UPDATE (12/16/2014): Here’s the agenda for tonight’s meeting:

• Enrollment
• Support of K-12 education
• Ongoing Engagement activities
• Campus Master Planning
• Call for university – community collaboration ideas

(12/15/2014): University of the Sciences (USciences) is reaching out to the local community by hosting a regular public meeting every three months. In a message circulated via email, USciences president Dr. Helen Giles-Gee writes that “as a member of our community, University of the Sciences recognizes that it’s important that we communicate with each other and share information.”

At the quarterly meetings, university leadership will provide updates on new and ongoing projects and “will seek your feedback on ways in which we may work together for the betterment of our community.”

The first community meeting will take place this Tuesday (Dec. 16) at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the McNeil Science and Technology Center (43rd and Woodland, see map here). Light refreshments will also be served.

It’s not clear whether the meeting will include information and discussion of the university’s recent purchase of the former Wilson Elementary School building at 46th and Woodland, which it plans to convert into student housing (read more here).

Old West Philly High School building at 48th and Walnut. (Archived photo)

Among the proposed new charter school applications that will come under public scrutiny this week is the “Philadelphia Music and Dance Charter School,” a K-12 school that could be housed in the old West Philadelphia High School building at 48th and Walnut.

The siting of the school at the old West Philly High building would require the building’s likely developer, which is in the process of purchasing it to convert to lofts, to lease a sizable chunk of the building – as much as 90,000 square feet –  to the school. The school expects up to 900 students when it hits full capacity in a few years.

The developer, New York-based Strong Place Partners, has apparently agreed to do that, according to the school’s application submitted in November. The public hearing for Philadelphia Music and Dance Charter School’s application is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. on Thursday.  Continue Reading

Where an old, grand church building stood for 136 years until last December there is a glass box now. Well, at least it’s a useful box.

Many of our readers will be excited to know that the new retail space at the corner of 40th and Sansom was completed earlier this month and already started welcoming its first occupants. Dunkin’ Donuts, Zesto Pizza, and Jake’s Sandwich Board already opened their doors. Hai Street Kitchen, a Japanese burrito shop, is coming in early 2015, according to Philly.com’s The Insider.

A giant dumpster is already in front of the former Best House Pizza. A zoning hearing for 4301 Baltimore Ave is scheduled for Nov. 19. (Photos by West Philly Local)

Tentative plans for a new restaurant and bar at 4301 Baltimore Ave. – formerly Best House Pizza – include a stripped down facade, craft beer on tap, second floor dining and, possibly, pizza by the slice.

The owners of Local 44 introduced their plans to open the establishment, tentatively named “Clarkville,” to the Spruce Hill Community Association planning committee and a roomful of nearby neighbors last night.

Plans call for the removal of the awning and the installation of floor-to-ceiling windows on the restaurant’s first floor, which will also include a bar that serves only tap beer, wine and high-end spirits. In other words, no Jägermeister shots.  Continue Reading

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.

Spruce Hill residents have a chance to learn more about proposals for new apartment buildings, business applications and other development in their neighborhood on Monday, Oct. 27 during a Spruce Hill zoning meeting. The meeting, which will take place at the Spruce Hill Center at 257 S. 45th Street, is organized by the Spruce Hill Community Association and is open to all interested neighbors and residents.

Included on the agenda is the replacement for the Best House Pizza at 4301 Baltimore Ave., which is proposed to include upstairs dining. As we reported earlier this month, the Best House Pizza closed its doors at 43rd and Baltimore after eight years of operation and Local 44 owners were in the process of signing the lease with plans to open a new establishment in that location in Spring 2015. A source from the Spruce Hill Community Association said earlier that the organization was waiting to see if the new owners would request any zoning variances, which would trigger a public hearing on the project. As the process is obviously underway, stay tuned for more updates.

Here are other items on the agenda. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.:

• Legalization of a boarding house status at 4011 Baltimore Avenue
• Application for multi-family dwelling at 217 S. 42nd Street
• Construction of an apartment dwelling at 4100-02 Ludlow Street