Crews today were wrapping up the demolition of a cluster of two-story buildings that housed apartments and a couple of small businesses next to the 46th Street El stop.

The demolition has been licensed by the city, but so far there is no word on what, if anything, will be built on the site. New York Fried Chicken and a Donuts Plus were located in the building. The demolition leaves the west side of S. Farragut between Market and Ludlow streets vacant.

By the way, if you are wondering about construction or demolition work near your home, the City’s Department of Licenses and Inspections has a fairly robust property search feature on its website. Just enter the address of the property in question into the “Property History” search window and it will (usually) show you any licenses, permits or violations associated with the property.

The view from Farragut Street toward the EL stop at 46th Street as a crew wraps up the demolition.

The view (via Google Street View) of the intersection before the demolition.

We came across this little guy while walking north on 46th Street near the intersection with Hazel at about 11:45 a.m. today. He’s small – about the size of your hand – and he has some blood on his nose. He was very scared, was clinging to our shoes and crawled up into our hands. A dead adult squirrel was lying nearby, which we assume was a relative of his.

We left him there because we weren’t sure how our pets would react. If anyone has any ideas about what to do with an orphaned squirrel can probably find him on the east side of 46th Street. He’s not shy and will walk right up to you.

Teddy bears and candles remain near the spot where Zykia Sanders was killed early Saturday. (Photo by Mike Lyons)

Police are offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who murdered 22-year-old student Zykia Sanders early Saturday morning at the West Park Apartments near 44th and Market streets.

Sanders was leaving a party with a small group of people at a high-rise building when two people in a four-door sedan fired at the crowd. A bullet struck Sanders in the back as she ran from the shooter.

Police believe Sanders, who lived at West Park with her grandmother, was not the intended target of the shooting. She was a student at The University of Phoenix and planned to graduate in June.

Police are urging anyone with information to call  215-686-3334 or 3335.

Zykia Sanders.

Philly.com has reported that a middle-aged woman was abducted along the 5000 block of Irving Street, taken to an unidentified and sexually assaulted. Police have confirmed the report.

Police said the woman is 48 years old and was abducted at about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. She was released after the sexual assault.

View Abduction and assault in a larger map

A small section of the new mural near 42nd and Woodland depicts a soccer game in the Clark Park bowl. The mural, “Communion Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” illustrates the transition returning vets are making.

West Philly’s newest mural is a tribute to returning vets and a depiction of their journey from the war zone to a life back home.

Flanking a parking lot near 42nd and Woodland, the mural also contains verse from members of the Warrior Writers group, a non-profit that helps veterans convey their experiences through artistic expression. Phillip Adams and Willis Humphrey designed and installed the mural, which is entitled “Communion Between a Rock and a Hard Place.”

One side of the two-mural installation depicts soldiers on duty. The other includes a scene of Clark Park. Together they represent the two worlds that many returning vets are trying to reconcile.

The mural was financed in part through state and local grants and the city’s Mural Arts Program. Organizers hope the mural will help people better understand the transition to civilian life that many vets are experiencing. Read more about the mural here.

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Andrew Bank of Strong Place Partners presents his firm’s plan for the future of the old West Philly High School building during a community meeting Saturday.

The old West Philadelphia High School building will be converted into loft apartments aimed primarily at graduate students and junior faculty from nearby universities, the leading bidder told residents during a meeting Saturday.

The New York-based Strong Place Partners, whose purchase of the building will likely be approved next week, plans to build about 300 apartments in the building ranging from small studios to a few apartments as big as 1,600 square feet. The firm’s president, Andrew Bank, said the tentative design will attempt to retain much of the 100-year-old school’s existing infrastructure, including one of the school’s large theaters and its gym.

“Our intention is to preserve the history and in some way preserve the character of the high school,” said Bank, who grew up in suburban Philadelphia and whose grandmother attended West Philadelphia High School.

Bank was speaking to community members during a public meeting at the new West Philadelphia High School. Those in attendance included members of the board of the West Philadelphia High School Alumni Association.

“We would hope that the tenants would be residents of West Philadelphia,” said Alumni Association president Paula McKinney-Rainey.

But Bank said that most of the tenants, who he expects to be associated with universities, would likely be transient. None of the units will be for sale. He said no allowance would be made for subsidized housing or housing aimed at senior citizens. He did add, though, that he believes the rents would be “comparatively affordable” to other housing options in the city.

The development plan calls for the preservation of as much of the building’s historic character as possible.

The ground floor of the building will house about 15,000 square feet of retail space and include businesses “geared toward enhancing the lifestyles of the building’s residents.”

Bank said the target demographic for the project included residents in their mid 20s to mid 50s associated with the universities. The project would be the largest private residential building aimed primarily at university-associated tenants west of 47th Street.

Bank said he expected rents to start at $800-$850 per month for a studio of about 400 square feet and that new residents will likely be able to move in by 2016.

“Renovation is much more difficult than new construction,” Bank said of the lengthy construction timeline, which includes zoning changes.

The development also calls for the scaling back of the wide sidewalks along Walnut and Locust streets and a “massive improvement of the streetscape” around the building.

The project will also impact the future of the empty lot on the southwest corner of 48th and Walnut, where the Windermere Apartments stood before fire destroyed that complex in 2011. Bank said the owners of that lot have been waiting to see how the old West Philly High would be developed before they made any decisions.

Parking for the building’s projected 400 or so residents was a concern repeatedly raised by those attending Saturday’s meeting. Bank said his firm will hire a parking consultant to devise a plan. He projected that roughly 10 percent of the residents would own cars, a guess he said that is consistent with other projects he has worked on near universities. If the consultant’s number is larger, he continued, the plan will expand parking.

“Parking is a revenue source, so I have no problem adding it,” he said.

Strong Place Partners’ bid is expected to be approved during a meeting of the School Reform Commission on Nov. 15. Bank would not comment on the bid amount or the expected cost of the renovation.

Once the firm’s bid is accepted, it will negotiate the agreement of the sale with the District before developing a construction timeline and beginning the zoning process, which is when residents will have more opportunities to comment on the plan.