Demolition of 19th century Christ Memorial Church underway (October, 2018).

The demolished 19th century Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal Church building on the northeast corner of 43rd and Chestnut Streets has recently been resold (for a second time) to a new developer, according to reports. Alterra Property Group, the same developer who is currently erecting a 6-story prefab apartment building on the 4100 block of Chestnut, purchased the property for $17 million in February, according to a recent report by Philly.com, and is planning to build another apartment building aimed at “graduate students, retained graduates, and young professionals” on the site.  Continue Reading

The new 3-story mixed-use building at the southeast corner of 42nd Street and Chester Avenue may be getting a coffee shop. A request for a special zoning exception was submitted to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for 4134 Chester Avenue to include a coffee shop with up to 20 seats in the ground-floor commercial space of the building, which also houses two residential units on the 2nd and 3rd floors.

According to the zoning appeal posted on the city’s License’s and Inspections website, the coffee shop will not use any commercial cooking appliances and will serve prepared food.

It’s worth noting that there is a Dunkin Donuts shop on the same block, and a Starbucks on Woodland Avenue, just a block away from this building. However, Millcreek Tavern across the street may soon be replaced by another residential building, so that corner will likely have more residents soon.

Stay tuned for more information.

Ahimsa House and community garden (Photo West Philly Local).

Everybody at the Cedar Park Neighbors zoning meeting on Tuesday night lauded the mission of the Ahimsa House, the volunteer run community space on the first floor of a three-story house at 5007 Cedar Ave. The question is, how to make the whole thing “legal”?

The Ahimsa House (“ahimsa” is a Sanskrit word meaning “non-violence”) dates back to 2011, when Meg Ferrigno bought the Cedar Avenue property through the Penn home ownership program. The three-story property had been a triplex and Ferrigno was advised to have it re-zoned as a duplex to qualify. A mix-up at the Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) resulted in a single family designation.  Continue Reading

Photo by Shepard Ritzen.

The mystery of the lifestyle art sculptures that recently appeared on an empty lot on the 4700 block of Market Street has been (somewhat) solved. The statues are by well-known New Jersey-based artist Seward Johnson, and the lot, owned by the Daniel Veloric Foundation, is a future site for a museum with some public meeting space, according to a recent report by Philly.com.

It’s not clear yet when the construction will begin, but reportedly “soon.” The Veloric Foundation, whose owner Daniel Veloric is 91 years old and lives in the suburbs, purchased the entire block in 2017. Some demolition work on the site has already been done, according to the report. The organization has reportedly allocated $1.3 million for the project.  Continue Reading

Democratic nominee Movita Johnson-Harrell easily won Tuesday’s special election for the 190th House District seat.

Johnson-Harrell, who was most recently the head of the victim service unit in the District Attorney’s Office, won with about two-thirds of votes cast. She replaces Vanessa Lowery Brown, who was forced to resign in December after being convicted of bribery charges.

Amen Brown, a Democrat who was running as an independent, finished second, according to reports. Pamela K. Williams, a pastor from West Philly running in the Working Families Party, finished third and Republican Michael Harvey finished fourth.  Continue Reading

The 190th House district.

A special election will be held tomorrow, March 12, to fill the state 190th House district seat left vacant after Vanessa Lowery Brown was forced to resign. This is the only race on the ballot.

The 190th district includes some neighborhoods around Malcolm X. Park and west of 52nd Street as well as Belmont, Carroll Park, Cathedral Park, Mill Creek, Haddington, East Parkside, West Powelton, Allegheny West and Lehigh West.

Go here to find your polling place and to figure out if you live in the 190th. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.  Continue Reading