Bella Vista / Italian Market : Development News

Despite a budget shortfall, SEPTA will be able to resume purchasing hybrid diesel-electric buses thanks to two grants from the US Department of Transportation. For the first time ever, SEPTA will purchase hybrid 60-foot accordion buses, which are the longest buses in the system. SEPTA’s current assortment of hybrid buses is about 30 percent more fuel efficient than equivalent clean diesel buses.

SEPTA is the beneficiary of $15 million in federal funds to cover the difference in cost between hybrid and clean diesel 60-foot buses. Luther Diggs, who’s in charge of operations at SEPTA, says it will stretch out the acquisition of these longer buses over four years, with the first year’s purchase entirely hybrid. Over the four years, SEPTA will be replacing 155 longer buses, with an option for 65 more. The percent of these that are hybrid will depend on how much more grant money becomes available. 

This opens the possibility that additional bus routes might see these longer buses. "We have some additional need for 60-foot buses," confirms Diggs. He suggests that the Route 47 bus, which was the subject of the failed skip-stop pilot and more successful attempts to speed it up, might end up seeing longer buses. Also, he hints that the extremely well-traveled Route 17 bus, which runs up and down 19th and 20th Sts. in South Philadelphia and across Center City, might be another new candidate for the 60-footers.

Shortly after the $15 million grant was announced, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced another grant of $5 million to pay for additional hybrid 40-foot buses, the most prevalent of SEPTA's fleet. This is welcome news for many local environmentalists, who earlier this year were dismayed to hear that funding difficulties meant SEPTA would cease acquiring standard-size hybrid buses. According to Diggs, SEPTA will resume purchasing these hybrid buses in 2013, and only purchase hybrid 40-foot buses in 2014. 

Diggs is convinced that hybrid buses represent the most financially sensible way for SEPTA to green its bus fleet. Diggs says SEPTA did examine running buses using compressed natural gas (CNG) in the mid-1990s. However, hybrid buses were ruled more effective than their CNG counterparts because of "infrastructure, residential neighborhoods, and cost," says Diggs. While some transit agencies in California and Texas use CNG, there are legitimate concerns about the cost of putting in CNG infrastructure and the health risks associated with natural gas.  

Source: Luther Diggs, SEPTA
Writer: Andy Sharpe 

Right behind Neumann-Goretti High School in South Philadelphia sits a building that looks decidedly out-of-place in the neighborhood. This building is a warehouse whose exterior is dressed head to toe in mosaic tiles. This building could only belong to one man; the noted local mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar. Yet, the 10,000-square foot warehouse is a work in progress, as Zagar hopes to create an indoor version of the Philadelphia Magic Gardens, an artistic hub draws tourists and events alike to South St.

The warehouse, located at 10th and Watkins Sts., consists of two floors that provide ample space for Zagar to showcase visual and performing arts. Zagar says he is looking to weave a “sculptural labyrinth" on the first floor, which he aspires to be “completely embellished” by mosaic. This would be distinctly similar to Zagar’s most talked about installation, the Philadelphia Magic Gardens. On the second floor, Zagar hopes to create a theater space. This would engage guests in a performing arts experience in addition to the first floor visual arts experience.

The greatest hurdle for Zagar to overcome is a lack of money. One of the primary reasons why he decided to create a second space is to extend the audience served and physical space of the existing Magic Gardens, which he says has had greatly increased attendance within the past few years. Foundations such as the National Endowment for the Arts supplemented the creation of the Magic Gardens, but grant funds for artists are becoming more scarce and more competitive.

Thus, it should come as little surprise that he’s having some trouble finding money to work on the warehouse. The biggest fiscal need he currently sees is the purchase of heating and air conditioning for the theater he dreams of building.

Zagar estimates that it will be three years before he completely finishes his work on the warehouse. At that time, “I hope it becomes an annex of the garden,” says the artist. Zagar also hopes his new installation lifts the Philadelphia art scene higher on its pedestal, as he tires of seeing New York City dominate the art chatter. Zagar says, “Philly was my history.”

