Image: Google Street View.

Editor’s note (6/28/2016): The hearing to determine whether the demolition will be halted concluded yesterday, and a ruling is required within 30 days. The hearing was held to decide whether a demolition permit, applied on March 17 for 4046-4048 Chestnut Street, should be voided. An application to declare the building “historic” was made on May 16, just prior to the permit’s issuance. The question the ruling will answer is whether the demolition permit is valid and whether a temporary injunction to halt the demolition will be lifted.

The hearing that could determine whether the late 19th century rowhomes on the 4000 of Chestnut are demolished will continue Monday, June 27, at 1:30 p.m.

Read more about the history of the buildings here and here. They are owned by different developers and are currently used as rental housing. Demolition permits are currently pending for 4046-4048 Chestnut and 4050-52 Chestnut. Both sets of twins have been nominated for the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. This hearing is focusing on whether a demolition permit is still valid if a building has been nominated for historic designation after it has been issued and before it has been demolished.

The hearing is in Room 232 of City Hall. The public is encouraged to attend.

The University City Historical Society (UCHS) is waging a legal battle to stop the demolition of the buildings at 4046-48 Chestnut Street and the construction of an apartment building in its place. These properties, along with the rest of the block date to the 1870s and are currently nominated to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. Due to their nomination, the validity of the demolition permits are in question.

“We currently have a stay on them,” writes Kelly Wiles, a UCHS Board member, and tomorrow (Thursday, June 23) at 11 a.m., a hearing is scheduled in Room 232 of City Hall to determine their fate. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.

“We welcome community support and involvement by those who are interested in maintaining the character and preservation of West Philadelphia’s built environment as well as those who are concerned with the changing patterns of large-scale development, poorly-constructed  and out of place building stock, zoning issues, the displacement of non-student residents,” writes Wiles.  Continue Reading

A five-story apartment building with a parking garage is coming to 4215 Chestnut Street.

Another apartment building is coming to the area. Recently, we noticed new construction next door to Dana Mandi, a South Asian grocery store on the 4200 block of Chestnut Street. A quick search in the database of the Office of Licences and Inspections revealed that a five-story, 28-unit apartment building is in the works for 4215 Chestnut St.

What’s interesting though is that the first floor of the building will be used as a parking garage. Due to an increasing amount of apartment buildings in the area, availability of parking spots has been named as one of the biggest issues at community meetings discussing new development.

Post Brothers recently purchased Garden Court Plaza at 47th and Pine.

Garden Court Community Association‘s annual meeting will take place on Thursday, June 16, at Mosaic Community Church (123 S. 51st St), and the topic will be development and change within the neighborhood, which stretches from Locust Street to Cedar Avenue and from 45th to 52nd Street. All neighbors are invited.

The meeting will discuss planned rental and retail development in Garden Court, improvements related to the Spruce Street and 52nd Street commercial districts. You can also learn about how Garden Court Community Association (GCCA) participates in the zoning and development process, and how you can get involved in shaping the neighborhood over time.

A panel of speakers will include developers and community and economic development professionals:  Continue Reading

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.”

Mantua rezoning proposal.

Community members have a chance to vote on rezoning in the Mantua neighborhood that will protect single-family home ownership, focus commercial zoning along highly-trafficked corridors, and correct zoning for parks, recreation centers, and public-use spaces. The meeting, hosted by Mantua Civic Association and Mt. Vernon Manor CDC, will take place on Thursday, June 2, at Grace Lutheran Church, 3529 Haverford Ave., from 6 – 7 p.m.

About 100 Mantua residents attended last month’s meeting where the neighborhood rezoning proposal was presented. The proposal rezones nearly every parcel in the neighborhood as RSA-5, attached or semi-detached single family homes. Most properties in the neighborhood are currently zoned RM-1, which allows developers to build multi-unit student housing.