Twins at 4300-4306 Osage Avenue.
The city Historical Commission’s Committee on Historic Designation recommended on Wednesday adding the Second Empire style twins at the 43rd and Osage and the south side of the 3600 block of Lancaster Avenue, both eyed by developers, to the Register of Historic Places.
Proposals for both properties now move to the Historical Commission for final approval scheduled for Oct. 9. Placement on the Historic Register stipulates that the commission “must review all proposals that require a building permit and/or that would alter the appearance of the historic resource prior to the commencement of work,” according to the commission website.
The 19th Century twin at 4300-4302 Osage was purchased in May for $725,000 by “Osage Realty Investment.” That property and its adjacent twin at 4304-4306 occupy an approximately 2.5-acre plot on the southwest corner of 43rd and Osage that residents fear might be irresistible to developers.
The south side of the 3600 block of Lancaster Ave.
Meanwhile, residents who live near the 3600 block of Lancaster Avenue have been concerned for months that developers may demolish the historic block to build student housing. Community leaders and organizations vowed at a meeting in May to fight developers to save the historic commercial block.
“The threat of demolition was imminent,” Powelton Village Civic Association zoning chair George Poulin told the meeting in May.
Wednesday’s decision moves the block one step closer to historic status. The application for preservation lines up a set of hurdles that developers are required to navigate before renovations or demolition. But if the developer can prove that the present state of the buildings presents a financial hardship, demolition could still go ahead, as happened to the Samuel Sloan-designed mansion at 40th and Pine.
– Mike Lyons
September 18th, 2015 at 3:46 pm
Wonderful news. Thanks for the update.
September 18th, 2015 at 10:39 pm
Here’s the scam that’s going on: Drexel is trying not only to corner the real estate business in and around Powelton but, but to take over the entire area on a level not seen since the anti-Drexel struggles of the 60’s and 79’s.
Here’s how it works: Drexel forces all freshmen and sophomores to live either in dorms or in “Drexel Approved Housing,” which is basically the crappy “mini-dorms” being slapped up all over the neighborhood masquerading as “housing.” (I’m told that the walls are paper thin and the students hate them.) According to a letter circulated to homeowners in the vicinity of 38Th & Baring St., “Once the need for Drexel approved housing goes away these buildings will not be suitable for the young professionals or young families wanting to live in our area. Powelton and Mantua will be in an unfortunate situation because many of the units will remain empty and the developers will face bankruptcy.”
Can’t this be nipped in the bud? These places are real eyesores and in ten years might be abandoned except for homeless people and criminals.