Westrum Development Co.  has proposed plans for the development of an apartment complex on the site of 9 Presidential Blvd., which is a vacant office building in Bala Cynwyd.

The plans filed with Lower Merion have the developer razing the existing structure to make way for a four-story building that would have 173 apartments and two retail spaces, one totaling 2,205 square feet and another totaling 4,804 square feet. The two-story, 27,000-square-foot building at 9 Presidential is owned by Brandywine Realty Trust and had for sometime been marketed as a potential office development site, writes Natalie Kostelni in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

[uam_ad id=”54865″]

The apartment complex would be nestled among several office buildings in that submarket but residential development isn’t unusual along Presidential Boulevard. The project adds to a growing number of apartment projects underway or in the planning stages in Bala Cynwyd. Nolen Development and Roseland Development have projects off Monument Road that, combined, have a total of 490 apartments. O’Neill opened Royal Athena nearby, which has 600 units, and Federal Realty Investment Trust has proposed an 87-unit apartment complex at the Bala Cynwyd Shopping Center.

Despite the influx of new apartments in that area, Westrum believes the company’s “Luxor” design and brand is unique and well-positioned to compete with the other projects. The company completed a similar project in Norristown last year and was well-received, he said. As a result, Westrum is rolling out similar projects at various locations throughout the region.

[uam_ad id=”54875″]