Night Kitchen Bakery expansion plans OKed by LUPZ

Posted 7/11/18

by Brendan Sample

As the Night Kitchen Bakery moves forward with its addition and renovation plans, Amy Edelman and John Millard, owners of the property, will be doing so with the full approval …

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Night Kitchen Bakery expansion plans OKed by LUPZ

Posted

by Brendan Sample

As the Night Kitchen Bakery moves forward with its addition and renovation plans, Amy Edelman and John Millard, owners of the property, will be doing so with the full approval of the Chestnut Hill Community Association’s Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee.

The building plans were presented at the latest LUPZ meeting, where the Committee voted to support the motion as it stands.

The Night Kitchen’s occupies both 7723 and 7725 Germantown Ave. Edelman purchased the property at 7725 in 2000, which she now operates with Millard, her husband, and has a 20-year lease on the first floor of the 7723 property. Expansion plans affect both properties.

The expansions and renovations will see work done on all three floors of the building that houses the Night Kitchen. The first floor will see an upgrade and expansion to the baking kitchen, an expansion of the cake decorating studio and additional seating added to the cafe. Construction on the second and third floor will focus on rental apartment units, with two being added to the rear of the building.

After submitting their application to the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections, the owners were given a formal refusal on the basis that the building is part of the CMX-1 commercial district, from which any multi-family housing is prohibited. With multiple apartment units planned, the renovations would ultimately make the Night Kitchen’s building a multi-family unit.

LUPZ co-chair Larry McEwen, who is the architect for the project, presented the plans to the committee and said that the city’s zoning codes will be getting an update that would allow the plans to go forward. The Philadelphia City Planning Commission had recommended that the zoning area will become a CMX-2 district, which would allow for multi-family housing outright.

With the LUPZ’s support secured, the applicants will look to the next meeting of the Development Review Committee on Tuesday, July 17 for further discussion. After that, the committees will make their formal recommendation to the CHCA during the Board of Directors’ next meeting on Tuesday, July 26. Edelman and Millard are waiting on  a date for a hearing in front of the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment, as they have already submitted their appeal of the refusal.

The next Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee meeting is set for August 2 at 8 p.m. at the Chestnut Hill Hospital.

Brendan Sample can be reached at brendan@chestnuthilllocal.com

 

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