A lot of little (and not-so-little) ghosts, ghouls and goblins paraded up Osage Avenue in the Spruce Hill section of West Philly yesterday for the annual Halloween Tot Parade.

As usual, the parade culminated with a party on Little Osage Avenue. Thanks to the folks on Little Osage for the hospitality. Check out more photos and a video below. Here are some photos from Tot Parades in years past.  Continue Reading

Developer Ryan Spak, left, discusses “5050 Baltimore” during a zoning meeting at the Calvary Center last night (Photo by West Philly Local).

A 12-unit residential building with ground-floor commercial that includes below-market units proposed for the corner of 51st and Baltimore drew overwhelming support during a Cedar Park Neighbors zoning meeting last night.

Proposed by West Philly-based developer Ryan Spak, “5050 Baltimore” would be a three-story building built on three oddly shaped lots at the triangular corner of 51st and Baltimore. The project needs zoning variances for an additional two residential units. Ten units is allowed by right. The project also needs a variance for a “group practitioner” – a mental health counseling non-profit – which is one of the tenants for the proposed commercial space.  Continue Reading

Demolition of the 19th century church at 43rd and Chestnut is well underway, and a large residential apartment complex is reportedly in the works to replace it.

A New York based firm, registered as 4233 Chestnut Street LLC, bought the 131-year-old Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal Church property in June for a whopping $10.5 million, according to city records. The 37,000-square-foot property is zoned CMX-4, which allows multi-story apartment buildings.  Continue Reading

Mayor Jim Kenney speaks on Thursday at the opening of the Trolley Portal Gardens near 40th and Baltimore. (Photo by West Philly Local).

As trolleys screeched by, Mayor Jim Kenney was among the dignitaries who spoke Thursday at the opening of Trolley Portal Gardens, the public space near the trolley stops at 40th and Baltimore. Kenney, whose mayorship is defined by balancing the “old” Philadelphia of open fire hydrants and block parties and the “new” Philadelphia of “eds and meds,” said the new space balances both.

“This is the ‘old’ Philadelphia and the ‘new’ Philadelphia,” he said. “This is where we’re going.”  Continue Reading

A self-service pet washing facility is likely coming to a storefront near the corner of 47th and Baltimore.

The Cedar Park Neighbors zoning committee voted earlier this week to support a special zoning exception required by the city for the ground floor of 806 S. 47th St., which for many years was the location for Vincent Goffredo Plumbing and Heating. The proposal will soon go before the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment for final approval.

The facility, which the owner told the committee will grow to include grooming services, will include six elevated stainless steel wash tubs – two each for small, medium and large pets. The large tubs will even include a ramp that will allow your Saint Bernard or Newfoundland to walk right into the tub. So if you’re tired of bending over the bath tub to scrub down your pup, this might be for you.

The service will include a dryer, shampoos and brushes. A small pet washing, up to 25 pounds, will cost $12. Mediums will cost $14 and larges will be $16.

The developers of the sprawling former Provident Mutual Life Insurance property at 46th and Market Streets began a series of stops at neighborhood groups last night at the Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) monthly board meeting to garner support and input for its proposed health campus.

A partnership between Philadelphia-based commercial developers Iron Stone and the Public Health Management Corp. (PHMC) will develop the 13-acre site, once slated to be the new home of the Philadelphia Police Department.

PHMC will run three programs at the site, including a federally funded health center that will provide primary care and dental services, a public health office and a 20- to 30-bed overnight site. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) plans to operate a children’s mental health services center from the site and several day care providers, including the YMCA, are interested in opening a large (some 120 children) facility, Andrew Eisenstein of Iron Stone Real Estate Partners told the SHCA board.  Continue Reading