The Wiota Street Community Garden (from Google Street View).
The Redevelopment Authority voted to save the Wiota Street Community Garden yesterday, rejecting a sale of the land to a developer who planned to build residences on the property on the 4000 block of Powelton Avenue.
The land has been owned for decades by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, which heard a proposal yesterday to sell the land to AJR Endeavors LLC. Several residents attended the monthly authority meeting on Wednesday to speak in favor of the garden. Despite Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s support of the sale, the Authority unanimously voted against it, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Community members have been lobbying for years to keep the property a garden. A community meeting in December 2014 drew a pledge from Blackwell, who was present at the meeting, to help preserve the garden when developers expressed interest in the property.
“I hear you loud and clear,” Blackwell told the standing-room-only crowd, which was overwhelmingly in favor of preserving the garden.
Her commitment apparently changed as Redevelopment Authority documents announcing the sale included a clause that the sale was being made, “At the direction of the Council person [sic].”
The property has been valued at $465,400, according to the Redevelopment Authority, and would have been a “direct sale” to the developer rather than an auction.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Blackwell’s office said that three of four “registered community organizations” (or RCOs) voted in favor of the sale. They include the Drexel Area Property Association, which was founded by property developers in the area; The West Powelton Concerned Community Council; and Philadelphia Masjid, a mosque at 47th and Wyalusing. The West Powelton/Saunders Park RCO reportedly voted against the sale.
April 13th, 2017 at 1:07 pm
Turning down nearly half a million? Either the city is swimming in money or those are some really good tomatoes!
April 13th, 2017 at 7:15 pm
So glad to see this beautiful garden space saved. Three cheers to those who were able to attend the meeting and speak up!
April 14th, 2017 at 11:22 am
I’m so over Janine Blackwell and her bold face lies. The community has told her on two separate occasions that they did not want development in that space. She claimed to hear them “loud and clear” and a year later comes back to discuss an offer from a developer to build 8 properties on the site. What part of we don’t want development on this land does she not understand?? Almost more important to the community than the garden is the green space it provides to the neighborhood, where dogs walk, kids play, and folks utilize the take a book/leave a book library.
April 16th, 2017 at 8:34 pm
And the city once again sacrifices much-needed property-tax revenue for the schools in favor of a community garden or something else that gets priority over funding education.
April 17th, 2017 at 7:46 am
The property would not generate tax revenue for 10 years. And although it’s obvious that your pockets are directly lined through property development (and I emphasize that I have no problem with that)those of us who actually live here know that intangibles such as a community garden ultimately lead to overall higher property values on taxed land.
Stop the charade: you don’t give a fig for the schools.