Part of the lot being considered for development as part of the Concept Area Plan. (Photo: Rasheed Z. Ajamu)
Local residents, community advocates, elected officials, and SEPTA employees filled the meeting room at Joseph E. Coleman Library on Tuesday evening to share their thoughts about development plans for a transit hub in the heart of the neighborhood.
The Germantown Station Area Concept Open House invited stakeholders to sound off on the possibilities for SEPTA’s Chelten Avenue properties, which include an underutilized Regional Rail station and a large vacant lot ripe for improvement.
How those improvements should unfold depends on who you ask. Shota Iwasaki, pastor of the Unification Family Church at Pulaski and Chelten Avenues, says curbing illegal dumping and beautification initiatives are top of mind for him and his congregation.
He’d love to see Germantown replicate green spaces like those seen in Center City.
“A beautiful rail park where local residents bring their children and come to the park, and it becomes a beautiful safe playground. That way, I think it creates a more secure area, that promotes safety, security, and hopefully reduce the amount of gun violence,” Iwasaki said.
SEPTA lined the room with easels holding giant notepads for attendees to write down what they wanted to see, but Chuck Squire, who lives on McCallum Street, left the pads blank. He said he feels like the plans are too light on key details to offer any meaningful insight.
“I see a lot of schematics…nobody’s got any real hard thing about who the developer is and so forth and so on. Just that we ought to do something, that’s all I see,” Squire said.
Katie Squire said that while she sees the advantages of new housing next to a train station, the focus should be on changes to the station itself, with less attention devoted to more buildings.
“You got all those steps, and it’s not handicapped accessible at all, and neither is the other Chelten Avenue station. There’s so much apartment stuff going up, and I’m not sure…it’s like an overkill,” she said.
Others, like GUCDC Business Development and Clean Corridor Manager Matt George, see mixed-use development as a great way to activate the space. Still, he appreciates the opportunity for all perspectives to be heard.
“Doing this in a public setting is the right way to do it and having the right input from the people that live and work here.”
Written feedback left on the giant notepads also asked SEPTA to consider public art initiatives, grocery stores, childcare centers, a bike share station, and a coffee shop, among other ideas. State Representative Andre Carroll said his job is always to listen to his constituents’ concerns, though he wants to ensure youth are considered in the equation.
He said, “Safe spaces for young people is always going to be a top priority for me, so if we can find a way to incorporate some kind of rec center or some kind of space where young people get a chance to come be themselves, I would love to see that as well.”
SEPTA’s timeline for the Germantown Station Area Concept proposes that land entitlements be completed this year, and a developer selected sometime in 2026. Project refinement would take place in 2026 and 2027, followed by permitting and construction.
The full Area Concept plan can be viewed on SEPTA’s website. Questions can be directed to planning@septa.org.