Another holiday season has come to 52nd Street and efforts are continuing to help the teeming commercial strip regain its reputation as “West Philly’s Main Street.”

52nd Street Station after renovation.

Over the past five years, the Enterprise Center’s Community Development Corporation (TEC-CDC) has invested in the renewal of 52nd Street, a once busy commercial corridor hit hard by the 10-year Market-Frankford EL reconstruction project. Providing guidance and support, the neighborhood initiative group has worked to spur economic growth in the area, hoping to bring back its vitality.

As part of those efforts, TEC-CDC recently hired Akeem Dixon as the retail gateway’s first-ever Commercial Corridor Manager, made possible by support from the Philadelphia Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC). In his role, Dixon will primarily oversee a cleaning contract managed by the center, funded in part by the Philadelphia Department of Commerce, aimed to “help make 52nd Street the best it can be,” said Bryan Fenstermaker, TEC-CDC’s senior director of programming.

52nd Street Station before the 2007-2008 reconstruction project / Photos: Wikipedia.

“Our [work] is to make 52nd Street the most attractive and vibrant corridor that it can be,” Fenstermaker told West Philly Local. “52nd Street is really the livelihood of West Philadelphia … A number of people grew up here on the corridor and remember what it used to be like. There’s no reason it can’t come back.”

Hiring a portal manager is a major development not only for the corridor, but for the local organization,  which has a hand in its planning and economic growth. According to Fenstermaker, the new manager will also serve as a soundboard for the “wants and needs” of the area, helping TEC-CDC leverage the requests of 52nd Street’s businesses and residents. Dixon will, in effect, act as a liaison for those partners involved in the corridor—be they local community associations or business owners and street vendors—so there’s full engagement among everyone who has a stake in 52nd Street’s success.

“What we would like to see is the businesses and vendors come together to support somebody that’s full-time on there as a sustainable practice,” said Fenstermaker. “We’re there to support the stakeholders and the corridor, so I see us being there long-term.”

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300 block of North 42nd Street.

A group of West Powelton residents attended last week’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting to speak out against a proposed development on the 300 block of North 42nd Street that would have squeezed seven single-family homes onto a lot zoned for just one.

Through a combination of the community’s testimony, the Planning Commission’s recommendation and the ZBA’s own concerns, the project did not receive a variance.

The hearing, which ran over two hours, was the culmination of multiple community meetings and strained attempts to communicate with the project’s developer, 42nd Street LLC. Even after meeting with the architect and seeing the site plan and renderings, the majority of residents on the block signed a petition expressing their lack of support due to what they saw as an overuse of the property.

The developer’s attorney stressed during the hearing that the lot was over 12,000-square feet and irregularly shaped. The visible portion of the lot is between 320 N. 42nd and the Lombard Presbyterian Church, but it also extends behind the houses on the west side of the street, forming a triangular shape. This was the justification for attempting to fit so many houses in the space, according to the attorney.

The case was set to be heard last September, but the developer requested a continuance. Through the leadership of the West Powelton/Saunders Park Registered Community Organization (RCO), residents returned for the second meeting with prepared testimony. Each resident spoke about a different concern, from traffic, parking and child safety to how the development would affect the fabric of the neighborhood.

Martin F. Cabry, chief of staff for Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, said after the meeting that the testimony from the community was one of the best he has ever heard.

To get involved with the group that helped organize the community around this issue, attend tonight’s monthly meeting of the West Powelton/Saunders Park RCO. The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. and will take place at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church at 4110 Haverford Ave.

– Alex Vuocolo

A notice has appeared on the burned-out building at the corner of 46th and Spruce Streets. It says that the Department of Licences and Inspections has determined the building to be “a blighting influence” and issued a violation notice to the owner, Transition to Independent Living Inc. L & I ordered the building owner to secure all the windows with “windows that have frames and glazing.”

It’s been almost three years since the building located at 4534 Spruce Street, the former home to the Transition to Independent Living Center, was damaged in a fire (more about it here). A quick search of the L & I database returned information that a permit was issued to demolish the building and erect a two-story structure to be used as a rooming house with 22 bedrooms and one care workers’ unit. However, the permit was appealed in the Zoning Board of Adjustments in January 2012 and since then there hasn’t been any progress made with the project.

There have been no signs of renovation or demolition work so far and it seems that the building is slowly decaying. West Philly Local tried to contact the owners recently as there were reports of workers spotted by the building, but our calls haven’t been returned.

On the upside … if you like street art, the building has been used as a canvas for a couple of years now.