If you have any questions about the Watkins Street warehouse, Zagar will be on hand to answer at the Magic Gardens on Dec. 4, from 1-4 p.m.

Source: Isaiah Zagar, Philadelphia Magic Gardens
Author: Andy Sharpe

Keven Parker has big plans for South Street between 13th and Broad this week, as he’s upgrading his restaurant, Ms. Tootsie’s, and adding a home store and luxury boutique hotel right next door. More than anything else, Parker is looking to emphasize the connectivity of the restaurant, lodging, and store, as there will be ample indoor access between the hotel and Ms. Tootsie’s.

Parker’s ambition in creating the new complex is quite evident. "We are a reflection of what this city offers to the discerning dweller or visitor: a place to eat, sleep and shop, the ultimate experience," says Parker. The new store and suites and the refreshed Ms. Tootsie’s will debut tomorrow (Nov. 16).

The suites, called Luxury Suites, will be something different for South Street east of Broad, which is not used to hotels. It’s clear that Parker means luxury in every sense of the word. There will be three luxury suites, each with a marble bathroom, bedroom, sitting area, oven, stove, large refrigerator, and dinette. To further regale guests, one suite will contain a jacuzzi in the middle of the bedroom.

The store is named KDP Lifestyle, which makes use of Parker’s initials. Parker plans to sell an eclectic variety of home wares at KDP, such as couches, chairs, bedding supplies, and lamps. The store will be a potpourri of trendy and antique items, and will be located directly underneath the suites.

To complement the new suites and store, the entrepreneur will also unveil a newly renovated Ms. Tootsie’s, with an enhanced menu. According to Megan R. Smith, who's handling public relations for Parker, the restaurant will now feature a "Love Lounge" for couples romantically inclined. The lounge will be painted entirely white with wood trim, and will be illuminated by faint lighting. The restaurant will also contain an R&B room with walls decorated by pictures of singers and resounding hues of red and black.

Smith adds that Parker’s expansion has met with approval from the community. She says that some of the biggest fans of the new suites and store have been local businesses and residents of the neighboring 1352 Lofts. In fact, the complex’s opening reception will include many guests from the nearby businesses and lofts.

Source: Keven Parker, KDP Lifestyle
Writer: Andy Sharpe
Photo by Andrew Terrell

Philadelphia’s Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities (MOTU) and SEPTA have completed a six-month pilot of skip-stop service on the Route 47 bus between South Philadelphia and Center City. They were hoping to speed buses up by having them stop for passengers every other block, instead of stopping at every block. However, supporters did not see the time savings they were hoping for, and in fact found some buses ran more slowly. As a result, they have re-established the bus stops that were taken away. 

Six months ago, the city and SEPTA were dreaming about allowing the Route 47 bus to run seven or more minutes faster, which would enable a bus to make an extra run. Fast forward to the pilot, and the reality was a bus that ran almost two minutes quicker at the most, according to Ariel Ben-Amos, a planner in the MOTU. This was on the northbound side, which saw more time savings than the southbound side. Unexpectedly, southbound service was 1 minute, 12 seconds slower during the afternoon rush hour with the skip-stop service, says Ben-Amos. At other times of the day, the removal of stops only sped the southbound bus up by about a minute.

The Office of Transportation and Utilities has a few explanations for why the service alteration didn't work as well as expected. The Route 47 traverses a "very dense neighborhood with lots of blocks we have to stop at because of stop signs," recognizes Ben-Amos. The planner also blames seemingly omnipresent utility work, which delayed the route by forcing buses to detour. Ben-Amos elaborates by saying there was a detour along the route at some time about every other day.

