Neighborhood Innovation : Development News

Why Indy Hall and Postgreen are bringing cohousing to Philadelphia

Flying Kite Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The concept of cohousing--a collaborative style of living in which a number of different families participate in each others' lives, and may even bunk underneath the same roof--certainly isn't anything new. The idea originated in Denmark, and today, in some of the more liberal corners of the U.S., cohousing is practically considered mainstream. There are websites, annual conferences, and even cross-country tours promoting the lifestyle.

And yet in a hardscrabble city like Philadelphia, cohousing is just about as edgy as it gets. So it makes sense that one of Philly's edgiest home designers, Postgreen Homes, has announced plans to build a six-unit cohousing space in Kensington. And while each of the units will have its own kitchen and living area, large common areas--including a commercial kitchen, a dining room, and a roof deck--will be shared.

Postgreen is joining forces in the venture with the team from Independents Hall, the Old City coworking space. Indy Hall co-founder Alex Hillman says that he and his business partner, Geoff DiMasi, have long talked about the idea of "reinventing some other elements of life" in the same way they reinvented their work lives after Indy Hall was opened. Those very conversations, in fact, eventually led to the idea of creating a cohousing village. But as Hillman is quick to point out, "Cohousing is more than just providing common areas for renters. The cool thing about it," he says, "is that the communities are designed by the members of the communities."

Currently, Hillman and his team are searching hard for those members, as a fairly steep amount of money needs to be raised by June in order to secure the preferred plot of land. To learn more about joining the community, visit village.indyhall.org.

Source: Alex Hillman, Independents Hall
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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More Science Center development to come, thanks to an agreement with the Philadelphia RDA

Flying Kite Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Right around this time last year, relations between the University City Science Center and Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (RDA)--which is responsible for encouraging development in the city--were slightly strained, to say the least. In May, the Science Center filed a lawsuit against the RDA in an attempt to stop the seizure of a portion of its University City research park. The undeveloped lots, which had fallen into default due to the financial crisis, were meant to become future additions to the Science Center's campus.

But thanks in part to a clause in the original agreement between the two agencies which disallowed foreclosure in the instance of "unforeseeable causes," the Science Center managed to hang onto its property. The two entities have also shaken hands and made up, metaphorically speaking. And on April 29, the Science Center published a press release announcing that the "longstanding redevelopment agreement" had been amended.

That's certainly good news for anyone who believes in the technology-based economic development happening at the Science Center. And according to Saul Behar, the Science Center's Vice President and General Counsel, the center now has the buffer of an additional 10 years to develop the four parcels on its campus that are still vacant. If the center is willing to shell out for additional fees, Behar says, that decade can legally be extended to 13.

As for what may or may not eventually be developed on the space over the next decade, the Science Center isn't quite sure--or isn't telling. "There's nothing solid right now," says Behar. "But we're continuing to market the parcels, and we're always looking for opportunities."

Source: Saul Behar, University City Science Center
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Roberto Clemente Playground getting much needed overhaul

Flying Kite Tuesday, May 03, 2011

When Sara Hirschler was driving around Spring Garden a few years back on a house-hunting mission, it was her real estate agent who pointed out the embarrassing eyesore that was Roberto Clemente Park, at 19th and Wallace streets. "He was like, 'Don't look at this park--it's not a good place!'" Hirschler recalls. And at the time, that was certainly an accurate assessment. Roberto Clemente Park has long been seen as a hotbed of illicit drug and gang activity, regardless of the fact that much of the surrounding community is relatively upscale.

Hirschler nevertheless ended up purchasing a condo around the corner from the park, and she soon came to know Roberto Clemente as "this really amazing, central spot in the neighborhood," she says. "I definitely saw it as an opportunity, where I could have a place to get to know my neighbors."

At first, Hirschler organized a series of kickball games in the park, but they soon evolved into something bigger and better. "I went through the park," she says, "and created an action plan of all the needs the park had--basic things, like painting the playground equipment, and the field needing some grass."

Along with Justino Navarro, a Spring Garden CDC board member, Hirschler also launched Friends of Clemente, which has been working to revitalize the park since 2008. (The group is largely funded by donations.) The organization's latest initiative involves a complete overhaul of the park, which should be finished by the end of May. A fence that wraps around the park's field is also being painted, and on May 14 the group will be hosting the second installment of Clemente Fest, a sort of neighborhood get-together featuring food, music, and a handball tournament.

"It's such a beautiful neighborhood," Hirschler adds. "And (Clemente Fest) is a great opportunity to start to get to know everybody, and to really feel like a community."

