February 27, 2026
Provided Image/SEPTA
SEPTA awarded Korman Communities, Inc. and Benchmark Real Estate a contract to develop residential community at Ambler Station in Montgomery County. A rendering shows a concept for the project that will be built on a 3.4-acre parking lot at 35 West Butler Pike.
SEPTA has awarded a development contract that will bring a residential community to the parking lot at Ambler Station in Montgomery County.
SEPTA's board approved the contract for a 99-year ground lease that will go to Korman Communities, Inc. and Benchmark Real Estate to construct new homes and retail on the 3.4-acre space at 35 West Butler Pike. The development team will pay SEPTA a base of $402,500 annually with a 3% increase each year, bringing the total value of the contract to $236 million.
“SEPTA is committed to strict fiscal discipline and finding innovative ways to generate new revenue streams beyond the farebox,” SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said in a statement. “Building housing and commercial space near our stations will boost ridership and bring economic activity to the communities that SEPTA serves.”
Ambler Station serves SEPTA's Lansdale/Doylestown Line, which is its second-busiest behind the Paoli/Thorndale Line. Officials in Ambler began working with SEPTA in 2023 to tailor the request for proposals toward the borough's goals for the lot.
Korman Communities, based in Plymouth Meeting, owns other Montgomery County residences in King of Prussia and Blue Bell. It also has properties in Center City, the Navy Yard and Malvern in addition to residential communities across the United States and in London. Benchmark Real Estate owns a handful of apartment complexes in Philadelphia.
The developers will be responsible for financing, zoning, permitting, design, construction and maintenance of the project. SEPTA has final approval for plans to redevelop the lot.
SEPTA did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the timeline for the Ambler development.
The project is one of four SEPTA is pursuing to add homes near its properties.
Last year, SEPTA awarded a contract to Alterra Property Group to develop a 300-unit apartment complex at a former industrial lot near Conshohocken Station. That project also comes with a 99-year ground lease valued at $333 million over the life of the contract. SEPTA originally had planned to build a parking garage only that would serve as a "park-and-ride" option for commuters using the Manayunk/Norristown Line. That project was scrapped in favor of a housing component that will include 354 parking spaces.
SEPTA's other projects are planned on lots in Germantown and Langhorne, Bucks County. Germantown residents attended a meeting last year to weigh options for the planned mixed-use development, and SEPTA will hold a March 23 open house at Penndel Borough Hall to request feedback on the Langhorne project.
