The University City Science Center (UCSC) will soon get its own residential building. Plans have been revealed for a construction of a 27-story apartment building on the UCSC campus near 36th and Market Streets. The construction, which will begin in the fall of 2013, is expected to be completed in early 2015. The new 400,000 square feet building will be a mix of studio, efficiency and one- and two-bedroom apartments (364 total!) and will also include a fitness center, a rooftop pool, 200 parking spaces, and about 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. In addition, the building will be topped off with a green roof.

“This new project will add an entirely new dimension to the Science Center and our campus. It will help us achieve our goal of ‘activating’ our campus and creating a dynamic environment in which to live, work and play,” says Science Center President & CEO Stephen S. Tang, Ph.D., MBA. “As we celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2013, we are looking to the future – and the future of the Science Center centers on a vibrant 24/7 community.”

The project is a joint venture between Wexford Equities, the parent company of Wexford Science & Technology, and Southern Land Company.

The UCSC, one of the nation’s largest urban research parks, was established in 1963.

As the Philadelphia City Planning Commission continues working on a new District Plan for West Philly neighborhoods as part of the Philadelphia 2035 plan, area community associations are asking residents to provide input on how they envision their neighborhood in the future. This Saturday (Jan. 5), Garden Court Community Association is holding a meeting for Garden Court residents (45th St. to 52nd St., Locust St. to Cedar Ave) where the University City Southwest 2035 plan will be reviewed. The meeting will be held from 12-2 p.m. at 4725 Chestnut (Community College of Philadelphia) and lunch will be served.

Here’s the GCCA announcement:

GCCA will be asking for residents’ input on the following two topics:

1. Five Redevelopment Areas for University City Southwest

The Philadelphia Planning Commission has identified five areas to target for redevelopment in University City Southwest:

40th Street Station Area
46th and Market Streets
Baltimore Avenue (west of 50th)
Woodland Avenue
Lower Schuylkill Development Site

2. Garden Court Neighborhood

As surrounding areas develop, what do residents hope will stay the same about Garden Court? Let GCCA know what features give the neighborhood its character and what you would like to preserve and what you would like to improve.

Please RSVP to GCCA Zoning Chair Mariya Khandros at: mariya.khandros@gmail.com.

FYI, the 2nd public meeting on the University Southwest District Plan will take place Wednesday, Jan. 23 at Kingsessing Recreation Center. More information is coming soon.

Photo courtesy of the St. Bernard Community Garden website.

A plot of land that dozens of gardeners have worked for over 15 years to convert from burned-out homes to a thriving community garden is going on the auction block.

Some 50 local residents garden at the St. Bernard Community Garden, which is now facing an obstacle that has ended many community gardens in the city. The land at 1010 S. St. Bernard (see map below), where many of the garden plots are, is privately owned and the owner stopped paying taxes in 1997, soon after fire destroyed homes on the plot.

On December 19, the property will go to sheriff’s sale. So the gardeners, with the help of some pro bono legal work, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and other community organizations, are trying to make sure the land remains a community garden. The city could step in and bid on the plot on behalf of the gardeners, but folks associated with the St. Bernard Community Garden say the city has a maximum bid it can’t exceed. So the gardeners are trying to raise more money to buy the land. So far they have raised more than $10,000. This is where you can help out.

There will be a fundraiser at Dock Street Brewery on December 15 that will include pizza, beer and a silent auction. 10 bucks at the door gets you a pint and a slice and there will be tons of items to bid on (can you say “holiday gifts”?) from a bunch of different local artists, artisans, restaurants and businesses.

Here is a Facebook page where you can RSVP.
 

View St. Bernard Community Garden in a larger map

Here’s an opportunity to share your vision of the Spruce Hill neighborhood this upcoming Thursday (Dec. 13). The Spruce Hill Community Association is hosting a Community Visioning Workshop and all are welcome to come and offer their thoughts on what kind of a place you would like Spruce Hill to be. The workshop will be held at the Spruce Hill Christian School (42nd & Baltimore), beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Community input is needed for the planning process as the Philadelphia Planning Commission is working on a new District Plan and Re-zoning for West Philadelphia neighborhoods (University/Southwest District Plan). Many West Philly residents participated in the first University/Southwest public meeting on November 13 at the Enterprise Center. More details, including the summary and presentation from that meeting are available here.

For more information on the workshop, contact Barry Grossbach, chair of the Spruce Hill Community Trust, at b.grossbach@gmail.com, or leave a telephone message at the Spruce Hill Community Center, 215-349-7825.

There are two important community meetings taking place in West Philly on Tuesday, Nov. 13. If you want to help shape up the future of your neighborhood, you are encouraged to attend these meetings or at least one of them since they are scheduled within an hour from one another.

