Back in 2023, SEPTA was committed to building a $48 million parking garage with 528 spaces next to Conshohocken Station.
Now that parcel is slated for 300 apartments instead after an uprising by urbanist advocates who push for development oriented around transit.
“It feels like a win for SEPTA, a win for Conshohocken and a win for all the people who want to live in a community that’s really booming and walkable,” said Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija, also a member of SEPTA’s board.
Last year, SEPTA reached an agreement with Philadelphia-based Alterra, a builder of multifamily housing. The developer would pay $600,000 a year over 99 years to lease the land from the transit agency, with an annual 3% rent increase, for a total of $330 million.
But in 2022, the Borough Council had changed zoning rules to prohibit multifamily housing on the land. That means a zoning variance or new legislation would be required.
Conshohocken officials did not respond to requests for comment. Alterra said it had no updates at this time. But SEPTA and Makhija say the project is on track.
The developer has not yet applied for the borough’s permission to build, according to two people familiar with the matter.
SEPTA is ramping up its pursuit of public-private partnerships to build housing on underused land, including a deal in Ambler. It’s also working with municipalities around Langhorne Station in Bucks County, and community organizations around Germantown Station on possible future projects.
The Conshohocken deal was a SEPTA board initiative.
Initially, Conshohocken officials favored the garage, hoping it would help alleviate a chronic parking shortage in the borough. They opposed multifamily housing on the site.
The initial proposal from SEPTA and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation was meant to attract car commuters from I-76 to park in Conshohocken and then continue into the city by train. It also was to complement the borough’s new station, which opened in November 2023.
Colleen Leonard, then president of the borough council, blasted SEPTA’s “180-degree reversal” to build housing as “reactionary,” driven by negative public comments.
“The borough will not engage in any discussion regarding zoning amendments or variances that you would need to develop the property for multifamily residential in the future joint development scenario,” Leonard told the agency’s board at a June 2023 meeting.
Transit advocates argued the parking lot was too big, given post-pandemic declines in vehicle commutes and Regional Rail riders. Building it would have cost $117,000 for each space.
SEPTA’s board tabled contracts for the garage and asked staff to explore possible housing development. Board members also talked with Conshohocken officials and eventually won agreement to proceed.
Along with parking for residents, the apartment proposal would include 119 additional dedicated spaces for Regional Rail riders near the station, SEPTA says. The general public could use those spaces during off-hours, according to the plan.
The project advances Montgomery County’s goals to increase housing capacity amid a shortage and create walkable communities, said Makhija, the county commissioner.
“If you look at property values in Montgomery County over the years, they’ve gone up the most in areas where you have Main Streets and people have the ability to walk to school, commerce or transit,” he said.
Transit-oriented development enables the county to “expand the base of who’s able to live here,” Makhija said. “We want to address the housing crisis by allowing more construction.”