Former Transition To Independent Living Center building at 4534 Spruce St.

Following up on Monday’s post about Mission First Housing Group’s decision to withdraw their application for zoning variance at 4534-36 Spruce St, which would allow them to build a four-story 24-unit affordable housing structure, we have some more information from Mission First and Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA).

Mission First had to withdraw their application because the “project was not allocated funding in the 2015 round,” according to Mission First’s spokesperson Becky Lang Staffieri. The project was contingent on state funding. Staffieri could not provide more details about the future of the property, but said that Mission First still owns it and are weighing their options on next steps.

According to SHCA Zoning Chair Barry Grossbach, opposition from at least one immediate neighbor may have contributed to the decision to withdraw the application. Mission First “sensed that the immediate neighbor was prepared to challenge any positive ruling by the zoning board in court, and they were not willing to withstand a protracted process that could stretch for months or longer,” Grossbach said.  Continue Reading

4534-36 Spruce St.

UPDATE (3:05 p.m.): We have just heard from Mission First that they withdrew their application for zoning variance at 4534 Spruce St. They have also notified Spruce Hill Community Association about their decision, according to the organization’s spokesperson Becky Lang Staffieri. Stay tuned for more information.

Mission First Housing Group’s affordable housing proposal at 4534-36 Spruce St is scheduled to go before the Zoning Board of Adjustment this Tuesday (July 7). The hearing was originally scheduled for April 28, but was postponed. The proposal is for a four-story 24-unit building aimed at low-income single residents. Public input is encouraged. Click here to read our original story about this project, which will replace a deteriorating Transition To Independent Living Center building damaged by fire in 2011.

Also on Tuesday, there will be another attempt to consider the proposal for a live action puzzle game venue at 4751 Woodland Avenue. The hearing for this project was also rescheduled from an earlier date. The new venue is proposed for the warehouse currently at this location, which requires a special permit from the city.

Hearings are scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. The Zoning Board of Adjustment is located at 1515 Arch Street, 18th Floor.

The new affordable housing project at 46th and Spruce will replace the former Transition To Independent Living Center building damaged by fire in 2011.

The affordable housing project at the corner of 46th and Spruce Streets will be considered this Tuesday (April 28) by the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA).  This is a public meeting and residents are encouraged to provide input on the project.

The project, which includes demolition of the current fire-gutted one-story building (former Transition To Independent Living center) and construction of a four-story 24-unit structure, was approved by the Spruce Hill Community Association’s zoning committee in December 2014.

The Mission First Housing Group building will include one and two-bedroom rental apartments aimed at low-income single residents (read more about the project here).

The Zoning Board of Adjustment will also consider a request for a special permit to all of the warehouse at 4751 Woodland Ave. to be used for “live action puzzle solving activity for more than 50 people,” according to a zoning notice on the property. We’re not sure what that means yet, but we’ll keep you posted.

Both hearings are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. at 1515 Arch Street, 18th Floor.

4751 Woodland Ave.

A large building project has just been completed in West Powelton. A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place Wednesday for Bigham Leatherberry Wise Place, a new affordable housing project, which includes eleven units. A vacant lot and an existing structure at 4226-32 Powelton Avenue were transformed into the homes, seven of which are for formerly homeless women with special needs and their children. The housing includes six two-bedroom and five three-bedroom units, two of them will be fully accessible to people with disabilities and one will be accessible to individuals with sensory impairments. Bigham Leatherberry Wise Place also features a courtyard containing a rain garden and a large rear yard.  Continue Reading

With the expanded footprint of the new building, the area between nearby buildings has come into question, including the area bordering the Kingsbury apartment building (seen on the right in this image).

The developers of a proposed affordable housing building at 46th and Spruce presented more detailed plans for the four-story, 24-unit structure, which will replace the one-story building damaged by fire in 2011, to the Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee on Wednesday night.

The Mission First Housing Group‘s building would include 24 one- and two-bedroom rental apartments aimed at people with a household income of $36,000 a year or less and is contingent on state funding. Mission First hopes to improve its chances for funding by going through the zoning process, which will require variances for building height, erecting a multi-family structure and not providing parking.

Their proposal got some pushback from neighbors concerned about the building’s height, which will be 10 feet higher than current restrictions, and its distance from nearby buildings. Tentative plans call for the new building to be pushed back from the Spruce Street sidewalk (the current building comes right up to the property line) to be more in line with other buildings on Spruce. That means the building has to go higher to accommodate the number of units needed for the project to be feasible.

The owner of the building in the rear of the project also wants a little more setback from his apartment building, the Kingsbury. Negotiations have been ongoing between the Kingsbury’s owner and Mission First to come up with a compromise that may push the building a little further toward Spruce Street.

Plans include indoor bike storage and trash receptacles and a compactor that would be stored inside. No parking is proposed, but Mission First representative Mark Deitcher said that few residents in similar housing complexes that the organization operates around the city own cars.

The building would be aimed at attracting low-income single residents, particularly veterans. Last night’s meeting was scheduled to get an update and no decisions were made. A full hearing on the project will be conducted after the plan is submitted to the city.

– Mike Lyons

Architect Nancy Bastian from Cecil Baker and Partners shows preliminary drawings of a proposed affordable housing building at 46th and Spruce during a meeting of the Spruce Hill Community Association planning committee on Monday evening. (Photo by West Philly Local)

A non-profit told the Spruce Hill Community Association and a handful of nearby residents that it hopes to construct a four-story affordable housing building on the site of a burnt-out one-story structure at 46th and Spruce.

The Mission First Housing Group‘s building would include 24 one- and two-bedroom rental apartments aimed at people with a household income of $32,000 a year or less, according to Mark Deitcher, Mission First’s director of business development.

“Our plan is to replace affordable housing with affordable housing,” he said.

The burnt-out building at 46th and Spruce.

A fire gutted the building in February 2011, essentially putting out of business the non-profit that ran an assisted care living facility on the site. The insurance proceeds from the fire were not enough to cover rebuilding. Mission First is currently managing the property on the owner’s behalf and recently shored up the building’s roof and replaced windows by city order.

The project depends on a successful application for funding from the state. Mission First would own the property and fund the building’s construction through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s low income housing tax credit program, which would provide funding for the project. Deitcher said he expects the project to cost about $7 million, or about $200 per square foot. Funding applications are due late this year or maybe early next year, so completion of the project, if approved, is still a couple of years away. Mission First would also manage the building once constructed.  Continue Reading