• Philadelphia City Planning Commission Meeting – 6:30 p.m., Enterprise Center (4548 Market St.)

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission is inviting residents to the first meeting about their University City/Southwest Philly District Plan. The plan will make recommendations for zoning changes, city-owned land and facilities, and public investments and, when finalized, will have some far reaching implications for West Philly’s future development. Here’s what you can expect at the meeting:

– Learn about the planning process and existing conditions

– Help shape future development and public investment

– Work with Planning Commission staff and your neighbors in small groups.

For more information about this project visit: www.phila2035.org. There is also a need for volunteers who help facilitate table exercises with community members. If you’re interested, contact Andrew Meloney at: andrew.meloney@phila.gov or 215-683-4656.

• Annual Meeting of the Spruce Hill Community Association, 7:30 p.m., Spruce Hill Christian School Chapel (42nd & Baltimore)

This is Spruce Hill Community Association‘s biggest meeting of the year, where neighbors are invited to come renew their dues and vote for officers and directors to the 2013 Board. The full slate of nominees and their bios will be available at the meeting.

In addition, Matt Bergheiser, Executive Director of University City District, will present the project on rejuvenation of the 40th Street Trolley Portal. Plans and renderings of the proposed design will be shown and residents’ input and feedback is welcome.

All neighbors are welcome. Light refreshments will be served and the first 50 people to arrive at the meeting will receive free leaf bags. Spruce Hill is bounded by Market St., Woodland Ave., S. 38th St., and S. 46th St. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.

Andrew Bank of Strong Place Partners presents his firm’s plan for the future of the old West Philly High School building during a community meeting Saturday.

The old West Philadelphia High School building will be converted into loft apartments aimed primarily at graduate students and junior faculty from nearby universities, the leading bidder told residents during a meeting Saturday.

The New York-based Strong Place Partners, whose purchase of the building will likely be approved next week, plans to build about 300 apartments in the building ranging from small studios to a few apartments as big as 1,600 square feet. The firm’s president, Andrew Bank, said the tentative design will attempt to retain much of the 100-year-old school’s existing infrastructure, including one of the school’s large theaters and its gym.

“Our intention is to preserve the history and in some way preserve the character of the high school,” said Bank, who grew up in suburban Philadelphia and whose grandmother attended West Philadelphia High School.

Bank was speaking to community members during a public meeting at the new West Philadelphia High School. Those in attendance included members of the board of the West Philadelphia High School Alumni Association.

“We would hope that the tenants would be residents of West Philadelphia,” said Alumni Association president Paula McKinney-Rainey.

But Bank said that most of the tenants, who he expects to be associated with universities, would likely be transient. None of the units will be for sale. He said no allowance would be made for subsidized housing or housing aimed at senior citizens. He did add, though, that he believes the rents would be “comparatively affordable” to other housing options in the city.

The development plan calls for the preservation of as much of the building’s historic character as possible.

The ground floor of the building will house about 15,000 square feet of retail space and include businesses “geared toward enhancing the lifestyles of the building’s residents.”

Bank said the target demographic for the project included residents in their mid 20s to mid 50s associated with the universities. The project would be the largest private residential building aimed primarily at university-associated tenants west of 47th Street.

Bank said he expected rents to start at $800-$850 per month for a studio of about 400 square feet and that new residents will likely be able to move in by 2016.

“Renovation is much more difficult than new construction,” Bank said of the lengthy construction timeline, which includes zoning changes.

The development also calls for the scaling back of the wide sidewalks along Walnut and Locust streets and a “massive improvement of the streetscape” around the building.

The project will also impact the future of the empty lot on the southwest corner of 48th and Walnut, where the Windermere Apartments stood before fire destroyed that complex in 2011. Bank said the owners of that lot have been waiting to see how the old West Philly High would be developed before they made any decisions.

Parking for the building’s projected 400 or so residents was a concern repeatedly raised by those attending Saturday’s meeting. Bank said his firm will hire a parking consultant to devise a plan. He projected that roughly 10 percent of the residents would own cars, a guess he said that is consistent with other projects he has worked on near universities. If the consultant’s number is larger, he continued, the plan will expand parking.

“Parking is a revenue source, so I have no problem adding it,” he said.

Strong Place Partners’ bid is expected to be approved during a meeting of the School Reform Commission on Nov. 15. Bank would not comment on the bid amount or the expected cost of the renovation.

Once the firm’s bid is accepted, it will negotiate the agreement of the sale with the District before developing a construction timeline and beginning the zoning process, which is when residents will have more opportunities to comment on the plan.