in a residential area would need to be presented to the local RCO before a trip to Civic Design Review (CDR) for non-binding design feedback. However, it seems as if the developers may be using a bit of a loophole to avoid this additional layer of scrutiny: per the official Civic Design Review triggers, only new dwelling units are included in that 50-unit count, with any units within an existing structure to be excluded from the count. Per the zoning document, only partial demolition of the existing structure is taking place, meaning that if a portion of the old structure is reutilized, it would seemingly allow the units within that footprint to be excluded from the 50-unit threshold and therefore not trigger community/CDR review. Intriguing!

With this project otherwise proceeding by-right, this means no zoning relief was sought either, avoiding a presentation to the QVNA prior to a trip to the Zoning Board of Adjustments (ZBA). So, with zoning permits now in hand, it seems as though the developers can proceed once they procure demolition approval while skirting the public meetings that would typically be required for a project of this size. We hope that this approach is just to limit the administrative requirements of this project and isn’t being done to avoid sub-par designs/materials being reviewed by the typical governing bodies. Either way, it seems as if we could see a new, mixed-use project rise at this prominent spot sometime in the near future; fingers crossed that whatever does go up is worthy of the neighborhood and its wonderful architectural history.