If you want to participate in the Walnut Hill neighborhood planning, here’s a great chance to learn more and have your say about the planning process. Tonight, from 6 to 8 p.m., come to The Enterprise Center at 4548 Market Street to the first community meeting discussing the update of the Walnut Hill Neighborhood Plan. The meeting will be held in conjunction with the Walnut Hill Community Association’s monthly meeting.

This meeting will allow residents of Walnut Hill (roughly from from Market Street south to Spruce and 45th to 52nd Street) to take an active role in the planning process, as well as provide them with information about changes in the neighborhood that have occurred since the previous plan was written. A short presentation will be given describing demographic changes since the last plan along with existing neighborhood conditions. A timeline outlining the planning process will also be presented.

The meeting is also an opportunity for residents to talk about their neighborhood priorities.

For inquiries related to the Walnut Hill Neighborhood Plan update please contact Daniel Levin, Special Projects Manager at The Enterprise Center CDC: dlevin@theenterprisecenter.com or 215-895-4014.

Also, visit the Walnut Hill Community Association website for more information about the neighborhood.

Community members are invited to the monthly meeting of the Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) on Tuesday, Feb. 10 to meet Henry C. Lea Principal Jennifer Duffy, who will talk about the happenings at Lea.

Duffy is in her first year as principal of Lea and one of about 50 first-time principals hired across the School District of Philadelphia this year. Duffy has placed a priority on raising academic standards and strengthen the school’s relationship with the University of Pennsylvania, where she is a doctoral student in Educational Leadership.

The SHCA meeting gets underway at 7:30 p.m. at the association’s headquarters (257 S. 45th St.)

In other Spruce Hill news, the zoning committee meeting to consider the well-publicized plans to build a residential/retail complex at 43rd and Baltimore (across the street from Clark Park) will be held Feb. 19 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at The University of the Science’s Rosenberger Hall (the small building on the west side of 43rd Street, just north of Woodland Avenue). This is the meeting originally scheduled for Jan. 26 that was cancelled due to weather.

The meeting actually begins at 6:30 p.m. when committee will consider a liquor license request from Fresh Grocer at 40th and Market and a residential project at 4100-02 Ludlow St. This is also open to the public. The 4224 Baltimore Ave. project discussion will begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. The development team for the site is preparing materials for presentation to the City Planning Commission’s Design Review Committee and will share those plans to date.

University City High School site purchased by Drexel (Click to enlarge).

Demolition of the former University City High School building is scheduled to begin in late February, but it is still unclear what Drexel University, which purchased the site from the school district last year, and their partner, Wexford, plan to do with the site.

Drexel had originally indicated that it hoped to build, among other things, a new public school on the site, which would help ease the sting felt by local residents from losing the high school and Charles Drew Elementary, which sat on the same 14-acre site. Demolition of Drew started earlier this month, and the Walnut Center has already been demolished.

“We are continuing our efforts to engage the community on the vision and plans to transform this site,” said Drexel spokesperson Niki Gianakaris.

She said the university plans to create a “mixed-use environment where the community and private sector will come together in a work, live and play environment.”

Charles Drew Elementary demolition underway (Photo by Marina Krikorian).

Demolition is expected to be complete later this year, she said, adding that plans for the site had not been finalized.

As part of its bid to buy the property from the School District of Philadelphia last February, Drexel presented a plan during a public meeting that included an enlarged Powel Elementary School and a middle school on the site.

The plan also included residential housing and retail space.

The plan met with some skepticism among residents of the Mantua neighborhood, where many University City High School students lived. Several Powelton Village neighborhood residents who attended that meeting last February voiced approval of the possible expansion of Powel Elementary.

– Mike Lyons

Some changes are being planned for 30th Street Station and the area surrounding it, and if you’re interested to learn more about the Philadelphia 30th Street Station District Plan, come to an open house at the station this Wednesday, from 4 to 7 p.m. The project team will be there to present the plan and answer your questions, including how you can get involved in the planning process. Some information boards will also be at the station for everyone to check out (see the flier below for more details about tonight’s event).

The 30th Street Station District Plan is a joint effort among Amtrak, Drexel University, SEPTA, and Brandywine Realty trust, and other public and private stakeholders. The Master Planning process involves three main elements of analysis: transportation, the station and associated facilities, and commercial opportunities. The planning process is expected to take about two years.

UPDATE (1/26/2015): Monday’s SHCA Zoning Committee meeting has been cancelled due to the inclement weather. The meeting will be rescheduled for sometime in mid-February, according to Spruce Hill zoning committee chair Barry Grossbach. Stay tuned for more information.

The Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) will be holding a Zoning Committee meeting on Monday, Jan. 26 to consider the widely discussed residential and commercial project at 4224 Baltimore Avenue.

As a reminder, the development team for 4224 Baltimore Avenue has applied for zoning to get the city’s approval to construct a 132-unit residential complex at the site. The project evolved from a series of neighborhood meetings and was discussed at an open meeting of Spruce Hill zoning last spring. Now that a formal application has been made, the project development team, U3 Advisors, are required to have public meetings with neighbors through community associations.

The zoning meeting will be held at the SHCA headquarters at 257 S. 45th Street, starting at 7 p.m. All interested neighbors and residents are welcome to attend.

At this meeting, you can also learn about The Fresh Grocer’s application for the right to sell beer under conditions specified in its lease agreement with the University of Pennsylvania.

The demolition of Charles Drew Elementary School has begun. Photo by Marina Krikorian.

Demolition work has begun on buildings at University City High School site, which was purchased by Drexel University last year. The 14-acre property, which also includes the shuttered Charles Drew Elementary School building (pictured), was acquired from the School District of Philadelphia last summer. Drexel’s nearly $1 billion development plan for the location includes construction of a K-8 public school surrounded by residential, retail, and recreational space. The construction project, led by Drexel University City Development, LLC, is expected to create 4,300 construction jobs, and to house 3,700 employees after its completion.