The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has issued a request for information (RFI) to gather market insight on a transit-oriented development at its Germantown Station. The goal of the RFI is to finalize a future request for proposals (RFP) for the site, which sits at about 1.4 acres.
Germantown Station is located on the Chestnut Hill East Regional Rail Line about 6 miles north of Center City Philadelphia, within historic Germantown. The station serves as an entry point to the Central Germantown Business District, with the vacant parcel in question running along the rail line.
SEPTA, along with community members, envisions a mixed-use building with ground-floor commercial space, upper-floor apartments, improved station access and various public amenities. These include usable open space, streetscape improvements and stormwater management systems.
The RFI lays out several physical conditions respondents must also design around. Some are firm constraints tied to SEPTA’s operations, while others are encouraged rather than required:
- Bikeshare integration: An Indego bikeshare station is planned for the sidewalk in front of the station entrance and should be incorporated into any proposal.
- Setback requirement: Proposals must maintain a minimum 12-foot setback from SEPTA station buildings, facilities and retaining walls along the rail right of way.
- Stormwater management: The site currently has no stormwater management, which must be addressed in any redevelopment proposal.
- Sustainable design: SEPTA encourages green infrastructure and energy-efficiency measures, pointing applicants to Energy Star design guidelines and green building certifications.
The primary parcel is zoned as CA-1, auto-oriented commercial. SEPTA and the City of Philadelphia proposed changing it to CMX-3, commercial mixed-use, in 2025. That change remains under consideration while SEPTA gathers RFI input.
Affordability sits at the heart of the RFI. SEPTA and local stakeholders want a share of the new units set aside for lower-income households, though the agency acknowledges that reaching deeper affordability goals could call for public subsidy or specialized financing. Rather than dictate terms, SEPTA is asking respondents what is realistic in today’s market and how affordability might be weighed against density and overall feasibility.
Respondents must include the main property, 120-128 East Chelten Avenue, but may optionally address other SEPTA properties as well. These include former East Armat Street rail bridges, 5547 Lena Street and portions of 5510-18 Bayton Street, totaling about 0.817 acres.
Planning documents have imagined reusing the inactive bridges as an elevated green connection, comparable to a rail park.
SEPTA frames the RFI as a way to grow non-farebox revenue and make better use of its real estate assets. The effort continues SEPTA’s Transit Oriented Communities program, which includes similar mixed-use construction concepts in various stages of development.
RFI responses are due by July 10.
Photo by Mrmanager411, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
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