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Mistrust reigns in zoning debate over "historic" Kensington bank building
A low-income housing development for women and children is planned for the Norris and Front site.
Mistrust reigns in zoning debate over "historic" Kensington bank building
No one really expected the conversation last night to be genial, given that the matter at hand was the Women's Community Revitalization Project's (WCRP) proposal to tear down a graceful old bank building (Hot-Button Issue No. 1) and put up instead ultra-low-income (HBI No. 2) rental (HBI No. 3) housing with no green space (HBI No. 4). It didn't help that there were a whopping 25 residential units planned for the site on Front and Norris, with just a couple no commercial spaces, even though Front Street is zoned as a commercial corridor. It also didn't help that the meeting was a three-way affair between Norris Square Civic Association (NSCA), Fishtown Neighbors (FNA) and East Kensington Neighbors Association, and that all sorts of conflicts and grudges were also in play.
Spoiler: There was lots of ugly talk about gentrifiers, and the vote went 60-to-21 against the project.
But going beyond all that, the question of who decides the fate of historic buildings in Philly's less posh districts remains a striking one. For one thing, although residents might consider a given property to be historic, if it's not certified by the city's Historic Commission, it's not protected. "The historical commission is overworked. They don't have time to certify [buildings] on their own," city planner David Fecteau told the meeting last night. So lots of buildings are going un-reviewed. For another, there's not much to stop an owner from letting a would-be historic property decay for a decade or two and then having it declared structurally unsound.
In this case, the property in question sat disused under the (some say non)stewardship of Norris Square Civic Association for years, until NSCA passed it along to the WCRP for the cost of maintaining it all these years, roughly $167,000 according to NSCA executive director Pat DeCarlo. Now, WCRP says an engineer's study found the bank building structurally unsound. The only problem is, according to FNA president Jill Betters, neighbors don't trust that developer-funded study. Nor a WCRP rep said, would it trust a civic association-sponsored study that found the building was sound.
The same question came up just down the road at the St. Boniface Church site, where preservation advocates are mourning the recently razed structure, demolished to pave the way for new NSCA housing. There, an NSCA study found the building was "exfoliating," a multimillion-dollar problem of decay that NSCA says was deemed unrepairable through a process that included the Preservation Alliance, the State Historic Preservation Commission and Partnership for Sacred Spaces.
The bank went through no such public process, and in any case the WCRP rep said, "the developer is not in the buisiness of restoring historic commercial buildings."
As for the rest of the meeting: There was some talk about excessive density — the 25 units in the Nitza Tufino Development would be two, three or four bedrooms each — the proximity to the El, the parking pressures on tiny Hope Street, where the entrance to the semi-gated community would be. There were also more questions for the NSCA, which was going to be a partner in the project, but pulled out after WCRP lost their tax credit financing. DeCarlo says NSCA is not at all involved, but a recent letter to NSCA from Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sánchez' office questioned the ownership of the land trust holding the property, and NSCA's role. Betters also questioned NSCA's role at the zoning meeting, saying "We expect a transparent zoning process. If you're holding a meeting and you have an obvious bias, you need to recuse yourself."
The NSCA, and Councilwoman Quinones-Sanchez, still not getting along!!! Both have a stake in any real estate transaction going on in the district, since they own or involved with real estate association involved!! So, both should exclude themselves from zoning meetings on any property they own!!!— Dadair1- How do "ultra-low-income" people own cars? My household makes slightly above the median family income and I don't own a car.— stevestevestevesteve
- --stevestevestevesteve my sentiments exactly.......there should be absolutely no waste of land on this site for parking...if its for ultra-low income....I'm sorry if you are ultra low income there is absolutely no excuse for you to waste money on car, fuel, and insurance and maintenance if you are relying on others (ie foundations and taxpayers) for subsidized housing......if a historic building is going to be demolished this parcel should be as densely populated with housing as zoning permits....... especially since its within walking distance of public transportation......and with a mile of fresh food, and medical care.......— genius1977
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