You may have noticed new street signs popping up outside of businesses in and around Cedar Park in the past few months. So here’s the scoop. The signs are part of a project, “Humble Beginnings,” sponsored by the National Street Service, according to the project coordinator and West Philly resident Brian Cirksey.

Three signs have been posted along Baltimore Ave from 47th to 50th so far, by Vientiane Cafe, Talking Heads hair salon, and Satellite Cafe. These businesses were able to tell their unique stories of how they began (humble beginnings), via in-person visits, phone calls, and emails, and this information was translated into these historical marker signs.  Continue Reading

Cedar Park map (click to enlarge)

Now through June 15, the 2018-2019 Cedar Park Neighbors Gary Bronson Memorial Scholarship application is open for young adults pursuing higher education. Applicants must live within the stated boundaries of Cedar Park (see map) and be attending a regionally accredited post-secondary school in the fall to be considered for the scholarship.

Since 1988, the Cedar Park Neighbors Scholarship Committee has been providing young people with both mentorship and financial support to help them be successful in their post-secondary endeavors. In 2017, over $11,000 was raised and nine students were funded with cash scholarships to help defray some of the incidental costs of attendance. During the school year, the committee reaches out to the students via calls, emails and care packages at finals.  Continue Reading

It’s been more than five years since the devastating Christmas Eve fire destroyed the popular Cedar Park bar & restaurant Elena’s Soul and damaged the adjacent diner and hair salon. After the fire and demolition, the empty lot at 4912 Baltimore was temporarily used by Greensgrow West (in 2014-2016), and now we noticed a new building coming up. We reached out to the property owner, local businessman Algernong Allen, for more information.  Continue Reading

Click to enlarge

A proposal for a 5-unit apartment building at 4829 Baltimore Ave. will be back in front of the Cedar Park Neighbors zoning committee on Tuesday, April 17. Last month the committee asked the developer to slim down the building so it would encroach less on adjacent buildings.

The owner has requested a variance for construction of the apartment building (see rendering) at the site currently zoned RSA-3, which would allow only a single-family structure on the long vacant lot.

The public is welcome to attend to the meeting, which will be held at Calvary Center (48th and Baltimore, entrance on Baltimore), beginning at 7 p.m., to see the revised plans and elevations for the proposed building and to voice your opinions on this proposal. If you cannot make this meeting and wish to comment, please contact Cedar Park Neighbors.

To read more about the original plans presented at the previous zoning meeting, go here.

Cedar Park Neighbors (CPN) will hold its annual meeting on Monday, April 16, and all interested neighbors are welcome to attend. During the meeting, the CPN executive and board member election will be held. You can check the list of candidates here (please note that only CPN members can vote; if you want to join CPN, go here for more information).

After the election, Vicki Riley from the Department of Revenue will speak about taxpayer assistance programs.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the election, and the presentation and Q & A with Vicky Riley will be held from 7 – 8 p.m., followed by the board meeting.

The meeting will be held at the Calvary Community Center at 48th and Baltimore (please enter on 48th Street for the chapel).

A rendering of the proposed five-unit apartment building for the vacant lot at 4829 Baltimore Ave. The Cedar Park Neighbors zoning committee asked the developers to reduce the number of units and the scale of the building.

The Cedar Park Neighbors zoning committee on Thursday evening convinced developers proposing a four-story, five-unit apartment building for a long empty lot on the 4800 block of Baltimore Ave. to slim down the project and introduce it again at a later date.

The plan requires variances from the city because the lot is zoned for a single-family home and the proposed building would cover more than 50 percent of the lot, which is between a building fronted by a nail salon on one side and a residential building on the other side. It includes five units ranging from 620 square feet to 1,400 square feet.

“I don’t think anyone is saying that Baltimore Avenue (on that lot) needs to be a single-family home, but five units is a big ask,” said zoning committee chair Shawn Markovich. “It’s overbuilt.”  Continue Reading