Another factor to the reversal on the Route 47 pilot was changing rider and community group reactions. Ben-Amos says that some riders noticed a faster trip on their bus, but others did not. This dampened rider support for the pilot. At the beginning of the pilot, there was weighty support from community groups along the bus route. However, at least one civic association expressed skepticism about the removal of a few stops later during the pilot.

Stop consolidation was a major part of the city and SEPTA’s test, but it wasn’'t the only change in service. They also decided to depart buses every six minutes from their terminus at Oregon Ave.'s Whitman Plaza, regardless of what time it was. This change is also being done away with. However, other elements of the pilot are being retained, such as the change in trash collection times to avoid delaying buses during rush hour, backdoor loading at 8th and Market Sts. during the afternoon rush period, and the moving of the 8th and Walnut Sts. stop to the far side of the intersection. 

Another component that will be retained is the newfound cooperation between the city and SEPTA. For decades, it looked like city transportation officials and SEPTA couldn’t get on the same page. Ben-Amos says he’s especially happy that this has changed. This cooperation will again be on display as the city and the Authority work on traffic signal priority for select bus and trolley routes.

Source: Ariel Ben-Amos, Mayor's Office of Transportation and Utilities
Writer: Andy Sharpe

Federal Donuts opened last week to a frenzied following in the Pennsport neighborhood of South Philadelphia. It's an eclectic restaurant that specializes in donuts, fried chicken, and coffee. That is, if you can get in early enough to get your hands on their food and drink.

The opening week was an important lesson in just how hungry Pennsport denizens, Philadelphians, and even suburbanites are for fried chicken and donuts. Astonishingly, Federal Donuts ran out of chicken by 12:55 p.m. every day during their first week, even though they originally planned to be open until 8 p.m. each day. The donuts also proved ultra popular, as both the hot sugared and filled donuts sold out before noon most days last week.

The new restaurant generally sells the hot sugared donuts between 7 and 10 a.m. Monday through Sunday, if they don't run out. Flavors include Indian cinnamon and vanilla-lavender. They sell the filled, or "fancy," donuts all day, until they run out. These flavors are comprised of key lime, nutella-pomegranate, and chocolate-raspberry, to name a few. They start selling fried chicken around noon, which includes Korean-style glazed chicken and crispy chicken. The chicken is prepared by renowned chef Michael Solomonov.

According to Bob Logue, one of the owners of Federal Donuts and Bodhi Coffee, the restaurant fills a void in Pennsport and the city. "The neighborhood was dying for something great," explains Logue. He adds that an establishment combining donuts, fried chicken, and coffee in the city was "elusive" before his shop opened. Logue justifies the crazed popularity of Federal during its first week by saying that it appeals to long-time Pennsport residents, yuppies, and people all across the city and even suburbs.

So far, it seems like things have calmed down to some degree this week. On Monday, fried chicken was still being offered until 1 p.m., which gave famished customers a little more time. Also, donuts lasted a little longer on Monday. "We're still selling out, but at a nicer pace," says a less frenetic Logue. Absent were the long lines of the previous week, although a steady stream of new and returning customers enlivened the shop.

Given the enormous success of Federal Donuts so far, Logue has dreams of expanding. "Federal Donuts is dedicated to the growth of a new industry in Philadelphia," he asserts. Logue says he would like to expand, although it will take some time. He's especially hopeful to add some fryers, since that's currently the biggest limitation to making more donuts and chicken. The fact that talk of expansion has come up so quickly is a great sign for the shop. In just a week, Federal Donuts has become a hit in Pennsport and Philadelphia.        

Source: Bob Logue
Writer: Andy Sharpe

PHOTOS: MICHAEL PERSCIO

The Friends of Seger Park Playground have been feverishly looking for funds to make their park at 11th and Lombard Sts. a destination for Center City and South Philadelphia children. They’re looking to improve their play equipment and install a sprayground, both of which cost a handsome amount of money.

