The University of the Sciences (USP) has acquired the former Alexander Wilson School at 46th and Woodland and plans to turn it into student housing.

USP paid a reported $2 million for the 1.03-acre parcel that borders its campus and includes the three story school building, which the School District of Philadelphia closed along with nearly two dozen other public schools in 2013. The purchase, which was approved at the October 16 School Reform Commission meeting, follows a long bid process that included interest from West Philly based developers Orens Brothers.

The university will turn the site into student housing and student-focused retail, according to Helen Giles-Gee, USP’s president.

“The location of the Wilson School adjacent to the [USP] campus is a strategic one for our university and one that we hope will provide both student housing and retail that makes sense for the community and for us,” Giles-Gee said in a statement. “Though we understand that no community wants to lose its neighborhood school, we hope to work closely with area residents as we develop our plans for the site.”

Early last spring Orens Brothers seemed to have locked up the purchase of the Wilson building for $4.6 million, but the District later asked for clarification of the bids and USP emerged as the front runner.

The Wilson sale follows the sale of the old West Philadelphia High School (47th and Walnut), which will be converted to residential units.

In September, the SRC lowered the sale price of the old West Philly High by $900,000 to $5.1 million to compensate for “design inefficiencies” in the building, which was constructed in 1912. The developer, WPHS Venture Partners, told the SRC that it had to lower the number of units it could build from 300 to about 250, prompting a request to the SRC for a price reduction.

We will keep you updated on the development of these two buildings as they go through the zoning and public comment phases.

The firm overseeing development of a prime piece of real estate at 4224 Baltimore Ave. – across from Clark Park – has announced that it will take its chances with the zoning process and will go ahead with plans to build a 132-unit residential complex.

“[U3 Advisors] will comply with every regulation of the zoning variance process and we look forward to meeting with area RCOs, community groups and interested neighbors,” said Tom Lussenhop, the firm’s senior vice president.

Lussenhop said the firm will file an application with the Zoning Board of Adjustment soon.

There was some doubt that the firm would go ahead with its plans after news surfaced that appeals to City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell for an ordinance that would allow them to sidestep the sometimes tumultuous zoning process were rejected. The parcel’s owner, Clarkmore LLC, already has permission to build a small residential building that would have no commercial amenities and very limited parking. But the plans for the 132-unit building, which grew out of a series of community meetings, include underground parking and commercial space. That plan requires zoning changes for the parcel.

A series of public hearings will be scheduled once the zoning change request is filed, including a community meeting with the Spruce Hill Community Association planning committee.

“Spruce Hill will follow its traditional process of dealing with this zoning application once a filing has been processed,” said the planning committee’s head Barry Grossbach.

(See all our posts on 4224 Baltimore here).

Work on the new police headquarters at 46th and Market has officially begun, with a groundbreaking ceremony taking place on Monday.

The 87-year-old Provident Mutual Life Insurance Co. building, will undergo renovation and will host the Philadelphia Police Department headquarters, which will move from their current Center City location at 8th and Race. The building will also be home to the medical examiner’s office, morgue and the Department of Health public laboratories.

“[It] will be known as the Philadelphia Public Safety Services campus,” mayor Michael Nutter said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

The building renovation will cost about $250 million. Two bills were introduced earlier this year by Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell that allowed the city to borrow this sum. The building is expected to open in 2018.

The Provident Mutual Life Insurance Co. building was included in the endangered properties list by the Preservation Alliance of Philadelphia in 2010. After Provident left the building in 1983 it was occupied by various non-profits for many years, but has been vacant for the past six years.

These days it seems like you can’t walk more than a block or two near Penn and Drexel’s campuses without seeing some sort of major construction project. Cranes are becoming about as common around here as coffee shops.

Some 32 building projects have been or will be completed in the area around the universities between last fall and next summer or so, according to the 2014/2015 State of University City report, which was released by the University City District (UCD) yesterday afternoon during a reception at World Cafe Live (3025 Walnut St.). These include about 1.3 million square feet of new building space dedicated to medical and biomedical research, a key field driving development of this part of the city.

The majority of all new office construction in the city is happening in the patch between 38th street to the west, Market street to the north and the Schuylkill River to the east and south.

All of this building and investment has created what doctor-turned-entrepreneur Keith Leaphart, a lifelong Philadelphia resident, called an “ecosystem for ambition” during yesterday’s reception. Leaphart owns the design and print firm Replica Creative, which opened a café amid all the hubbub last year at 3711 Market St.

Residential space is increasing as well. Two new residential high rises, at 36th and Market and 3737 Chestnut, are slated to open next summer and fall respectively. The UCD is forecasting that the number of new apartments will increase 60 percent by 2016. Many of these are aimed at graduate students and millennials, the fastest growing demographic category in the district.  Continue Reading

Plan Philly yesterday got in touch with City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who said she will not introduce an ordinance to “spot zone” the vacant parcel across from Clark Park at 43rd and Baltimore.

Blackwell told Plan Philly’s Jared Brey that she is reluctant to push for special zoning for this project out of fear that other developers, including those involved in the row over the property at 40th and Pine, will line up at her door asking for ordinances. Blackwell said she supported the project, but advised the developers to go through the zoning process, which will include a public hearing.

We reported last week that the property owner, Clarkmore LLC, was pressing Blackwell for a special ordinance that would allow them to forgo the zoning process. Clarkmore currently can build a “by right” 92-unit project that includes little parking and no retail. It wants the ordinance for a bigger 132-unit building that includes parking and ground-level retail and would require zoning variances.

For a recent history of the property and the process that led to the current proposal, see this collection of posts.

There’s a lot to this story. Go to Plan Philly for more details.

Residents discussing 4224 Baltimore Ave. design plans at one of community meetings in 2013.

A coalition of community groups are urging Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell to introduce legislation that would help move along the large residential and commercial complex proposed for 43rd and Baltimore, across from Clark Park.

The project has stalled because the property owners do not want to navigate Philadelphia’s zoning process.

So the Friends of Clark Park are circulating a petition asking Blackwell to take “swift action” to prevent the property owners from abandoning a proposal that has been devised after a series of public meetings. (For a full history of the project, click here.)

The Spruce Hill Community Association and the University City Historical Society have also sent letters to Blackwell asking her to introduce an ordinance that would exempt New York-based Clarkmore LLC from the zoning process, which can be a gauntlet of delays and even legal challenges. Clarkmore already has the right to build a no-frills 92-unit building on the property at 4224 Baltimore Avenue as it is currently zoned and the firm is reportedly willing to go ahead with that plan rather than go through the zoning changes required to build the 132-unit complex proposed after more than a year of consultation with the community.

“We do not want to see that ‘by right’ project to go through,” said Barry Grossbach, chair of the Spruce Hill Community Association’s zoning committee. “It’s going to be a box and it’s going to be ugly.”  Continue Reading