By Josh McKnight | The McKnight Team
Philadelphia City Council’s Rules Committee advanced a bill from Mayor Cherelle Parker that would allow more apartments in commercial areas zoned CMX-1, including homes on the ground floor. The full Council could vote as soon as November 12, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Two Council members plan to keep their districts out.
Philadelphia CMX-1 zoning mostly covers corner stores and small storefront buildings, where many lots allow only one apartment today. Councilmember Brian O’Neill of the 10th District in the Far Northeast and Councilmember Cindy Bass of the 8th District, which covers much of Northwest Philadelphia, are backing a separate bill that exempts their districts. Under councilmanic prerogative, the mayor has little room to fight it.
What the Bill Changes on a CMX-1 Lot
The bill lets larger CMX-1 buildings hold more apartments, depending on the size of the building. It also allows homes on the ground floor, which matters on blocks where storefronts sit empty. Paula Brumbelow Burns, director of legislation at the City Planning Commission, told the committee that a lot of vacant first-floor commercial space simply cannot be filled.
Estimates of how many homes it could add vary widely. The Parker administration first put the citywide number at 7,000 to 12,000 units. Build Philly Now, a group that pushes for more housing, estimated 17,018 citywide, with 5,863 in O’Neill’s district alone.
Philadelphia CMX-1 zoning is unusually common in the Far Northeast. In 2022, O’Neill rezoned much of the neighborhood commercial zoning in his district to CMX-1. By the Build Philly Now count, about a third of the possible new units citywide sit in his district, which is why his opt-out carries so much weight.
Who Gains Where the New Rule Applies
If you own a CMX-1 building in a district that stays in, your property may become more useful. A corner store with an empty first floor could turn into two or three rentable units. That can raise what an investor will pay for the building. Any conversion would still need permits and construction, so the change shows up block by block over several years.
If you are hunting for a first home on those blocks, you could see more small rentals and condo conversions over time. More units on the same street also means more cars looking for parking. Owners of the rowhomes next door feel that one first.
How Philadelphia CMX-1 Zoning Splits the Far Northeast
Somerton homes sold for a median of $419,900 from May through October 2026, per Bright MLS data in our Somerton market report. They went under contract in a median of eight days and sold for 98.4% of list price on average.
Our read: in a ZIP code where homes go under contract in about a week, supply is the whole story. If the Far Northeast opts out, its CMX-1 lots stay limited to what they hold today, which keeps a lid on new rental units along those corridors. How much that matters for existing rowhomes and twins is harder to say. It depends on the block and on how much would have been built under the new rule.
Councilmember Bass framed the exemption as community control and said she is wary of handing developers a large opening without community input. At-large Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson questioned why two districts can step out while areas with similar commercial zoning, like Wynnefield, cannot.
If You Own a Corner Property in Philadelphia
If you own a CMX-1 building outside the opt-out districts, look up your zoning on the city Atlas map before the vote and ask what your building could hold under the new rule. If you own in the Far Northeast or the Northwest, the exemption likely keeps the rules you have now. When Philadelphia CMX-1 zoning changes, the value of a corner lot changes with it, so get a fresh opinion of value before you list. If you are buying, watch the November 12 date, since a final vote sets the rules for the next round of listings on these corridors.
You can follow sales across the city in our Philadelphia County housing market report, and we can tell you what the change means for your block.
Thinking about buying or selling in Philadelphia? Let’s talk.
