Once home to the Philly Diner, which closed two years ago after 10 years of fueling college students, the lot at 3901 Walnut Street may soon be the site of an office building, The Daily Pennsylvanian recently reported.

3901 Walnut Street, former site of the Philly Diner / Photo by Annamarya Scaccia (West Philly Local)

The University of Pennsylvania, which owns the plot, plans to erect a six-story office building that will house some of the institution’s administrative offices displaced by the recent construction of the Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics off 36^th and Walnut Streets.

According to Penn’s Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services, the project is currently in the proposal stage, with its design and purpose yet to be green lit (funding was already approved, however). The fate of the building currently rests with Penn’s Facilities and Campus Planning Committee of the Trustees, which will meet November 7 to decide.

The Philly Diner closed in October, 2011 and the building was demolished last year. (Archive photo / West Philly Local)

A zoning permit posted at the site, though, does detail Penn’s application to build a six-story office building featuring a green roof, roof top structures, and three bicycle spaces. The zoning permit was approved on September 17. Penn’s Facilities and Real Estate Services plans to release official information and plans on the project after the November meeting. We will update our readers once we hear from the office.

In 2009, the Philly Diner went from a 24-hour joint to enacting 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. closing times after a late-night shooting occurred outside the university-owned building in February of that year. The owner decided not to renew the lease in 2011, forever closing the doors of a popular—yet troubled—local favorite.

–Annamarya Scaccia

University City is a global city—at least, that was the theme of this year’s The State of University City address hosted by the University City District and the University of Pennsylvania.

The 2013/2014 program, held Monday afternoon at the International House Philadelphia on 37^th and Chestnut Streets, focused on University City’s global reach. University of Pennsylvania Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli and Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Vice Provost of UPenn’s Global Initiatives, both discussed how their institution, as well as Drexel University and University of the Sciences, fosters an international neighborhood connection through its diverse student body and international academic, cultural and social partnerships.

In regards to the larger University City community, University City District Executive Director Matt Bergheiser pointed to recent real estate and commercial developments, cultural and community events, and the neighborhood’s shifting demographics as factors in creating “a global University City.” Each speaker, however, stressed that, while University City does impact the global community at large, people living and working in the neighborhood must continue to promote and support initiatives that are global in practice.

While the panel itself presented numbers relative to this year’s theme, attendees were also given a packet detailing more statistics about University City. In numbers:

• 23 percent of University City households speak a language other than English at home.
• 17 percent of University City’s residents is foreign-born, five percent more than Philadelphia’s overall population.
• According to Dr. Emanuel, the University of Pennsylvania has over 7,000 foreign-born students a year. Combined with Drexel University, that’s about 9,000 foreign-born students. (Dr. Emanuel noted that UPenn doesn’t do its best at integrating University City’s foreign-born residents, which he expects to change with the construction of the university’s Perry World House.)
• Nearly $3.5 billion of new or recently completed real estate projects.
• University City has over 72,000 jobs, with a 93 percent office occupancy rate and 89% retail occupancy rate.
• About 16 academic, commercial, medical/biomedical, or residential/mixed-use properties being constructed within the next three years.
• Average property values have tripled since 2000, from over $100,000 to over $300,000 in 2012.
• Cost of living in University City is 28 percent lower than Center City.
• The number of 20- to 34-year-olds living in University City has increased by 21 percent between 2000 and 2010, with 20- to 24-year-olds making up the highest number of residents.
• Racially, the population breaks down as follows: 25 percent Black or African-American, 20 percent Asian, and 50 percent White.
• In 2012, rate of serious crimes in University City was down 50 percent since 1998, compared to just under 25 percent for the city overall.
• Between 1998 and 2012, University City experienced a -44 percent change in rate of violent crime per 1,000 residents, compared to a -16 percent change in the City of Philadelphia.  Continue Reading

The Sedgley Apartments. Photo by Mike Lyons/West Philly Local.

