Residents are invited Thursday, Sept. 7th to the Spruce Hill Community Association Office at 257 S. 45th St to hear about new development projects in the area. Three items will be on the agenda, including a proposed “by-right” construction of a 6-story residential building at 4125 Chestnut St. “By right” means that the property’s zoning allows the construction of the building without any additional permission.

The new building would replace the “Wash N Lube” car wash on the 4100 block of Chestnut. The initial plans for this location were revealed earlier this year and included construction of a 17-story residential tower with commercial space and an underground parking lot, but were later modified.  Continue Reading

A revised proposal to build a 49-unit, 6-story apartment building on a parking lot at 4045 Baltimore Ave. will be considered at an upcoming Spruce Hill Community Association zoning meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 2. Officials from New Horizon Housing, which owns the lot, presented the previous proposal at the Spruce Hill zoning meeting on June 16, but it wasn’t approved by the City’s Zoning Board of Adjustment. This Wednesday will be the third time the construction project will be presented to Spruce Hill residents.

Community members are invited to the meeting to learn more about the design alterations for the building.

“[There was] some trouble with the design [of the] entryway and elevator shaft prominence,” according to Spruce Hill Zoning Committee Chair Barry Grossbach. Also, the initial plan of having a commercial space in the building had to be reconsidered because the space is limited.

Wednesday’s zoning meeting will also consider an application for a commercial operation in a newly constructed residential building at 43rd and Sansom (123 S. 43rd St). The meeting will take place at the SHCA office at 257 S. 45th Street, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Residents are invited to learn more about development projects on Thursday, June 15 at the Spruce Hill Zoning Committee’s monthly meeting. The proposed construction of an apartment complex in a parking lot on the 4000 block of Baltimore Ave (see Google Street View below) is on the agenda.

The proposal for 4045 Baltimore Avenue was first unveiled by the developers in the Fall 2016. The complex would include 48 units, interior and off street parking, and 17 bicycle spaces.

The meeting will take place at the Spruce Hill Community Association building (257 S. 45th Street), beginning at 6:30 p.m.  Continue Reading

UPDATE: University City Garden Club will hold their annual plant sale on Sunday, May 14, 12-4 p.m. at the gates of the Woodlands Cemetery (40th & Woodland Ave.). Many herb, vegetable and flower choices will be available for sale.

We’re sad to report that the 59th annual Spruce Hill May Fair scheduled for Saturday, May 13 has been canceled due to bad weather in the forecast (a lot of rain and wind).

“This was an extremely difficult decision for us, as May Fair is our flagship annual event and our only fundraiser,” Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) president Eric Santoro wrote in an email. “The entire SHCA Board regrets that we are unable to host this wonderful annual tradition in 2017!”

But here’s some good news: some activities will still take place indoors. The annual $1 book sale will continue. Residents are invited to an Open House at the Spruce Hill Community Association Center at 257 S. 45th Street this Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.. Hundreds of new and used books of all genres will be available for $1 or less; food and beverages will be served; raffle tickets will be sold; and there may even be some live music. Everyone is welcome to come by!  Continue Reading

The annual Spruce Hill May Fair will be held on Saturday, May 13 at Clark Park and, as always, will feature tons of fun activities for children, live music performances, unique handmade items for sale by local artists and craftspeople, food from some of the top vendor trucks, book and plant sales, and the usual raffle with great prizes from local merchants.

The May Fair is also an opportunity for West Philly groups looking to do community outreach to interact with the public. Currently, the Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) has vendor tables available for local non-profits, artists and crafters.  Continue Reading

Rents in the city continue to grow, and University City is one of Philadelphia’s most expensive areas to rent in, according to recent reports. In its last month’s report based on the data from real estate company Zumper, Philly.com writes that the average one-bedroom rental is $1,800 per month in the area, making it the second most expensive neighborhood in the city (Logan Circle is first). This is a 14 percent increase from February 2016.

However, it’s important to clarify that the report defines University City as the area between 40th Street west to the Schuylkill River east, which includes the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University campuses where some of the city’s most expensive high-rise apartment buildings were built over the last few years.  Continue Reading