(Google Street View image).
A proposal introduced Wednesday night at the Spruce Hill zoning committee to turn what committee chair called “the single greatest nuisance property in the history of Spruce Hill” from a fraternity house into a three-unit drew skepticism from neighbors, who want the 3,100-square-foot property to go back to being a single family home.
Until recently the property at 422 S. 42nd St. (a block north of Baltimore Avenue) housed the University of the Sciences fraternity Upsilon Sigma Phi, a bane to residents on the block for decades.
New Jersey-based Vasupujya Properties bought the property for $395,000 on Sept. 1 and, according to the zoning request, hopes to renovate its maze of small rooms into three apartments. The building is legally zoned as a fraternity house and can legally accommodate up to 12 residents. The reconfiguration of the four-story building would include a bi-level, two-bedroom apartment in the basement and first floor, a one-bedroom on the second floor and a bi-level three-bedroom on the third floor.
The new layout and renovations, Vasupujya argued, will attract tenants who would be far different than the fraternity members who have been disturbing the block for years.
“It seems like a clear and rational plan,” said nearby resident and block captain Justin McDaniel. “And I am deeply opposed to it.”
McDaniel and other residents want the property to revert to its original use – as a single family home on a block with many other single family homes. Residents say they even have a buyer interested in doing just that.
“The plan is a good plan,” said another resident. “The plan is not a frat, but it’s not as good as it could be with a single family owner.”
The block’s opposition to the proposal is part of a larger effort to preserve single family homes that also includes an application to the Philadelphia Historical Commission to place the whole west side of the block – 420-434 S. 42nd St. – on the city’s historic register. That would mean that any future alterations to those properties would go before the commission. A hearing on the designation of the block (along with several other properties) is scheduled for Dec. 14 at 9:30 a.m. at 1515 Arch Street, room 18-029.
Meanwhile, the Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee will consider the plan to renovate the building and another hearing before the proposal goes before the Zoning Board of Adjustment in January.
December 9th, 2016 at 5:28 pm
I’m not sure why this was billed as a nuisance property. I was a neighbor and during my 10 years living next to them the brothers were always polite and kept the house well maintained. They did volunteer work with us in the spruce hill community, cleaning up after our Halloween parade, and they organized a quarterly block cleanup. Additionally, prior to hosting any events, they contacted all of us neighbors, and requested permission first.
I know that I was not the only person within the spruce hill community association who felt they benefited the community more than harmed it.
To speak poorly of the recent brothers, and their contribution to the community constitutes poor reporting on behalf of west philly local.
December 9th, 2016 at 7:21 pm
Sounds to me like there is a bunch of people in spruce Hill who are really bad at finding a place to live. While it wasn’t always named University City, there has been three colleges there for 100 years. I doubt that they are naive enough to think that there wouldn’t be noisy neighbors or Greek housing in the vicinity. It would be like buying a house next to a prison and then complaining every time the sirens go off… you look like an idiot for complaining about deciding to live there.
Also, I wonder if the neighbors ever confronted the fraternity or only resorted to passive aggressively talking about them after they left. So many things in this article make me question the intelligence and maturity of the people living near this “notorious frat.” I hope they realize that one fraternity leaving UCity doesn’t mean it’s going to be quiet. There’s still roughly 75 other Greek organizations and countless houses filled with the student bodies of three Universities in the neighborhood. The best thing they can do to fix their whining would be move to another part of the city that hasn’t housed universities for longer than the residents have been alive…
Should probably put this as well: I am in no way affiliated with this fraternity. I am just another local person who hates whining, stupidity, and especially whining about your own stupidity.
December 9th, 2016 at 7:50 pm
I was a brother in the fraternity house from 1995-1999 and we were one of the few houses on the block who actually did block cleanup and cared about our neighbors and listened to any neighbors concerns. I personally met with the block captain in 1998 and 1999 and addressed any concerns. We donated time to raise money for the HMS school and other charities. We were a group of true brothers who, lived together, worked as a team to achieve organizational goals, and many now work together and are very successful with the same hustle and teamwork that made our near century old organization enduring and special.