Source: Sara Hirschler, Friends of Clemente
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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A wide-reaching nonprofit brings urban agriculture to Point Breeze

Flying Kite Tuesday, May 03, 2011

When Philadelphians Paul and Nichole Badger were going through the process of planning their wedding in 2008, they "decided that we just didn't believe in the typical one-day splurge that everybody does for their wedding," Nichole explained, during a recent telephone interview.

Nichole is a corporate entertainment attorney who has long been involved with charitable work, and at the time, she and Paul had been tossing around the idea of starting a nonprofit of their own. "And then," she said, "it suddenly occurred to us: Why not do it now? And so instead of having this full-blown, crazy wedding, we decided to take a portion of our wedding budget, and to use it to start Stars Within Reach."

Today, Stars Within Reach partners with various entertainers, pro athletes and businesses on what Badger refers to as twelve different platforms; the group works on everything from housing issues to greening and nonviolence initiatives. (Their motto: Changing the world one cause at a time.) Their latest project, A Healthy Future Within Reach, aims to battle childhood obesity, and SWR plans to focus its local efforts in the South Philly neighborhood of Point Breeze, a so-called 'food desert' where healthy eating options are scarce.

On Monday (May 2), they kicked off a 30-day multimedia campaign to raise awareness of childhood obesity. At the month's end they'll join with Mayor Nutter, Congressman Chaka Fattah, 76er Lou Williams, and other area notables to create two community gardens and a fruit orchard in Point Breeze. "We definitely believe that eating healthy and healthy living is at the core of everything you do," Badger says. "And Point Breeze is an area where the kids really are impacted by the lack of healthy eating options."

Source: Nichole Badger, Stars Within Reach
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Kensington's Memphis Taproom adds a beer garden with a gourmet hot dog truck

Flying Kite Tuesday, April 26, 2011

When the locally-adored Kensington restaurant and craft-brew bar known as the Memphis Taproom was last in the news, back in March 2010, it was due to a truly unfortunate circumstance involving restrictive state alcohol laws and the perennially unpopular Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Responding to an anonymous tipster, the PLCB raided the Taproom--along with West Philly bar Local 44, and the Resurrection Ale House in Graduate Hospital, all of which are owned by Brendan Hartranft and his wife, Leigh Maida--for serving beers that hadn't been officially registered with the commonwealth.

And while the Memphis Taproom is once again finding itself the subject of media attention, this time the news is considerably happier: In an attempt to build its local profile by providing a bar experience that's unique to the neighborhood, the Taproom has constructed an outdoor beer garden in its next-door lot. The garden features white oak tables and an atmosphere that Hartranft describes as "a mini block party." Outdoor stereo speakers will soon be added to the mix, and eventually a projection TV will show sports at night.

But the garden's best feature is almost certainly the food truck that will be permanently parked in the lot. According to Hartranft, the truck will do double duty as both a gourmet hot dog cart (all dogs cost $5.00) and a bar serving nothing but craft beers in aluminum cans (Sly Fox; 21st Amendment; Oskar Blues).

And while the Taproom's new addition didn't exactly come cheap (the total cost was around $135,000), "we're adding another anchor to a neighborhood that desperately needs as many anchors as it can get," Hartranft says.

The beer garden's grand opening took place this past weekend, and it's currently open for business Mon-Thu 4-10pm, Fri 4pm-midnight, Sat noon-midnight, and Sun noon-10pm.

Source: Brendan Hartranft, Memphis Taproom
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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New ordinance increases transparency in the city's process of transferring public park land

Flying Kite Tuesday, April 26, 2011

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

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At long last, SEPTA's renovation of historic Allen Lane station is nearly complete

Flying Kite Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Regularly maintaining the entire network of SEPTA's regional rail stations is certainly no simple task. It's also far from affordable, and with a total of 280 separate stations, there's nearly always some sort of renovation happening somewhere in the system. But there's little doubt that the Allen Lane Station, which is located on SEPTA's Chestnut Hill West Line in Mount Airy, has been the cause of one of the biggest ongoing frustrations for the public transportation agency. SEPTA officials spent nearly 10 long years in the planning phase of the station's upgrade, which didn't officially get under way until early 2009. And yet according to SEPTA officials, the $8.1 million project is finally nearing its end.

Once renovations are finished at the end of May, this registered historic site--which was designed by the prominent architect Frank Furness in the 19th century--will be nothing less than a gleaming SEPTA showpiece; a brag-worthy destination, even, for a public agency that has drawn its share of consternation in recent years.

