Garden Court Plaza.

Development is on the agenda of the upcoming annual meeting of the Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA), which will include a presentation by the new owners of the Garden Court Plaza.

Matthew A. Pestronk, president of Post Brothers, which recently bought the 13-story Garden Court Plaza at 4701 Pine St. (pictured) and plans to invest more than $250 million in housing development in the area, will speak at the meeting, slated for Tuesday, Nov. 10 at Griffith Hall on the USciences campus.

Pestronk will open the meeting at 6:30 p.m. His topic is “Investing in Philadelphia’s Neighborhoods, 2015 – The Challenges and Opportunities.”

After Pestronk’s talk, there will be reports on SHCA activities in the last year and election of officers.

“Come out to mingle, vote and learn about and discuss development in the neighborhood,” said Monica Calkins, SHCA president.

Eric Santoro is running for president and heads up an unopposed slate that includes Calkins for executive vice president.

The entrance to Griffith Hall is on 43rd St. between Regent Sq. and Woodland Ave.

The Friends of Clark Park (FoCP) Membership meeting will take place on Monday, Oct. 19, starting at 7 p.m.

The agenda includes:

• Elections are scheduled for President, Vice President, Secretary, and half of the FoCP Board.

• A discussion is planned about trash removal in the park and associated problems.

• A discussion of various upcoming projects including folding chair replacement, new chess tables, and planning for next year’s events.

The meeting will be held at Griffith Hall Lecture Room A, 600 S. 43rd Street, on the University of the Sciences Campus. All are welcome.

This is late notice, but we wanted to pass along news that the newly formed Cobbs Creek Neighborhood Association will meet for the first time this Friday at 7 p.m. at West Phillie Produce at 18 S. 62nd Street. Cobbs Creek Neighbors is working on community projects and events west of 52nd Street and south of Market. Here’s their Facebook post about the meeting:

“Hello friends and neighbors! We are very happy to announce that this Friday [Oct. 16] we will be having our first EVER meeting of the newly (finally!) formed, Cobbs Creek Neighbors Association. West Phillie Produce has kindly offered their upstairs space to us at 62nd and Ludlow (just a block or two from the 63rd St. El stop), and if we’re lucky we might also get to hear some live music by the Black Fridays house band. Here’s your chance to get involved and meet some like-minded neighbors. Please come out!”

This is a reminder that monthly community meetings with the 18th Police District officers will take place on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. Residents are invited to bring their questions and concerns about crime in their area. There are three units in the 18th Police District, and each unit has its own meeting scheduled:

• Lt. Brian McBride of the University City Division of the 18th Police District and representatives of University City District will meet with community members at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community (48th and Baltimore).
• The community meeting for the PSA 2 area residents (see map) will be held at the 18th Police District headquarters at 5510 Pine St.
• Lt. Sean Cobette will meet with residents of the PSA 1 area at the Christian Compassion Hall located at 6130 Cedar Ave.  Continue Reading

After a series of community meetings and discussions, the draft Walnut Hill Neighborhood Plan 2015 is ready and will be unveiled on Thursday, Aug. 27. Residents, stakeholders, and anyone interested are invited to the presentation and provide feedback on the new recommendations to guide the neighborhood’s development over the next five years.

The first neighborhood plan update meeting took place in February, when participants were presented information on the changes that occurred in the neighborhood since the previous plan was written. During the second meeting in May Walnut Hill residents took an active role in the planning process and voted on their top neighborhood priorities in the following areas: business and housing, streets and parking, healthy communities, and community development.

The meeting will be held from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Enterprise Center (4548 Market St.).

University of the Sciences officials have some plans they want to share with the community and they are holding a community meeting on Thursday, Aug. 20. University leadership will provide updates on the Campus Master Plan and reveal their plans regarding a celebration of the long history of the Alexander Wilson School.

The meeting will be at the McNeil Science and Technology Center at 45th and Woodland from 7 – 8 p.m.

As a reminder, Alexander Wilson Elementary School was permanently closed in 2013, and USciences purchased the 1.03-acre parcel at 46th and Woodland last fall with the plans to convert it into student housing and student-focused retail.

Former Alexander Wilson School building at 46th and Woodland (Google Street View image).