School District Chief Operating Officer Fran Burns talks about the district’s plan to sell the Alexander Wilson School building at 46th and Woodland to developers who will likely convert it to a retail/residential building.

It appears that a mixed-used retail/residential building will replace the Alexander Wilson School (46th and Woodland), which the school district closed last June.

Officials from the School District of Philadelphia said during a public meeting Thursday night that all of the leading bids on the building proposed similar uses – a combination of street-level retail and housing. The district’s Chief Operating Officer Fran Burns told about 25 residents gathered in the auditorium of the Henry C. Lea School that it’s “probably not going to be a demolition, but a major renovation within.”

The final bid will not be officially announced and approved until the School Reform Commission (SRC) meeting on Feb. 20 or March 20 (we’ll let you know when we know). No other uses for the building, which many in the community hoped would reopen as a charter school, were proposed by developers and no more offers will be accepted.

Although the purpose of Thursday’s meeting was to elicit public comment on the proposal, officials offered very few details, which frustrated many in attendance.

“I’m a little frustrated about how little of this process seems to be about the impact on the neighborhood,” said a resident who lives near the school.

Burns hinted that the offers proposed student and “multi-family” residences and that senior housing was not part of any of the proposals. No charter school offered a bid, but the nearby University of the Sciences expressed some interest, Burns said.

There are more opportunities for public input, including at the SRC meeting and during the zoning process, but that will be input on the project’s details, not on whether the building should become housing or something else.

Neither the names of bidders nor bid amounts were released. Burns would not say how much is owed in bond payments on Wilson, but said that the sale of the closed schools will not do much to offset budget problems.

“The budget will not be fixed through property sales,” she said.

Here are some more details on the sale process.

The district hopes to close the sale of the school by June 30.

–Mike Lyons

UPDATE (2/3/2014): The photo above is from the check presentation event on Sunday, Feb. 2, courtesy of Addisu Habte.

Since the 1960s, Ethiopian immigrants have moved to Philadelphia, settling largely in West Philadelphia—one of the largest African communities in the Greater Philadelphia region. Today, West Philadelphia is home to over 10 Ethiopian restaurants, bars, and businesses, and is the epicenter of the Ethiopian Community Association of Greater Philadelphia.

Male returnees arriving at the Bole Int’l Airport Processing Centre. © IOM 2014 (Photo: Alemayehu Seifeselassie)

West Philadelphia’s Ethiopian community will come together this Sunday, Feb. 2, in an effort to raise awareness regarding the treatment and deportation of Ethiopian immigrants in Saudi Arabia. The event will take place at 3 p.m. in the headquarters of the Ethiopian Community Association of Greater Philadelphia, located at 4400 Chestnut Street.

According to the International Organization of Migration (IOM), over 150,000 Ethiopian immigrants have returned to Ethiopia since Saudi Arabia began deporting undocumented migrant workers as part of a “crackdown” on irregular migration in November. Since deportation efforts started, IOM has helped Ethiopian returnees with emergency medical assistance, post-arrival health assistance, psychological aid, food, transportation, essential items, and reintegration allowances. The organization is also working with the Ethiopian government to manage the influx of vulnerable migrants.

Addisu Habte, a local community organizer, told West Philly Local that the Philadelphia Ethiopian community raised over $23,000 in funds to contribute to the IOM in its efforts to provide assistance to deported immigrants. The Ethiopian Community Association will present a formal donation check to a representative of the U.S. Association for International Migration, which works in partnership with the IOM, on Sunday.

A presentation on the situation of assistance in Ethiopia and to Ethiopians returning from Saudi Arabia will also be given during the event.

–Annamarya Scaccia

West Philly Local readers are reporting a water main break on Osage Ave between 47th and 48th Streets, with water running down to 47th Street and over to Pine. Please walk and drive carefully in that area as the streets are icy. (Photos by Joel DeGrands)

UPDATE (3:00 p.m.): Residents near 50th and Hazel, who lost their power last night, reported another power outage this morning, around 11:30 a.m. Power was restored by 12:30 p.m., according to a West Philly Local reader report.

11:09 a.m.: A blown transformer near 50th and Cedar caused power outage that left over 100 residents, PECO customers, without heat on one of the coldest nights of the year. The power outage happened on Wednesday night between 9:30 and 10 p.m. PECO crews responded, but power didn’t come back until 6 a.m. this morning, CBS Philly reports. Houses on and around 50th Street between Hazel and Cedar Avenues were affected by the outage.

The temperatures fell below 10 degrees last night. A shelter was set up at the Samuel B. Huey Elementary School at 52nd and Pine for those who needed relief from the cold.

If you or someone you know were affected by this power outage please leave a comment.

The snow emergency declared by the city of Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon will remain in effect until 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Please avoid parking on snow emergency routes until that time. If you did park on one of the emergency routes and your car has been towed please call 215-686-SNOW to find out where it is. More information on snow emergency routes can be found here.

And here are a couple of beautiful photos of The Woodlands Cemetery during yesterday’s snowstorm taken by West Philly Local reader Katy. You can check out more photos here.

Photo via Campaign for Working Families’ Facebook page.

Starting Friday, Jan. 24, IRS-certified community volunteers will offer free tax preparation services at sites across the city, including West Philadelphia.

E-filing and direct deposit services will be offered as well. The sites are managed by the Campaign for Working Families (CWF) and free tax preparation services are available to families who earned less than $52,000 in 2013 or for singles with an income under $20,000.

Here are CWF sites in West and Southwest Philadelphia and their hours of operation:

West Philadelphia

Mt Pisgah AME Church, 428 N 41st Street (41st & Spring Garden)
Monday 2:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships, 3520 Fairmount Avenue
Wednesday 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Friday 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Scotia Gaither Community Resources Center, 1319 N 52nd Street (entering on Kershaw Street)
Tuesday and Thursday 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Southwest Philadelphia

Ebenezer Temple Church, 5649 Christian Street (near Baltimore Avenue)
Monday and Tuesday 3:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Here are a few other things to keep in mind if you want to have your taxes prepared at one of the above mentioned sites: CWF sites do not accept appointments; customers are seen on first-come-first-served walk-in basis. There is high demand for free tax preparation services in January and February, so there may be a shorter wait time if you visit them in March. All CWF sites will close on April 16, 2014. For more information, go to: www.cwfphilly.org