That's partially due to the fact that the station, according to SEPTA's Wendy Green-Harvey, "was renovated not only because it was in a state of disrepair, but also to make the station fully ADA-compliant." An ADA-accessible path, for instance, along with wheelchair ramps leading directly to train platforms, has been constructed. A new audio-visual PA system has been installed. And passenger amenities, such as benches and shelters, have been improved. As Green-Harvey explains, there are just a few minor items that still need to be completed, such as landscaping, painting, and installing handrails.

So by the time spring weather gets around to showing itself in Philly, SEPTA's Chestnut Hill West Line riders, at least, will have something clean and new to look forward to: an historically significant rail station that is finally getting the recognition it deserves.

Source: Wendy Green-Harvey and Heather Redfern, SEPTA
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Rutgers-Camden to build city's first new student housing complex in over 20 years

Flying Kite Tuesday, April 12, 2011

If the announcement had been made in just about any other university town in the nation, the news probably wouldn't have raised more than an eyebrow or two. But regardless of the fact that a branch campus of Rutgers University resides there, Camden, N.J., is certainly not thought of as a university town. On the contrary, this struggling urban area located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia has been consistently ranked as one of the most crime-ridden cities in the country.

And that's essentially why the latest announcement from Rutgers-Camden was so surprising: On Feb. 8, the school's Board of Governors approved the construction of a 12-story, $55 million facility where 300 graduate students will be housed. The 161,653-square-foot building will be home to 102 separate units, many of which will be three- and four-bedroom apartments. Roughly 7,000 square feet of retail space will exist on the ground floor of the building, which will be fully owned by Rutgers. This will be the first student housing built on the Camden campus since 1989, when the Rutgers-Camden Tower was constructed specifically for undergrads.

According to Rutgers-Camden publicist Mike Sepanic, the project was a direct result of the campus' increasing enrollment numbers; 6,337 students enrolled during the fall 2010 semester, a record high for the school, where the majority of students live off-campus. And as the school's chancellor, Wendell Pritchett, explains, "These new housing facilities will allow New Jersey to retain some of its brightest graduate students, while attracting other students to our state, where they will be more likely to remain and contribute to our economy upon earning their degrees."

The building, which will be constructed on the 300 block of Cooper Street, and which is being designed by Northern Liberties-based Erdy McHenry Architecture LLC, is scheduled to be occupancy-ready by August, 2012.

Source: Mike Sepanic, Rutgers-Camden University
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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High-rise down, LEED-certified up: PHA remakes North Philly's Norris Apartments

Flying Kite Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) has most certainly had its fair share of self-imposed problems and struggles recently. March 25, however, was an especially positive and exciting day for the organization, thanks largely to the implosion-by-wrecking ball of a high-rise at North Philadelphia's Norris Apartments, a public-housing facility that is now in the process of being fully replaced with a LEED-certified housing complex.

Located just outside Temple University's campus in North Philadelphia, the Norris Apartments were constructed in the 1950s, and as one area resident rightly commented during a video that was posted on Philly.com, "That building's been there too long. It looks like it's gonna fall anyway!"

Indeed. And according to the stunning architectural renderings produced by Blackney Hayes, the Center City East firm responsible for building the complex that will replace the high-rise, the new Norris Apartments will be quite unlike anything else in the immediate area. The development's 51 units, for instance--a mixture of two-story and three-story walkups and townhomes--will be arranged in the shape of a square. A small pocket park will sit in the center of the development, and with the help of a new Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) pilot program, the park will also be specially designed to keep excess rainwater from entering the city's sewer system.

What's more, the new units will come complete with all the trappings of green development: low-flow plumbing, Energy Star appliances and windows, and solar roof panels, to mention just a few. These apartments are modern, sustainable and affordable, says Michael Kelly, the PHA's Administrative Receiver. "That makes it a win-win for the residents and the environment."

The new Norris Apartments are scheduled to be complete by spring 2012, at which point the PHA will consider the feasibility of constructing more new units on or near the site.

Source: Philadelphia Housing Authority
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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The Preservation Alliance bring aesthetic improvements to the streets of Fairmount

Flying Kite Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Located just north of the Art Museum, Philadelphia's Fairmount neighborhood is generally thought of as one of the city's toniest enclaves. But as Rebecca Johnson, the executive director of the Fairmount CDC, explains, "We actually have a surprising number of boarded up, PHA-owned properties north of Poplar."

And yet the community development organization's latest neighborhood improvement project, which is known as the Vital Neighborhoods Initiative, and which was funded this year with a series of grants from the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, wasn't focused on the run-down or boarded-up sections of Fairmount at all. Instead, the grants are intended to strengthen and improve those sections of a neighborhood that are considered to be middle-market. They can't be high-income sections, as Johnson explains, nor can they be extremely low-income. "The whole concept of Vital Neighborhoods," she says, "is that it's targeting areas that maybe need a chiropractor, so to speak, but not back surgery."

