Woods Brothers Building Materials, formerly located at 2621 Frankford Ave, has a special place in my heart.

I worked as a mason for many years. Because our shop was in Port Richmond and many of our clients were in South Philly, Woods Bros. was the perfect place to pick up a ton of yellow bar sand or as many bricks and portland cement as the shocks on my worn-down pick up could handle.

The time my boss spent inside talking to the always friendly clerks provided me a few precious minutes to sleep off the few-too-many City Wide Specials I had imbibed the previous night, just before hoisting 100-lb bags of sand onto the back of the truck. It was a rest stop of sorts for me in those early morning hours, but in the grander scheme of things, Woods Bros. was supplying our company, and many others like us, with the tools and materials to rebuild Philadelphia, literally.

The loss of this business didn’t just force local contractors to look to other suppliers and big-box stores for building materials — the lot where Woods Bros. once stored their stone and masonry supplies has left a vacant lot near the busy intersection of Frankford and Lehigh Avenues. As development continues to creep up Frankford Avenue, developers are beginning to smell opportunity along the Lehigh Avenue corridor. This particular lot now has the potential to contain one of the largest developments that this section of Philadelphia has seen to date.

On April 13th, a large crowd of residents and representatives from the developers of the project packed the Circle of Hope (2007 Frankford Ave.) to hear details of the proposed building construction and allow neighbors to voice their concerns over the project. The development is being called “Woods Square” as a homage to the company that used to stand there for years.

The developer is proposing building three, four-story apartment buildings on the lot that is currently zoned for industrial use. The complex will include a whopping 178 units of housing and 20,000 square feet of retail space. The first floor is slated to have businesses, however Kevin Greenberg, the lawyer representing the developer, admits they are going into this project expecting a loss on the commercial properties.

“Realistically, I don’t think we’re going to have 12 businesses. I suspect we’ll have eight or nine, but were building it in a modular way so that if we have a restaurant that needs 4500 square feet and wants to be here, we can do that,” Greenberg said

He added: “Frankford Avenue does not support commercial rents — up there it does not support commercial rents consistent with building a new building — but we know we need to energize Frankford Avenue, connect it and develop it to make this neighborhood be what [residents] would want it to be.”

The development will also include some public green space around the commercial areas, as well as private green space for those who take residence in the Woods Square complex. The plan is similar to that of the Piazza at Schmidt’s in Northern Liberties, but on a smaller scale.

The developer of the project sought several zoning variances: The property was not zoned for commercial or residential; it did not have the proper number of bicycle spaces, 60, properly shown on the plan; the zoning also called for each unit to have a backyard, which is not possible given the type of housing; and the developer sought to change the required amount of spaces due to proximity to public transit.

The issue that drew most discussion, unsurprisingly, was parking — something that residents of Fishtown and Northern Liberties already know so well. Residents expressed their concerns about what Greenberg describes as a 20-30 parking spot deficit for what City Code requires. This prompted some residents to ask Greenberg, “Where am I going to park?”

The argument of the developer is that the building’s proximity to the Market-Frankford Line’s Huntingdon Station should allow for the apartment/commercial complex to require less parking spots since people living there will likely use public transit.

Another concern is that even though the developers may cover the legal amount of parking spaces, if the businesses are successful, they will draw outside patrons who will take up spaces that aren’t being accounted for.

Despite the protests from the neighborhood, Greenberg says that this project will ultimately benefit the community.

“When we look at the 2035 plan that NKCDC, EKNA and the Planning Commission just put through, the definite desire is for something that is non-industrial here. There’s recognition that Frankford Avenue has changed, that the community has changed, and there’s specific language about encouraging commercial development along Frankford Avenue. We’ve tried to embrace that,” Greenberg said.

The vote ultimately passed, 69-30, and a letter reflecting this decision will be written to the City’s Zoning Board of Adjustments stating the neighborhood’s approval of the required variances.