I was also shocked then and NOW by the unfair criticism we received when in fact it was the neighboring party houses causing the nuisance. Our brothers would clean up the messes of 420, 424, and 426 S. 42nd street because we didn’t like the mess either and because we didn’t want to get blamed. This poor lazy cliche reporting is ridiculous. Whoever wrote this is probably one the people who writes that all Philadelphia sports fans are bad fans because “Philly fans booed Santa Clause”. I chalk up this skewed reporting as nothing more than the sad state of our country’s journalism.
December 9th, 2016 at 10:54 pm
And another thing … just because we shot off fireworks, doesn’t mean your dogs can puke on our lawn
December 10th, 2016 at 7:24 am
“Upsilon Sigma Phi, a bane to residents on the block for decades”
The fraternity had been there since the 50’s, through some of west Philadelphia’s worst times and was part of the rejuvenation of the area. We worked with the neighbors and never had no major issues when I was there.
Go back to journalism school you bum. Your reporting is myopic.
December 10th, 2016 at 7:57 am
Maybe they’re forgetting the white supremacists and neo nazis that lived on 42nd and Baltimore!
December 10th, 2016 at 10:02 am
Thanks for the comments rounding out the history of the fraternity on the block. Our characterization of the property came from the chair of the Spruce Hill zoning committee, a long-time resident of the neighborhood who sat on the board of trustees of the University of the Sciences and recounted during the zoning meeting the numerous times the residence was brought up during board meetings for violations.
December 11th, 2016 at 8:51 am
Just a question Mike Lyons, do you always rely on comments to round out the story? Perhaps speaking with more than one “source” would provide a well rounded article from the beginning. Instead this reads more like a sour grapes editorial from someone who made a poor decision on where to purchase a home.
December 11th, 2016 at 3:58 pm
While the fraternity was often a nuisance property in the past, hardly lifted a finger to take care of the front or back of their house, had problems with fights, trash, noise, rarely ever offered to help their neighbors, and even had an armed robbery and had many code violations (this is all well-documented in university records, L&I, and police reports, not just the opinion of a few grumpy old neighbors), between 2010-2016 had gotten much better under new leadership and made efforts to repair their relationships with the block. Indeed, the brothers were often welcoming and friendly. Students party, that is to be expected and certainly it is fine within reason, it is the general maintenance of a property, respect for neighbors (working adults, often with children), and openness to dialog that are the keys. I personally found the brothers over the past few years to be neighbors who made an effort to improve their reputation.
December 11th, 2016 at 11:22 pm
Over a decade ago, I remember one of the SHCA folks coming to the fraternity during a party under the pretense of being neighborly but really wanted to get in the door just to find issues and get ammunition to attack the fraternity. This man tried going upstairs and was told not to as he ignored this and attempted to walk past our members and guests. He had no interest in socializing just spying and got disinterested when he couldn’t get upstairs so he left. This kind of disingenuous neighborly spirit shows the backstabbing nature of the bad apples in the SHCA. Good neighbors watch out for each other and help each other. Maybe SHCA should clean up there own house before looking at others. I am now an Operations Manager/ Pharmacist for the company In which I work. Before we moved our pharmacy to a new building, I had a great relationship with the 4 neighboring businesses. This mutual neighborily cooperation addressed shared parking issues, noise, deliveries, and other issues. Opportunities to help each other out built great relationships. These relationships were so great that we borrowed things from each other, neighbors helped repair our equipment in a pinch, we helped each other out during snowstorms, watched each others businesses when other we were closed, shared security footage, etc. These are all things I learned at my time as a member of the fraternity and living in that house.
December 12th, 2016 at 9:17 am
A lot of these comments are too long to keep a casual user’s attention. Can we keep this discussion frank, please!? Please keep responses to two or three sentences so to promote an open dialogue without being too wordy.
December 12th, 2016 at 9:23 am
There is no word limit on comments as long as they comply with our rules. We appreciate everyone’s input in the discussion.
December 15th, 2016 at 4:56 pm
I like the idea of three units in the house. Perhaps, a good compromise would be three condominium units. This would attract those interested in ownership.
April 1st, 2017 at 10:07 am
is Hoorahtesty the occupant on Osage with the newspapers pasted over her windows? I hope this comment is short enough.