Many folks are probably curious about the construction that’s happening over at Walnut Hill Community Farm on Market between 46th and S. Farragut Streets. It turns out that a community park is being built on the site and is expected to open mid to late-September.

The park is the latest element to come to the small homestead at 4610 Market Street since it opened in 2010 as initiative between the Walnut hill Community Association and local residents. According to Allison Blansfield, program manager of West Philly Foods (which oversees the farm’s CSA, apprenticeship program, and farmstand), the space was designed as a sitting park for residents to use as a place of relaxation. Tables and chairs will be place throughout the park, which will coexist with the already-established community garden and production farm, with native trees and perennial florae planted on the grounds.

Photos by Mike Lyons/West Philly Local.

In addition to providing tranquility, the park will add a level of safety and security to Walnut Hill Community Farm, said Blansfield. Solar-powered streetlights that turn on at a certain level of dimness will be installed on the site, which barely receives any illumination currently, she stated. According to the program manager, the crew was also able to stabilize a “severely eroded” part of the land during construction and build a retaining wall restoring “the integrity of the alleyway.” This wall, she said, is another added safety feature for the residents whose backyards face the farm.

A small greenhouse is also being assembled and will open the same time as the park. The greenhouse will allow Walnut Hill Community Farm to grow its own vegetable starts and flower starts for community residents, and increase production on the farm, said Blansfield. A water capture system was also recently built in partnership with Septa that collects rainwater running off the roof of the 46th Street El Station and irrigates the farm.

The Walnut Hill Community Farm produce stand is open every Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. until October. The farm itself, however, is open all day to the public.

–Annamarya Scaccia

UPDATED 8/9/13 at 2:10 p.m.: After a few readers asked about the petition in City Paper, we reached back out to Greensgrow to get more info. According to Greensgrow’s Ryan Kuck, as a phase one step, the farm hub gathered signatures from business associations and community leaders for each proposal they’ve assembled. If any of the proposals move forward and once they’ve identified a site, Greensgrow will reach out to the community through meetings and the like for community input.

As we reported in June, a garden center was being proposed at an empty lot at the southeast corner of 51st Street and Baltimore Avenue (pictured). A couple of weeks ago City Paper wrote that Kensington farm and garden hub Greensgrow has its eye on two plots of West Philly land, including at 51st and Baltimore. We checked on it and found out that nothing is set in stone, although, according to a Greensgrow rep, those sites are among many swaths of West Philly land they are considering as their next home.

Ryan Spak, owner of the corner lot on Baltimore, said much the same when we spoke to him this week. While he would be “honored” to bring a garden center to the lot because “the neighborhood deserves one,” he said that he is considering multiple possibilities for the land and an operator has not been identified. As for Greensgrow, Ryan said they were at the community meeting at Seeds Gallery on June 21 and showed interest, but he would not confirm if they are in talks.

We’ll keep you posted on this development when we have more information.

-Annamarya Scaccia

The community group Friends of Clark Park (FOCP) has come out in favor of the residential building proposed for an empty plot across from the park at 43rd and Baltimore Ave.

The project under consideration would include 108 units in a building with two connected sections (five floors near the park and nine floors further east on Baltimore Avenue), first-floor retail and some owner-occupied condo units.

The proposed building looking east near the corner of 43rd and Baltimore.

In a letter to the head of the Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee Barry Grossbach, FOCP president Erin Engelstad wrote that the group approved the project with some stipulations. These include:

• The portion of the building facing the park should be low and inviting.

• The design of the building should include terracing and include as many green features as possible.

• The project must support the efforts of the existing Farmers’ Market. Retail should be limited to certain smaller, community-oriented retailers and should be encumbered as such to require this stipulation remain in the future.

• The Friends of Clark Park look with favor on the idea of building a proportion of coop units into the development, to support a desirable owner-renter balance in the community which in turn will support the park.

The plan, which was offered in a series of public meetings, is still only tentative. The owners of the property, Thylan Associates, are considering it. Thylan already has a conditional zoning permit to build a four-story, 92-unit building on the site with 6 parking spaces and no retail.