It looks like the playground will be able to move forward with its first phase of improvements, thanks to a $500,000 grant from the city. This is in addition to a $50,000 donation from Jefferson Hospital. Adrienne Kenton, co-president of the Friends of Seger Park Playground, predicts construction will commence during the summer of 2012. In the words of Kenton, one of the biggest changes will be that all of the play equipment will be moved into one area on the 11th St. side. This would include a “dedicated tot lot,” says Kenton, which would be tailor-made for kids who are "barely crawling."

The second component of the Friends of Seger’s dream is the repair of a water sprayground that currently doesn't work. The playground held a competition to create a design for the sprayground, which was won by six designers from Kansas. The victorious design is called Fluid Scape, and includes two walls, a bench, and over a dozen water jets. This is meant to be a complement to the other playground equipment for children. Regrettably, the Friends are still $350,000 short in their quest to raise enough cash for the sprayground. Kenton assures that she and her cohorts are busy trying to identify sources of funding.

Kenton underscores why it's so important that Seger Playground be amenable to children. "So many families are opting to stay in Center City," says the co-president. Indeed, Center City is seeing a noticeable amount of young families who want to raise children in the city. This, coupled with parents rearing young children a few blocks south in South Philadelphia, should ensure plenty of use for the renovated playground. Right now, the only thing sitting in the way is $350,000.

Source: Adrienne Kenton, Friends of Seger Park Playground
Writer: Andy Sharpe

Philadelphia’s Zoning Code Commission unveiled a new timeline that they hope will lead to a modernized zoning code during a six-hour public hearing in front of City Council. The public certainly got to weigh in, as 40 different people signed up to testify, split into thirteen panels of three or more people at a time.

The barrage of public comment not withstanding, the Zoning Code Commission (ZCC) announced its strong desire to pass a new zoning code in City Council by the end of the year. Perhaps no one is more eager to see a new zoning code before the year’s end than Eva Gladstein, the Executive Director of the ZCC. Gladstein is cautiously optimistic about the odds of success. "A number of members of City Council expressed their interest in passing a new zoning code before the end of the year, and we believe that while the timeline is tight, it is achievable," says Gladstein.

From the look and sound of the hearing, City Council members and public testifiers -- including community group leaders, developers, and environmentalists -- support most parts of the zoning code update. However, there are a few sticking points among City Council and the public that might impede the ZCC deadline.

Councilman Bill Green, who many believe may run for mayor some time in the next decade, has raised many of the questions and concerns on City Council. He clarified his concerns by releasing a set of 10 amendments that he feels are necessary for the proposed zoning code re-write. At the hearing, Green complained that his office had not received a revisable copy of the zoning code proposal. Both Gladstein and Alan Greenberger, Acting Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and a member of the ZCC, claimed they did send the document. 

One of Green’s concerns is that the proposed zoning code does not adequately restrict potentially harmful industry from going into residential neighborhoods. Some of the community groups present seemed to agree with this, as well as other aspects of Green’s amendments. Another complaint, voiced by the East Falls Community Council, was that there was insufficient, albeit improved, participation from community groups in the re-write.

With this in mind, the politicians and the public seemed ready to proceed with an improved zoning code. Speaker after speaker seemed to delight in commending the ZCC for its hard work in drafting sorely needed zoning reform. Even hesitant City Council members, like Green and Brian O’Neill, acknowledged that the zoning code needed to be modernized. Thus, it's not if, but when the zoning code reform will pass. Many hope it will be by year’s end, but that’s not a guarantee.

Source: Eva Gladstein, Philadelphia Zoning Code Commission
Writer: Andy Sharpe

For quite some time now, the priest of St. Maron's Roman Catholic Church, which sits on the corner of 10th and Ellsworth streets in South Philly, has had something of a vision--a dream, you might say--relating to the living conditions of his parishioners, more than a few of whom are senior citizens in their 50s and 60s.

