June 10, 2016
The building at 4529 Baltimore Avenue that used to host Tony’s “Just For Men” Barber Shop has recently been listed for sale for $415,000. The 1,760 square feet property includes a ground-floor commercial space, a partially finished basement, and two apartments (a large two-bedroom with a deck and a studio on the ground floor behind the commercial space). It is zoned CMX-2 (Commercial/Commercial Mixed-Use).
The property was for sale in 2013, shortly after the original business owner, Tony Rodriguez’s, passing. Then it was listed for $285,000 but was taken off the market a month later. It appears that Rodriguez’s family kept the business running for a few more years.
The property is listed by MPN Realty, a company that often handles properties in this section of Baltimore Ave.
LoopNet.com, which is also listing the property, provides the following description of Baltimore Avenue:
“The face of Baltimore Avenue has changed dramatically in the last year alone from unstable mom and pop businesses to more professional successful operations. In the last year alone, The Nesting House, Jinxed, Renata’ s Kitchen (formerly Café Renata) and Loco Pez have opened or are in the process of opening businesses in Spruce Hill.”
April 13, 2016
USciences unveiled plans to build a large dormitory on the site of the former Alexander Wilson School at a public meeting last month.
UPDATE (April 14, 2016): After reading this post, SHCA zoning chair Barry Grossbach wrote to clarify the new boundaries. He wrote:
“Read your description of our proposed boundary expansion and it might be a bit misleading. It suggests that we are expanding into neighborhoods south of Woodland Avenue. To the contrary, we specifically said that we did NOT want to encroach on West Shore, and that our concern was to have some say on development on the south side of Woodland Avenue. There are specific criteria that City Planning has to use in drawing RCO boundaries, so they followed the procedure that imposes the most minimal intrusion into any residential area ( a block or two adjacent to USciences campus). Almost all of what would be designated as West Shore is NOT included in this proposed expansion.”
The Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) passed a resolution on Tuesday night that extends its jurisdiction as a “registered community organization” (RCO) to the neighborhoods south of Woodland Avenue. That means it now will likely weigh in on important zoning issues along Woodland, including the University of the Sciences’ plans to build a large dormitory complex on the site of the former Alexander Wilson school at 46th and Woodland.
RCOs are in place around Philadelphia to facilitate public debate over proposed development and while their recommendations are not binding, they are considered during Zoning Board of Adjustment hearings.
SHCA zoning chair Barry Grossbach told the organization’s board last night that the city’s Planning Commission supports the boundary extension. The commission will have to approve the resolution.
SHCA’s boundaries as an RCO, which had previously stopped at the northern side of Woodland Avenue, will extend south to the train tracks south of the USciences’ campus. USciences plans to construct several buildings over the next decade or so and it has been unclear which RCOs would consider the proposals.
– Mike Lyons
April 6, 2016
“Walnut 32,” the parking garage on Penn’s campus at 3201 Walnut, is one of the winners of this year’s Preservation Achievement Awards. Others include the Penn Museum (below) and the Hamilton Mansion at The Woodlands (far below). Photos provided by the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.
Three West Philly buildings, including the Penn Museum, the Hamilton Mansion at The Woodlands and a parking garage, are among the winners of this year’s Preservation Achievement Awards.
Built in 1770 (and rebuilt since), the Hamilton Mansion is the centerpiece of The Woodlands’ grounds. The preservation award is for the restoration of the cryptoporticus, an underground passageway on the front of the building, and north terrace. Penn Museum’s award is for the renovation of the building’s west wing, which began in 2010.
Perhaps most intriguing is the award to the parking garage called “Walnut 32.” It’s safe to say that parking garages typically draw few fans of architecture. But there is something about Walnut 32 that is appealing. At least the architects tried in 1963 to make interesting what is a necessary evil and typically a blotch on the architectural landscape. Even the folks at Hidden City Philadelphia really like it, writing that “it may not be a beautiful building, but it does reveal its structure in a striking and elegant way.” Continue Reading
April 6, 2016
UPDATE (April 8, 2016): Parked cars were removed and a few dividers were put today on the street near the construction site, as we assume to provide a path for pedestrians:
Those of you who live or pass by the area of 42nd and Chester probably have been wondering what’s happening with the new apartment building on the southeast corner. The construction of the three-story, six-unit building at 4128 Chester Ave. was supposed to have been completed last summer. All its units were leased, with move-in dates in August 2015.
But the construction stalled months ago. The site has looked abandoned for a while, looking “hideous and dispiriting,” according to Spruce Hill Community Association zoning chair Barry Grossbach.
The unfinished building is now for sale for $1.75 million, according to a listing on Realtor.com. The building sits on a 2,6140-square-foot lot and includes overall 16 bedrooms and eight full baths, according to the listing. The location makes it “desirable student housing.” The listing also states that construction of the building is currently being completed. Continue Reading
March 21, 2016
Photos West Philly Local
Editor’s Note: After this story was printed, Spruce Hill Community Association’s zoning chair Barry Grossbach said that they “begged the owners of 243 [S. 45th St.] not to take the building down. My impression is that they are building a multi-unit structure.”
Developers continue to buy properties and land around Penn and Drexel and turn them into apartments buildings mostly aimed at students. The photo above is from a new project at 41st and Ludlow. Ludlow Brothers LLC purchased a single family home at that location in 2014 and demolished it to make room for a four-story apartment building.
Another Spruce Hill development project, luxury apartments on S. 45th Street between Spruce and Locust, has been completed. As was reported earlier, an old West Philly row home at 245 S. 45th St. was demolished to make room for the new four-story 15-unit building. However, we recently noticed that another old row home, right next door to the new apartment building was also being torn down:
It’s not clear yet what is coming in its place. The 5-bedroom home at 243 S. 45th St. was sold last summer for $399,000 to developer South Fortyfive 243 LLC, according to property records.
March 8, 2016
Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell was at a building site at the corner of Farragut and Sansom this morning as a modular apartment building was being dropped into place.
Another pre-fab, modular apartment building is going up along Sansom Street. This one is behind the Sunoco at Sansom and Farragut.
Even Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell was on hand when they started dropping the pieces in place on Tuesday morning.
The building’s units were dropped in one by one by a crane parked along Farragut Street. Continue Reading
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