UPDATE 9/27/13, 2:30 P.M. We heard back from David Hess this afternoon, who let us know that the owners of Dunkin’ Donuts plan to open to shop in late October, pending there are no delays in construction.

West Philly Local wrote about many real estate developments taking place in the neighborhood–some of which are welcomed, some of which are criticized. In an effort to keep you up-to-date on a few of these projects, we’ve complied Part I of a list of building updates. Part II is coming soon.

• In April, we reported that Renaissance Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center at 4712 Chester Avenue will undergo some renovations, including the demolition of two vacant, dilapidated houses adjacent to the property. When we stopped by the site this week, we saw that the buildings have been mostly torn down, with the foundation of the structures still standing three-quarters of the way. Two people were also scavenging the mountains of bricks and debris that littered the fenced-in lot. Nursing Home Administrator Camella Kane, who spoke with us originally, said the center had “nothing to report at this time,” even when pressed for further information.
• In June, we let you know that Dunkin’ Donuts is coming to 41^st Street and Chester Avenue, opening up shop in the group floor of the multi-tenant building at 4100 Chester Avenue this fall. Well, observation makes it seem as if everything is still on track, with a sign for the fast-food coffee joint having gone up late this summer. As for the interior, wall beams have been erected and construction seems on the steady. We couldn’t get a confirmation of progress from David Hess, owner and manager of the multi-unit property, by the time of publication.
• As for the Sedgley Apartments, the historic building undergoing renovations, renovation work should be finished in a few months, said Noah Ostroff, principal at 400 S. 45^th Street LLC, which owns the Sedgley. According to Ostroff, the team is making “good progress” and the apartments—which he said will be affordable and competitively priced—should be available for rent come early January. “We believe [the Sedgley] is going to be one of the more luxurious rental buildings in the area,” Ostroff told West Philly Local.

–Annamarya Scaccia

After six years of uncertainty and false starts, it seems that the 40th Street Methodist Episcopal Church will finally undergo demolition to make way for 7,000-square-feet of retail space—or so the Daily Pennsylvanian reports.

Photo by Annamarya Scaccia/West Philly Local.

According to the DP, construction on the former house of worship, which stood at 125 S. 40th Street for 136 years, is expected to be complete by April 2014, but the developers, P&A Associates, have yet to release a specific work timeline. A search on Philadelphia License & Inspections site, though, does return multiple hits for the church address, one being a new construction permit that was issued in June to architectural firm Albert Taus & Associates and contractor Joe Freidman Construction Corp. If finished by next spring, the humble Romanesque-style two-story church—a gaping shell of its prior appeal—will become home to Dunkin Donuts, Whirled Peace Frozen Yogurt, Zesto Pizza and a fourth yet-to-be-identified commercial space.

Designed by leading mid-nineteenth century architects Samuel Sloan and Addison Hutton, the 40th Street Methodist Episcopal Church was home to three congregations before it was sold to P&A for $2 million in 2007. The previous owners, St. Joseph’s Baptist Congregation, worshipped in the village sanctuary for 50 years until it moved to a larger space six years ago, according to Hidden City Philadelphia. Prior to St. Joseph’s, it served First Church of the Covenanters from 1908 to 1954, which took over the church from Centennial Methodist Episcopal—the budding congregation that originally purchased the land in 1860 and erected Methodist Episcopal in 1871. Continue Reading

At the corner of Lancaster and 38th, the curved facade of Hawthorne Hall stands just as it did 100 years ago when fraternal organizations and civic associations were its main occupants. But inside is a whole different story: cabinets have been transformed into doorways, attics into twisted dining halls, dust-covered rooms into art galleries.

This makeover is the work of the Rabid Hands Art Collective, which transformed the space into an art exhibit celebrating the building’s mysterious history for the 2013 Hidden City Festival.

Last weekend, the nonprofit news site Hidden City returned to Hawthorne Hall for a guided tour of the Powelton area. Powelton–bordered roughly by Lancaster Ave., Haverford, Race and 32nd Streets– is a mix of student housing and large Victorian mansions and duplexes.

