If you live in the Garden Court neighborhood (see map), read on. Residents are invited to Garden Court Community Association‘s annual meeting this Thursday (June 18). The meeting will take place at Community College West, from 6 to 9:30 p.m and include the following agenda:

Old West Philly High School building at 47th and Walnut.

• Hear about progress on the development planned for the former West Philadelphia High School building. As you probably know, the former West Philadelphia High building is slated to become a 300-unit apartment complex with ground floor retail. A development of this magnitude will no doubt have a dramatic impact on the community. Come out to hear about the status of the project, and ways in which the developer, Andrew Banks, aims to engage community members.

• Vote in Garden Court’s 2015-2016 board. Come meet the nominees and exercise your right as a member to vote in the 2015-2016 board.

• Learn about GCCA’s latest happenings, from education to business district to zoning.  Continue Reading

The “bamboo lot” at 5123-29 Baltimore Avenue (Google Street View).

Greensgrow Farms recently signed a lease for a new garden center on Baltimore Avenue, and now they would like to present their plans to the community and get some feedback. A community meeting will take place on Thursday, June 4 at People’s Baptist Church (5039 Baltimore Ave), from 6 to 8 p.m. The meeting is a great opportunity for neighbors to share ideas about what they want to see at this location.

The new garden center is planned for the overgrown vacant lot (aka “the bamboo lot”) at 5123-29 Baltimore Ave. Some likely features of the new location will be a small farm, nursery, an outdoor classroom space and possibly a farmers’ market. However, Greensgrow is willing to work with the community to figure out what the new space should include.

Greensgrow, which is based in Kensington, is also inviting neighbors to check out their temporary West Philly location at 4912 Baltimore Ave. to meet the staff and learn more about their mission and impact.

Lancaster Mews (photo from Lancastermewsapts.com).

Neighbors and all interested parties are invited this evening to learn more about the proposed demolition of Lancaster Mews, the redbrick apartment buildings and storefronts on the 3600 block of Lancaster Avenue, and discuss the future development of the block. This is a great opportunity to share your concerns about the proposed development. The meeting is hosted by Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and will take place starting at 6 p.m. at Community Education Center’s Meeting House Theatre (3500 Lancaster Ave).

In addition to apartments, Lancaster Mews also houses several businesses and a day care center. According to an article by The Philadelphia Inquirer published earlier this month, the block-long row of houses built in the late 1870’s may be demolished and replaced by apartment buildings aimed mostly at students.

A community meeting to discuss updates to the Walnut Hill Neighborhood Plan will be held on Monday, May 4 from 6 – 8 p.m. at The Enterprise Center (4548 Market St).

Walnut Hill residents can take an active role in the planning process and vote on their top neighborhood priorities in the following areas: business and housing, streets and parking, healthy communities, and community development.

During the first neighborhood plan update meeting in February, participants were presented information on the changes that occurred in the neighborhood, including demographic changes, since the previous plan was written. A timeline outlining the planning process was also presented.

For more information related to the Walnut Hill Neighborhood Plan update please contact Daniel Levin, Special Projects Manager at The Enterprise Center CDC: dlevin@theenterprisecenter.com or 215-895-4014.

An oil train derailed over the Schuylkill River in January 2014 (archive photo).

On January 20, 2014, an oil train derailed in Philadelphia over the Schuylkill River, a source of drinking water for 1.5 million Philadelphia residents. A year later, 11 train tank cars containing crude oil derailed in a CSX rail yard in South Philadelphia, prompting a response by hazardous response teams. Community members are invited to join a conversation this Wednesday at USciences about the risks of oil trains in Philadelphia, including in some West Philadelphia neighborhoods.

Wednesday’s meeting is part of Clean Water Action‘s Community Listening Tour on oil trains organized for communities closest to the railroads that carry trains with more than 240,000 barrels of crude oil every day.

The meeting will include a 30-minute presentation as a primer on the issue, followed by a neighborhood engagement session. Participants will learn more about the issues and can ask about the risks. All of the input from participants is recorded so that decision-makers receive adequate feedback from their constituents.  Continue Reading

Two important and informative community events are happening this week in the Spruce Hill and Garden Court neighborhoods.

On Wednesday, March 18, the Spruce Hill Zoning Committee will be meeting at 6:45 p.m. at the Spruce Hill center, 257 S. 45th Street, to discuss a number of applications for development in the area. Cases will be heard in this order:

• 217 S. 42nd Street–application for a two-family dwelling
• 4030 Spruce Street–application for fraternity housing
• 400 S. 45th Street–increase in square footage allowed and increase number of permitted units from 12 to 19.
• 18, 20, 22 S. 43rd Street–application to increase maximum occupied area plus relief from five required parking spots (application is for relocation of lot lines from three to one in order to erect a structure for religious and educational use, connected to an existing structure).
• Presentation for feedback on possible development at 4415 Chestnut back to 4412 Ludlow by Scott Orens.  Continue Reading