Lancaster Mews (photo from Lancastermewsapts.com).

Neighbors and all interested parties are invited this evening to learn more about the proposed demolition of Lancaster Mews, the redbrick apartment buildings and storefronts on the 3600 block of Lancaster Avenue, and discuss the future development of the block. This is a great opportunity to share your concerns about the proposed development. The meeting is hosted by Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and will take place starting at 6 p.m. at Community Education Center’s Meeting House Theatre (3500 Lancaster Ave).

In addition to apartments, Lancaster Mews also houses several businesses and a day care center. According to an article by The Philadelphia Inquirer published earlier this month, the block-long row of houses built in the late 1870’s may be demolished and replaced by apartment buildings aimed mostly at students.

A community meeting to discuss updates to the Walnut Hill Neighborhood Plan will be held on Monday, May 4 from 6 – 8 p.m. at The Enterprise Center (4548 Market St).

Walnut Hill residents can take an active role in the planning process and vote on their top neighborhood priorities in the following areas: business and housing, streets and parking, healthy communities, and community development.

During the first neighborhood plan update meeting in February, participants were presented information on the changes that occurred in the neighborhood, including demographic changes, since the previous plan was written. A timeline outlining the planning process was also presented.

For more information 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.

An oil train derailed over the Schuylkill River in January 2014 (archive photo).

On January 20, 2014, an oil train derailed in Philadelphia over the Schuylkill River, a source of drinking water for 1.5 million Philadelphia residents. A year later, 11 train tank cars containing crude oil derailed in a CSX rail yard in South Philadelphia, prompting a response by hazardous response teams. Community members are invited to join a conversation this Wednesday at USciences about the risks of oil trains in Philadelphia, including in some West Philadelphia neighborhoods.

Wednesday’s meeting is part of Clean Water Action‘s Community Listening Tour on oil trains organized for communities closest to the railroads that carry trains with more than 240,000 barrels of crude oil every day.

The meeting will include a 30-minute presentation as a primer on the issue, followed by a neighborhood engagement session. Participants will learn more about the issues and can ask about the risks. All of the input from participants is recorded so that decision-makers receive adequate feedback from their constituents.  Continue Reading

Two important and informative community events are happening this week in the Spruce Hill and Garden Court neighborhoods.

On Wednesday, March 18, the Spruce Hill Zoning Committee will be meeting at 6:45 p.m. at the Spruce Hill center, 257 S. 45th Street, to discuss a number of applications for development in the area. Cases will be heard in this order:

• 217 S. 42nd Street–application for a two-family dwelling
• 4030 Spruce Street–application for fraternity housing
• 400 S. 45th Street–increase in square footage allowed and increase number of permitted units from 12 to 19.
• 18, 20, 22 S. 43rd Street–application to increase maximum occupied area plus relief from five required parking spots (application is for relocation of lot lines from three to one in order to erect a structure for religious and educational use, connected to an existing structure).
• Presentation for feedback on possible development at 4415 Chestnut back to 4412 Ludlow by Scott Orens.  Continue Reading

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.