The deadline to appeal property assessments under the new Actual Value Initiative (AVI) is fast approaching. First-Level Review Request forms are due in the Office of Property Assessment (OPA) by Sunday, March 31 (or 30 days after you received your assessment notice).
The OPA recommends submitting other documents that may help the office consider your case. These could include photos or recent third-party appraisals. The First-Level Review Request form should have been included with the new assessment notifications. If you need a new form, they are available to download here. The forms should be mailed here:
Office of Property Assessment
P.O. Box 51498
Philadelphia, PA 19115
They also can be dropped off at:
311 Walk-In Center in Room 167 at City Hall Municipal Services Building Concourse-level, 1401 JFK Blvd.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your appeal, you can file another appeal with the Board of Revision of Taxes. That appeal is due by Oct. 7, 2013.
Below is a video produced by the City as a guide to the appeal process.
The 18th Police District is organizing a crime prevention event this Friday, March 29, where community members can learn about new programs designed to help combat property related crimes. The event will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Sayre High School parking lot located at 5800 Walnut Street.
The goal of the event is to spread awareness and encourage participation in the following programs (information provided by Philly Police Blog:
OPERATION I.D. is a Property Identification Program developed to aid in the prevention of crime and identification of personal property in the event that it is lost or stolen (e.g. cell phones, computers televisions, GPS, DVD headrests, car stereos, etc.).
The B.O.N.D. [Business Owner Notification Decal] Program is a program that registers local business owners with the police department in the event of a burglary or other emergency and ensures the owner is contacted immediately.
The S.A.V.E. [Stolen Auto Verification Effort] Program is an effort in which citizens register their vehicles with the police department for the application of a special decal to their car window. Enrollment in the program permits officers to stop their vehicles and conduct an ownership investigation when the vehicle is being operated on the streets of Philadelphia between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., seven days a week.
VIN ETCHING [Vehicle Identification Number Engraving] is an effort to prevent theft of vehicles and theft of glass parts from vehicles in which the VIN is professionally etched on the car windows. Etching can be done on side mirrors and on some headlights.
All the programs are free to the public and are very effective, according to police. Residents are invited to participate in all or some of them. Friday’s event will also provide other crime prevention information.
For more information please contact P/O Andrew Campbell (CPO) or P/O Mike Davis (CRO) at 215-686-3180 or 215-686-3181.
Spring Break is here for most city schoolchildren and we wanted to pass along information about some free activities for West Philly kids this week. The Free Library Hot Spots at select West Philly locations will offer some fun events from Monday, March 25 through Thursday, March 28, where kids, tweens and teens can learn how to make video games online, spice up their wardrobe with e-textiles, practice their DJ skills, make videos, and more.
At Blackwell Regional Library (52nd and Sansom), teens and tweens ages 12 and up can visit the Hot Spot to get creative. On Tuesday, March 26 from 2-4 p.m., teens at Blackwell can create and play video games. On Wednesday, March 27 from 1:45-3 p.m., there will be creative digital freeplay, from making beats to editing photos and making videos.
From Monday, March 25 through Thursday, March 28, teens, tweens, and kids ages 8 and up are invited to visit the Free Library Hot Spot at Heavenly Hall located at 4015 Poplar Street (Hours: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m.) to make video games, edit music, create an e-textiles project, or edit photos. Also, from 1:30-4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, there will be a dance party to close out the week.
If you have questions about these events, please email Jazmin at: idakaarj@freelibrary.org
An artist’s rendering of the building project at 43rd and Sansom. This is an early rendering and thanks to some pressure from the Spruce Hill Community Association, the building will include some brick facade, windows on the west-facing wall and more landscaping.
Construction of a 4-story, 31-unit apartment building (artist’s rendering above) on the southeast corner of 43rd and Sansom could begin as early as this spring.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment approved the project earlier this month. The building will occupy 121-133 S. 43rd St., which is now a vacant lot near the Bravo Advanced Care Center on the 4300 block of Walnut Street. The Spruce Hill Community Association signed off on the project in February.
The project will include 31 off-street parking spots and 11 bicycle “parking spaces.” Two commercial spaces will also be located in the building ground floor. Most of the 31 apartments are between 600 and 750 square feet.
Police are investigating another shooting outside of a residence in the Cedar Park neighborhood last night, on the same block where a man was shot and wounded last Friday. Police say shots were fired Thursday night around 6:30 p.m., on the 4900 block of Catharine Street.
Officers from the 18th District responded to a call of “a person with a gun” and found eight shell casings. Police say no victims were present. The investigation continues.
A New York-based property developer is hoping to build a 92-unit residential building on the large vacant lot at the corner of 43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue (pictured), across from Clark Park.
The property owner, Clarkmore LP, is associated with Thylan Associates Inc., whose properties include the University of Pennsylvania-run independent housing complex for the elderly, LIFE UPenn, at 4508 Chestnut St., the Bailey Building at 1218 Chestnut St. and the Biddle Building at 1217 Sansom St. The company also owns upscale condos at 1111 Locust St. and the Heid Building, 325 N. 13th St., which houses lofts.
The conditional zoning permit, granted on March 11, confirms that the developer meets some basic requirements for construction, but does not give a green light for construction.
A 17,600 square-foot structure and the plot, which is a little over an acre, was purchased by Thylan in 2008 for $3.5 million. The building was demolished soon after. The building had most recently housed a women’s shelter. In the past it had served as a nursing home and before that a private boarding school.
The proposed project will also include 36 “bicycle spaces” and 6 parking spaces.
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