"They're presently living in the community," says Bruce Morgan, the president of Paoli's BCM Affordable Housing, "and for a number of different reasons, they don't want to continue living in a house they own or rent, or living with family members. They need a living arrangement that's more conducive to someone who is 55 and older. They're also typically on fixed incomes, and in a lot of ways are getting priced out of a gentrifying neighborhood."

Morgan, as it happens, runs the real estate development firm that was given the green light to construct the solution to South Philly's seniors: Along with the Haley Donovan design-architect firm and the architecture and interior design firm known as Kitchen & Associates, Morgan's company will be building a roughly 71,000 square-foot building for seniors on the 900 block of Ellsworth Street, on the current site of an under-utilized municipal parking lot.

Along with 64 units, a community room, two outdoor patios, a green roof and Energy Star appliances, the L-shaped structure will be constructed according to LEED certification standards. (Due to high costs, however, Morgan doesn't plan to actually apply for the certification itself.) Construction should start sometime near the end of the year, or the beginning of 2012.

Meanwhile, in West Philadelphia's Wynnefield neighborhood, the New Jersey-based Tryko Partners firm has spent $8 million acquiring the Kearsley Nursing Community campus, which has been recognized as the first nursing community in the county, according to Uri Kahanow, Tryko's director of acquisitions (skilled nursing with private and semi-private rooms available).

The three-building campus overlooks the Bala Golf Course and includes a historic property built in 1861. Still, says Kahanow, "We're definitely going to focus a lot on upgrading the services in the nursing facility. We're definitely going to expand on what they have now."

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Bruce Morgan, BCM Affordable Housing Inc. & Uri Kahanow, Tryko Partners

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a cool new house being built in the neighborhood? Please send your Development News tips here.

If you were lucky enough to live on the 800 block of Percy Street in South Philly, you could literally walk out your front door, pour the contents of a bottle of tap water onto the newly-paved street, and then watch as the water slowly began to be sucked up by the street itself, until it eventually disappeared altogether.

That's what happened, at any rate, during a recent press conference that was held on Percy Street's 800 block, which is now home to the city's very first porous street--a street that allows water to soak through its surface, in other words, thereby eliminating the pollutants found in storm water from entering the sewer system.

The street is one of the first initiatives of the Water Department's 25-year-long, $2 billion Green City, Clean Water program, which was itself the result of a directive from the EPA, which insisted that the city fix its combined sewer overflow (CSO) problem. CSO is an unfortunate situation during which sink and toilet water mixes with storm water in local rivers during periods of heavy rain.

According to the Water Department's Joanne Dahme, both the PWD and the Streets Department will be monitoring the effect of Percy Street's porous surface street over the next few years. And as Dahme explains, storm water capture is only one of the benefits of such a surface.

"It seems to have a lot of positive qualities," Dahme says, of the porous surface. Ice is said to melt quicker, for instance, thanks to the warmth of the soil underneath, which also makes snow removal easier. And although the installation of the street was about 10 percent more expensive than it would have been with regular asphalt, the city is already hoping to install many more porous streets in the coming years.

Source: Joanne Dahme, Philadelphia Water Department
Writer: Dan Eldridge

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a cool new house being built in the neighborhood? Please send your Development News tips here.

When Microsoft's $63 million School of the Future opened in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park in September 2006, expectations among area parents--some of whom nearly battled in order to secure a spot for their children--couldn't have possibly been higher. But by the time that first class of students was preparing to graduate, attitudes surrounding the school--which didn't require textbooks, and where many of the core subjects required for university admission weren't offered--had shifted considerably.

Today, many of the school's educational kinks have been duly worked out. But if such a project was proposed within the city today--that is, if a public development project was proposed to take place within Philadelphia's public park land--the eventual outcome would almost certainly be different. That's because on April 15, Mayor Michael Nutter signed an ordinance to amend the approval process that takes place when the city's public park land is transferred to some sort of non-park use, as was the case with the Microsoft high school.