In Fairmount, the section deemed most in need of a metaphorical adjustment this year was the 900 block of North 26th Street, between Poplar Street and West Girard Avenue. Perhaps not coincidentally, that same block is also on the route of the Girard Avenue trolley. "So in terms of neighborhood marketing," Johnson says, "and sending a message that this is a place that people really care about, we felt like it was giving a lot of visibility to people traveling through the neighborhood."

Before long, Philadelphians traveling through that section of Fairmount will have a first-hand chance to see what the $30,000 grant has accomplished. Currently the plan includes basic streetscape improvements: Out-of-shape steps and retaining walls, for instance, will be spruced up, while trees and solar powered light posts will be installed in front of some properties. "We're looking at long-term outcomes, like improved home sales," says Johnson. "And just cleaner, more aesthetically-pleasing environments. That's really kind of the goal."

Source: Rebecca Johnson, Fairmount CDC & Amy E. McCullom, Preservation Alliance
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Major improvements coming to Manayunk's Venice Island Rec Center

Flying Kite Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Although it was once an economically booming section of Philadelphia's Manayunk neighborhood, the thin strip of land known as Venice Island, which sits between the Manayunk Canal and the Schuylkill River, is today something of a desolate place. And yet according to representatives from the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) and the Manayunk Development Corporation (MDC), things are about to change on Venice Island, thanks to a $45 million improvement project that is being paid for by the PWD, and that will transform the now-crumbling Venice Island Recreation Center into a place where creativity, the arts, and good old fashioned child's play will be taken very seriously.

According to Kay Sykora of Destination Schuylkill River, the project to improve and partially remake the recreation center came about due to the fact that "the Water Department is (federally) mandated to rectify a situation which currently allows sewage to get dumped into the river. So they're building a tank." But as Sykora explains, "the community wasn't wildly enthusiastic about having a (sewage) tank," and so the two organizations began discussing ways in which the PWD could contribute to the community. A vastly improved recreation center was the compromise they settled on.

A 250-seat performing arts theater will likely be the jewel of the island's new recreation center, which will also house a multi-purpose recreation building where community meetings and after-school events for children will be held. The area will also house athletic fields; a kid's spray pool; small stations that will educate visitors about rainwater recycling; an all-green pumping station; and a 25,000-square-foot park that's being designed by the Manayunk-based Andropogon, an ecological landscape architecture firm. "All of this," says Sykora, "because we'll have a tank."

The project is expected to break ground this July.

Source: Kay Sykora, Destination Schuylkill River
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Two new commercial developments coming to Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy

Flying Kite Tuesday, April 05, 2011

"If you were to walk down Germantown Avenue between Mt. Pleasant Street and Allens Lane, you'll see a thriving downtown area," says Anuj Gupta, the executive director of Mt. Airy USA, a community development organization. Gupta was hired to lead the group last November, and as he explains it, one of his major goals is to capture the explosive growth taking place along Germantown Avenue's northern stretch ("that energy, that momentum," he says), and to push it further south.

The process of creating new commercial life, of course, is no small feat. But Gupta and his colleagues recently learned that they've been given a considerable head start in the form of a Community Development Block Grant. Mt. Airy USA was awarded $249,600, all of which has been earmarked for a city-sponsored project known as the Mixed-Use Development Pilot Program. The funds will be used to rehabilitate two small and dilapidated Germantown Avenue buildings--one on the 6500 block and another on the 6600 block--into commercial spaces with affordable apartments on top.

Gupta's hope is that by properly repairing and then leasing the two spaces, which are both located just south of the booming strip in Mt. Airy, community revitalization will continue its forward march south along the avenue. And while he does have other neighborhood-improvement plans in place--talks are underway to start an outdoor summer movie series, for instance--Gupta ultimately hopes the upcoming projects will help "ignite the next resurgence of Germantown Avenue" by enticing private investors to seriously consider the underutilized and less trendy stretches of the street.

"Small business owners are climbing on top of one another to try and get in there," Gupta says, referring to the stretch of the avenue between Mt. Pleasant Street and Allens Lane. "And we want to try and get to the same tipping point further south."

Source: Anuj Gupta, Mt. Airy USA
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Fabric Horse relocates to a newly spruced-up East Passyunk Ave.

Flying Kite Tuesday, April 05, 2011

There's no doubt that South Philadelphia's East Passyunk Avenue commercial corridor--not to mention the various residential communities surrounding it--has grown, changed and become considerably gentrified over the past few years. And along with that growth and change, of course, comes a litany of fairly standard urban issues, such as the litter that seems to spout along the avenue at the conclusion of each weekend.

