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Eastwick residents still fighting controversial 35-acre development
They say stormwater management infrastructure will cost more than the city will benefit from the proposed 722-apartment development.
Eastwick residents still fighting controversial 35-acre development
As we reported this spring, Eastwick residents showed up in force at City Council to protest a trio of bills that would clear the way for a 722-apartment Korman development on 35 acres, while alotting 79 acres to the expanding Philly airport. Though Korman's stake in the land dated back to 1961 — when Korman was granted development rights to 500 acres as part of a massive redevelopment project — the current deal came about through a more recent settlement with the city. But now, area residents have their own ideas, and they'll be meeting tomorrow to get organized.
Debbie Beer, a member of the Eastwick Friends and Neighbors Coalition, says neighbors plan to put together a counterproposal — one that relies on sustainable development principles, encourages infill in other vacant areas within Eastwick and encourages the preservation of green space around the Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, which lies adjacent to the property that's in play. At a meeting, tomorrow at Pepper Middle School from 9 a.m. to noon, they'll be working to collect community input and formalize a plan that's focused on environmental impacts of dense new development — particularly stormwater management in an area that's already prone to frequent flooding. "The stormwater infrastructure is already inadequate. Now imagine the burden on that infrastructure of adding 722 apartments. And mot of that 35 acres will be paved over, so where's that stormwater going to go?" Beer believes that the cost of putting in the necessary stormwater management infrastructure will far exceed the economic benefit of the development to the city, given that Korman has access to the land at 1961 prices and will also receive a 10-year tax abatement on any new development.
"There's definitely a win-win proposal that can come out of this," she says. "It's just going to be looking at it from a different way than what Korman brought to the table."
One of the three related bills that would clear the way for the deal is on the final passage calendar for City Council at the first session of the fall next Thursday. But Steve Cobb, legislative aide to 2nd District Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, says the Councilman is willing to work with residents, but Cobb wasn't sure how far he was willing to go. "We heard the concerns of residents over flooding loud and clear, and we've worked with the Water Department on a number of flood surveys," to try to assess the situation. He said Water Department models and data on the flooding issue would be ready in time for an October hearing on the flooding issue.
Monique Holland, who lives on the 2700 block of South 86th Street, says she hasn't been flooded yet, but she's watched her flood insurance quadruple in price. She lives adjacent to the proposed Korman building site and worries that so much dense development could create a flooding issue. "For every piece of concrete, that water has to flow off somewhere," she said. "We would like to keep the open space to do what it's doing."
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