Great news for West Philly artist James Dupree and his supporters: After two years of fighting the authorities to save his 8,646-square-foot art studio near 36th and Haverford from being destroyed to build a supermarket, the artist announced victory yesterday.

We won. We are getting the deed back. Thank you to everyone who supported us. #JamesDupree will have a public comment coming soon. Victory!

— dupree studios (@SaveDupree) December 11, 2014

James Dupree (Photos from SaveDupreeStudios.org)

Dupree purchased an auto repair shop at 3617-21 Haverford Ave in 2005 and turned it into a sprawling art space, known as Dupree Studios, but the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority seized and condemned the property along with other properties in a two-block area in December 2012 as part of efforts to revitalize the Mantua neighborhood. Since then 64-year-old Dupree has been fighting the plans of turning the lot into a grocery store with a parking lot through legal appeals and public campaigns. The PRA has finally ended the proceedings to condemn the property, which includes art studios, classrooms, and even three “quirky” apartments.