City Council passed legislation on Thursday changing the zoning on West Catholic High School’s parking lot at 46th and Chestnut, clearing the way for a seven-story apartment building.
Proposed by outgoing Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, the bill passed after extensive negotiations between a group of West Catholic alumni and supporters of the school and the Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA). West Catholic wants to lease the land to a property developer to help fund renovations and provide scholarships for students. To make the deal financially attractive, the zoning had to be changed from CMX-2 to CMX-3 so that a developer can build a much bigger structure than is currently allowed.
“Our concern all along was that once they changed zoning, that property would double in value and we wanted to have some control over what kind of development went in there,” said Barry Grossbach, chair of the Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee. “We felt that this was a special case because we are dealing with an institution that’s been around here for a long time and is part of the neighborhood.”
West Catholic supporters presented a possible design in November that included a seven-story building with 260 units and ground floor commercial. That was before the inclusion of affordable units and parking, which are part of the deal with the SHCA.
The Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee was willing to change the zoning for the property, which is a block from a Market-Frankford El stop and on a mostly commercial stretch of Chestnut Street. But they wanted some things in return. Here’s what they got:
• Maximum of seven stories.
• Ten percent of the building’s units will be affordable housing.
• 60 on-site parking spots.
• Prohibition of certain commercial uses, including liquor store, vaping or tobacco retailers, night club or other uses “inconsistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
• Consultation on the design of the building, including materials.
• College students not included in affordable unit allocation.
• Property will not be sub-divided or sold on. The Archdiocese retains ownership of the property through a long-term (likely 99-year) lease.
• Three-year expire on zoning change if construction has not begun or substantial plans to begin are not submitted.
• No service entrances on Chestnut Street.
December 13th, 2019 at 8:29 pm
I’d like info on these.
December 16th, 2019 at 10:35 am
great compromise
December 16th, 2019 at 11:07 am
And/or are they rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?
In other words, do the reforms really go deep enough?
December 19th, 2019 at 3:24 pm
All the memories from my once revered high school
are being removed in favor of… what is it? More apartments!
West Catholic High School for Girls must live on in
my dreams because you surely have ruined it! A pox on all of you!
December 20th, 2019 at 3:21 am
And what exactly have you done about it “Dianne”? Joined the board of the school? Donated to make up for their falling enrollment rates?
Here’s the reality…West Philly schools are actually getting better due to people demanding a higher standard. Penn Alexander is one of the best public schools in the state. But your complaint is that a parking lot is being converted to tax-creating apartments? Taxes which help children? Please let us know how we can help out to hold your hand in this trying time.
December 20th, 2019 at 7:31 am
Dianne is making a fair point. Big Money threatens to turn our neighborhoods upside down whenever it is profitable and we’re supposed to accept it unconditionally?
Greedy developers and their sycophants tell us that they are helping us all by building expensive housing everywhere they can get away with it. Mostly, they are just helping themselves at our expense.