Narberth Borough Council has approved the demolition of the vacant, 125-year-old Baptist Church of the Evangel on Elmwood Avenue to develop an 18-unit apartment building, writes Alison Burdo for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The new owner’s original plan for preserving the historical building and converting it into a mixed-use property required an amendment to the provision on converting older civic buildings to mixed use.

While the revised ordinance passed a council vote, concerns about the intrusion of commercial property into residential neighborhoods prompted Mayor Tom Grady to veto it.

However, thanks to recent changes in the borough’s zoning code, the owner was given another option. The revised plan is a three-story apartment building with 18 units and 10 parking spaces under the property, with an additional six parking spaces in an adjacent lot and two street slots.

The outline of this proposal was unanimously approved by the Narberth Borough Council last week. Surprisingly, despite previous community pushback on any redevelopment of the vacant church, there were no public objections at the meeting.

Read more about the plans in the Philadelphia Business Journal by clicking here.