If the property owners give the go-ahead, the project will still need to go through a lengthy approval process that would include the Spruce Hill Community Association, the City Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Adjustment. There will be further chances for public comment during the process.

Thanks to an $82,000 grant from The Barra Foundation, University City District’s West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI) will move employment training site, West Philadelphia Skills Center for Economic Advancement, from pilot phase to a fully-integrated, holistic approach.

The Center for Economic Advancement, located at Community College of Philadelphia West on 47^th and Chestnut Streets, was opened in 2012 as an intensive soft job skill training site that helps bridge the employment gap in West Philadelphia. The Barra grant will allow WPSI, which launched in 2010 to address issues of unemployment and poverty in the community, to implement the most effective strategies tested during the Center’s pilot phase over the last year.

“From recruitment, assessment and selection to programming and evaluation plans, we have studied which approaches work best with our participants and our employers,” WPSI Director Sheila Ireland told West Philly Local. “Although we will maintain a stance of continuous improvement, we know feel that we have a good understanding of what works.”

According to the Pew Charitable Trusts’ 2013 State of the City, the median household income for the University City region is $21,801, with 48.1 percent of residents living in poverty. In West Philadelphia’s West Market region, the numbers are slightly higher—$26,487 and 33.8 percent. West Philadelphia Skills Initiative aims to change that tide by connecting local residents with partnering employers that have operations in West Philadelphia through its three programs: the Center for Economic Advancement, Job Pipelines, and the Youth Employment Network. Last year, WPSI worked with over 130 participants across all three programs, which either provide training or professional internships in the medical assistance, information technology, landscaping, lab technology, administrative, and security industries among others.  Continue Reading

Photo by Annamarya Scaccia / West Philly Local.

After we posted our food and booze updates in West Philly earlier this month, readers started asking about what’s happening with the shuttered Mexicali Cafe at 110 S. 40th Street, and a couple of readers heard through the grapevine that the former Mexican joint is turning into a Korean restaurant.

Well, we did a little digging and found out that the University City space is, in fact, under construction, and it seems another restaurant will take its place. According to Licenses and Inspections records, Mizu Sushi Inc., which is listed as the applicant, was issued a renovation permit for the existing restaurant on March 15. The work described for the permit includes “interior renovation to an existing restaurant”–meaning interior upgrades, ceiling work, and construction of an ADA-compliant bathroom. A separate electrical permit was issued to Mizu on April 10.

West Philly Local stopped by the site multiple times, but was unable to connect with the owner. We did drop in Mizu, which is collecting packages for 110 S. 40th St according to a handwritten sign on the door, and the workers we spoke with were tight-lipped, declining to give out the owner’s contact info per his request. When asked about whether the space will open as a Korean restaurant, the worker said he heard the rumor but couldn’t confirm if it is true. We’ll post an update as soon as we have more info.

-Annamarya Scaccia

A drawing of the proposed building at 43rd and Baltimore. The five-story section in the foreground would include first-floor retail.

The developers of 4224 Baltimore Ave. – across from Clark Park – unveiled drawings during a public meeting last night of a modern, glassy residential building that would include a terraced section that peaks at 10 floors and includes upscale condos.

The design also includes a 5-story section on the corner of 43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue with first-floor commercial units that would wrap around the structure and, if built, could house a large, street-level restaurant with outdoor seating along 43rd Street. A large rooftop terrace on this section would overlook the park.

The “if built” part is important. The development firm that is proposing the project, U3 Ventures, is a liaison between the community and the property owners, Clarkmore Group LLC, have not seen the drawings. There is no guarantee that the ownership group, which paid $3.5 million for the property in 2008, will go for the plan.

Clarkmore currently has as conditional permit to build a four-story, 92-unit apartment building with six parking spaces. That building would unlikely include any retail space. U3 is hoping the group can be persuaded to build a larger building that could support retail and underground parking. A large majority of the approximately 40 community members attending last night’s meeting gave tacit approval to the plan, which includes 108 rental units – mostly one bedrooms – and 55 resident-owned condos (though that number could drop considerably if the condos are built larger). Continue Reading