Photos by Alex Vuocolo.

As tour guides Rachel Hildebrandt and Caroline Acheatel explained, Powelton was once home to a class of entrepreneurs and business managers from the mid-1800s that were excelling in new industrial fields. These individuals spread into West Philadelphia as railways and bridges were built across the Schuylkill River and the area’s large agricultural estates were subdivided into neighborhoods.

But Powelton is more than frat houses and old mansions. Hildebrandt and Acheatel, both employees at Partners for Sacred Places, guided the tour through a mix of inconspicuous cultural landmarks and historical buildings, including backyard museums, the building where Alfred Barnes (of The Barnes Foundation fame) built his fortune in pharmaceuticals, and a church adapted for affordable apartments.

The tour’s strong suit was that it explored the interiors and unknown histories of places many of us pass by everyday.

The Ellen Powell Tiberino Memorial Museum, for example, is just off Hamilton and 38th on a quiet stretch of residential homes. Without venturing down the museum’s alley entrance, you might never know that a courtyard formed from connected backyards contained original art from two generations of the Tiberino family.

The Cloisters, a church converted into apartments at Spring Garden and 38th, is equally discreet. Besides a large banner reading “now renting,” there is little to suggest that within its stone walls there are over 64 units of affordable housing.

To discover more of Philadelphia’s past, keep an eye out for Hidden City tours around the city.

– Alex Vuocolo

Renderings of Hub II by Platt Associate Architecure

After five years of sitting on the shelf, Philadelphia-based developers Teres Holdings, LLC have resurrected plans to construct Hub II, the Hub’s sister building at 3939-41 Chestnut Street. The long-awaited project, originally approved in 2008 under the old zoning code, will cost $11.5 million to construct, and will see the demolition of Thai Singha House’s old home at 3939 Chestnut Street.

According to the blog Philadelphia Real Estate, Teres Holdings was granted zoning “relief” to proceed with Hub II by the Zoning Board of Adjustment on July 31. Since construction of the project is happening under Philadelphia’s new zoning code, which passed last year, landowners University of Pennsylvania, the developers, and Hub II architects, Platt Associates Architecture, have altered the plans, removing one floor and 14,600 square-feet from original building design. Hub II is now 40,100 square feet with seven floors—the first two floors are held for commercial use, including cafes, salons, health clubs, and office space, with the remaining stories housing 65 residential units, reported the blog. Projected date of completion is unknown.

Platt Associates, the New England-based company behind the original Hub’s design, claim on its website that the new Hub II will help “define a new urban node at the corner of 40th and Chestnut Streets”, with the adorning space between the hubs suggesting “an intimate, winding medieval passage with angling walls and a variety of materials punctuated by narrow tower forms.”

The current plans are relatively similar to original blueprints Spruce Hill Community Association approved back in 2008 (but are an improvement to the overall design), so the community organization decided not to impede on the project’s new zoning process, said SHCA Zoning Committee Chair Barry Grossbach. SHCA did, however, raise issue with the materials to be used for the building’s facade, and since the group and the developers could not come to an agreement before the ZBA hearing occurred, SHCA issued a letter of understanding stating that, if zoning is approved, Teres Holdings and Platt must meet with SHCA in a period of 60 days. That meeting takes place on Monday, Sept. 23, Grossbach told West Philly Local.

As for Thai Singha House, Hub II’s plans called for the restaurant’s relocation and the demolition of its former home from the beginning, Grossbach said. In July, we reported that Thai Singha House is relocating to 3900 Chestnut Street and plans to reopen in September—its website, however, now states that it’ll open at the new location “sometime in late October.” There are also talks of erecting a third “hub”, said Grossbach, to complete a three-building center at 40th and Chestnut Streets, but nothing has been brought to the drawing board for that project yet.

Teres Holdings could not be reached for comment.

–Annamarya Scaccia