"It's an effort that's really been spearheaded by the Parks and Recreation Commission," explains Patrick Morgan, who works underneath Commissioner Mike DiBerardinis. "What it does," he says, "is it establishes a process that's predictable and transparent for all the parties: for City Council, for citizens, and for the (Parks and Recreation) Commission."

And while there aren't currently any plans in place to change usage of city parkland, this new ordinance, which is set to take effect with the change of the fiscal year (July 1), will set in motion that new process of transparency.

"Right now, all (city) parkland is being used for its intended purpose," says Morgan. "But if someone proposes changing the use for whatever reason, then this process kicks in."

Source: Patrick Morgan, Department of Parks and Recreation
Writer: Dan Eldridge

Do you know of a new building going up, a business expanding or being renovated, a park in the works or even a cool new house being built in the neighborhood? Please send your Development News tips here.

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey announced last Tuesday that Pennsylvania would receive $47 million in federal transit and infrastructure grants as part of the Federal Transit Administration's State of Good Repair program. As SEPTA updated its hybrid bus fleet two years ago, the lion's share of the funding went to Pittsburgh's Allegheny County Port Authority for a clean diesel fleet of their own. But SEPTA didn't come away empty handed, receiving $8.1 million for two infrastructure improvements a long time coming.

The first grant will revamp SEPTA's Parkside Bus Loop, helping reconnect this West Philly neighborhood. But the second, more universal improvement will aid in future upgrades. Using $6.4 million, SEPTA will install an asset management system to aid in record-keeping as many of Philadelphia's transit assets come up for repairs.

"A lot of our infrastructure dates back to the early 1900's and were taken over from other private companies," says SEPTA CFO Richard Burnfield. "What the FTA was trying to focus on is knowing what you have out there in the field before you can make an assessment as to what your overall needs are, coming up with a plan for when things should be replaced."

The system will help SEPTA keep better records so when funding is available, the authority can make a more organized, more compelling case for further federal dollars as the fleet is upgraded.

"Right now, we do a very good job of managing our assets so while the records are not as computerized as we'd like them to be, we have so much knowledge within our engineering staff that I feel we make excellent decisions," says Burnfield. "But I think this will help us going forward so we can do a second check on things as our staff reaches retirement."

Source: Richard Burnfield, SEPTA
Writer: John Steele

In science fiction novels and books about the future, a few technologies are boilerplate: flying cars, meals in pill form and the ability to teleport instantly from place to place. National commuter rail company Amtrak took another step toward teleportation on Tuesday with its announcement of a high-speed rail vision plan. In Tuesday's news conference from University City's 30th Street Station, with Governor Ed Rendell on hand, Amtrak officials laid out their goal to create a line with average speeds well over 130 mph, saving passengers between one and two hours on average.

"Amtrak is putting forward a bold vision of a realistic and attainable future that can revolutionize transportation, travel patterns and economic development in the Northeast for generations," says Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman.

The plan, entitled A Vision for High-Speed Rail in the Northeast Corridor, proposes a full build-out to be completed by 2040. Its construction, Amtrak says, would create more than 40,000 full-time jobs annually over a 25-year period, building new track, tunnels, bridges, stations, and other infrastructure. Predictably, the cost for such a project is high, $4.7 billion annually over 25 years. But Amtrak's feasibility studies peg the Northeast as a "mega-region" capable of drawing the type of rail traffic to make such an investment profitable. And with some premier legislative voices like New Jersey's Frank Lautenberg and Massachusetts' John Kerry already voicing their support, we may be teleporting out of 30th Street Station sooner than we think.

"Amtrak's High Speed Rail plan will create jobs, cut pollution and help us move towards a modern and reliable transportation system network in the Northeast," said Kerry in a recent statement. "As countries around the world continue to build out their transportation systems, we
cannot afford to fall further behind. This is an important down payment on the massive commitment necessary to bridge our infrastructure gap." 

Source: Joseph Boardman, Amtrak
Writer: John Steele