The Croydon (Archived Photo / West Philly Local)

As promised, we checked into a few other developments in the area for round two of our real estate updates (you can read Part I here). We’ve received somewhat definitive answers for some projects—others were harder to chase down. We’ll update this post once we learn more information.

• The Croydon, at 241 S. 49th Street, seems to be shaping up nicely. According to a receptionist for the Orens Brothers, property owners of the 127-unit building, the Croydon is still under renovation, with possible occupancy starting in February. (To this end, Philly.com reported earlier this month that about 30 of the 127 apartments will be available beginning in January.) The project, however, will be completely renovated by June 2014, with occupancy projected to begin by this date, according to the University City District’s The State of University City 2013/2014 report.

• In August, we reported that Friends of Clark Park (FOCP) released a statement in favor of the design plans proposed for 4224 Baltimore Ave, the project under construction at the lot on 43^rd Street and Baltimore Avenue. That seems to be the last we’ve heard about the proposed project—4224 Baltimore’s website and Facebook page haven’t been updated since September, when Philly.com ran an article on Omar Blaik of U3 Ventures, owner of the development firm acting as liaison for the project. According to the article, since 4224 Baltimore’s projected design calls for a five-story building–two more than allotted per current zoning–Blaik has to “persuade” City Council to change zoning for the site. We were unable to reach U3 Ventures for further detail by the time of publication.

• In August, we also reported that Kensington-based Greensgrow Farms is eyeing the empty lot on 51st Street and Baltimore Avenue as part of their search for a West Philly hub, but its interest was in the proposal stage. According to Greensgrow’s Design and Media Coordinator Bryn Ashburn, they’re still in the proposal stage. Ryan Spak, owner of the lot, confirmed as much, saying more details have to be hammered out before they could move forward with anything official.

• It’s been a year since the old West Philadelphia High School was sold to New York-based developer Strong Place Partners and it has been radio silence since. Even a quick Google search yields little information since the sale of the building, which was sold for $6.5 million, was announced in late 2012. Rumor has it, though, that the sale fell through (or at least, didn’t close). We couldn’t confirm that gossip with Strong Place Partners, but a property assessment search still lists the School District of Philadelphia as the owner. We’ll post an update once we’re able to get more information.

–Annamarya Scaccia

The Spruce Hill Community Association’s (SHCA) Business Association Committee was formed earlier this year to work on several things in support of SHCA’s efforts to improve the quality of life in the neighborhood. These efforts include figuring out what the neighborhood wants and doesn’t want in terms of storefronts. To get a better idea of your interests and opinions, the committee is conducting a survey of retail preferences in the neighborhood and inviting community members to participate. Later this month, SHCA will be distributing a newsletter to every resident in the neighborhood that will include an invitation to participate in the survey, according to Lee Huang, the committee chair.

The 10-question survey is now available online. Residents can also email shca.bac@gmail.com to request a copy of the survey.

Some of the survey questions include: What kind of retail would you like or not like to see in the neighborhood? What is your favorite business? What retail locations need the most improvement? For more information about Spruce Hill, including its borders, visit: http://www.sprucehillca.org/about/

The building that housed Gary’s Nails Salon was damaged during demolition of Elena’s Soul Lounge in December, 2012. (Archive photo/West Philly Local)

After nearly a year of no movement, it seems that the site that was once home to Gary’s Nails Salon at 4910 Baltimore Avenue is now buzzing with renovation work.

Like Cedar Park Cafe, Gary’s Nails was extensively damaged during demolition of neighboring Elena’s Soul Lounge in December of last year, causing the nail salon to shutter its door. (The owners were cited with a violation on December 28, 2012 that claimed the property was “imminently dangerous.”) While Cedar Park Cafe reopened its doors at 4912 Baltimore Ave. mid-August, there was still no word on Gary’s Nails until a few weeks ago when construction work began on the building.

According to one worker at the scene, Gary’s Nails is only undergoing renovation on its roof. In particulars, that means the erection of roof framing and installation of a low-slope built-up roof assembly, describes an active alternation permit issued by Philadelphia License and Inspections on June 21, 2013. The active permit, which was updated October 8, also calls for the partial construction of a masonry wall.

While, according to the Board of Revision of Taxes, the property that once housed Gary Nails is still owned by Ye Me Chi, there is no indication if Gary’s Nails will return as a business  (the property’s exterior condition is listed as “vacant”). West Philly Local was unable to get in touch with the owner for confirmation. We’ll post an update as soon as we have more information.

–Annamarya Scaccia