9th and Berks Street TOD

Paseo Verde, built by Asociación de Puertorriqueños en Marcha (APM) and Jonathan Rose Companies, has transformed a 1.9-acre brownfield site into a vibrant mixed-use, transit-oriented development. Immediately adjacent to a busy regional rail station, the project is activating this North Philadelphia neighborhood with 120 units of affordable and market-rate workforce housing and over 30,000 square feet of commercial office space and ground-floor retail and community service space. Situated at the junction of the APM neighborhood and Temple University, the mixed-use site weaves the two neighborhoods together and creates a pedestrian-rich environment that both leverages and enhances the adjoining transit station. The residents are within walking distance of a wide variety of educational, cultural and recreational amenities and over 4,000 employment opportunities. A number of strategies were employed to create a high-quality pedestrian experience: Retail and commercial frontages pull forward to abut wide sidewalks with glass storefronts. Functional entries occur regularly on all street-facing facades. Residential entries are pulled back and marked with grade-level gardens that double as infiltration areas. At the primary pedestrian corner the building is setback to create a small public plaza. In addition to street trees and planting beds, parallel parking helps create a buffer between the sidewalk and the street. Buildings on the site include a LEED for Homes Midrise Platinum mixed-use building and a LEED for Homes Platinum townhouse building. Access to the 66 car parking lot and secure storage for 70 bikes, as well as all building services, is from a single driveway that is the only interruption of the pedestrian walkway. The at-grade parking and bike storage are tucked under the building and completely out of site. Paseo Verde was designed by WRT and Urban Engineers to incorporate blue roofs, green roof amenity spaces and pedestrian-level planting beds into a very aggressive stormwater management plan that complies with the very stringent requirements of the Philadelphia Water Department. A rooftop solar photovoltaic system provides a portion of the buildings electricity. High-performance building envelopes and high-efficiency mechanical systems, appliances and lighting are expected to reduce the building's’ energy use by 29 percent.