Thankfully, a new community group--Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation--has sprouted in the area as well. Along with various neighborhood greening initiatives, its duties also include renovating and maintaining both commercial and non-commercial properties in the area. One of those properties, at 1737 East Passyunk Avenue, will soon be the new retail home of Fabric Horse, the bicycle accessories shop that was formerly located in Northern Liberties. The shop is scheduled to open within the next two weeks.

And although Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation, or PARC, is in fact the same Vincent Fumo-founded organization formerly known as Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods, PARC is being led by a newly installed executive director, Sam Sherman Jr., a dedicated New Urbanist who previously served on Mayor Nutter's sustainable development committee. PARC is also building five loft-style apartments in the former Citizens Alliance office space, at 1137 Wharton Street; PARC's offices will then move to the building's first floor.

Last Tuesday, the group held a press conference at the Passyunk fountain to announce its many greening initiatives, which have already included the planting of 17 trees along the avenue. The fountain square itself, says Sherman, will be spruced up with "Central Park-style benches on the perimeter, and a permanent chess table." At night, says Sherman, the fountain will be illuminated by lights affixed to the roofs of the buildings surrounding it; a lighting ceremony will take place sometime in June.

Source: Sam Sherman Jr., Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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At an open house gathering, Philadelphia2035 gets truly interactive

Flying Kite Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The initial draft version of Philadelphia2035, the prodigious, 216-page guide to the next 25 years of the city's physical development, was first made available to the public (as a downloadable PDF) back in mid-February. But for four hours throughout the afternoon of March 23, members of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission hosted an informal gathering at the Center for Architecture, where physical copies of the draft were presented to the public. More than 100 Philadelphians stopped by during the course of the day.

The purpose of the open house, according to the PCPC's Alan Urek, who acted as one of the event's hosts, was to put the draft recommendations of the plan's citywide component on exhibit for literally anyone who was interested in reviewing it, or leaving comments of their own. Five different stations, each displaying a blown-up portion of the plan, were arranged in a semi-circle in a small room behind the AIA Bookstore. And next to each station was a large flipchart, upon which visitors were encouraged to comment.

"Philadelphia is very friendly to senior citizens," read one such comment. "We choose to live here because of the walkability and activity occurring in metro-center."

"Survival of the fittest," read another note. "Deannex [the Northeast]."

"Did we reach all corners of Philadelphia (during the open house)?" Urek asks. "Probably not. But I was quite encouraged that of the people that came, virtually everyone I talked to had a positive perspective [of the plan]."

Urek also emphasized that for approximately one more week, even those when didn't attend are welcome to post comments and suggestions online. All of those comments, Urek says, will be seriously considered before the revised draft is presented to the City Planning commission in about three weeks. The plan's citywide version will then be finalized in May, and a release party will be held in early June.

Source: Alan Urek, Philadelphia City Planning Commission
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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Former Tastykake factory site to become Bakers Square, a mixed-use shopping center

Flying Kite Tuesday, March 29, 2011

When the Tasty Baking Company finally closed its historic Hunting Park facility in June 2010, and completed the transition of its headquarters into a LEED-certified building at the Navy Yard, the Nicetown and Hunting Park communities had one less area landmark to be proud of. But this past Friday, March 25, the Metro Development Company broke ground on a new project at the site, which is now being referred to as Bakers Square.

Metro is developing the site into a 220,000-square-foot shopping center that will soon be packed with retail stores and restaurants. And while the majority of the spaces have yet to be rented, Metro's leasing agent, US Realty Associates, has already inked a deal with Brown's ShopRite, which is building a 71,000-square-foot supermarket that will act as the shopping center's anchor tenant. "We're one of the only grocery-anchored shopping centers that's currently under construction in the metro Philadelphia market," says US Realty's Greg Bianchi. "And that's pretty compelling in today's economic environment."

Indeed. And perhaps equally compelling is the fact that the original six-story Tasty Baking plant won't be demolished to make way for new construction. Instead, says Bianchi, the building will be retained and retrofitted; US Realty hopes to see it used as office, institutional, or retail space.

Job creation, however, may very well become the biggest story surrounding Bakers Square, which is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2012. After all, 250 new jobs will be created for the ShopRite alone, says Bianchi. "We're also going to have 500 construction jobs," he adds. "And when we're done leasing the center, there will probably be upwards of 600 or 700 (permanent) jobs. And that's what things are about today. It's all about job creation."

Source: Greg Bianchi, US Realty Associates, Inc.
Writer: Dan Eldridge

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