The Divine Lorraine

[eldondre]

Phase I

The cornerstone of the project will be the restoration and rehabilitation of the magnificent former Divine Lorraine Hotel as a beacon on North Broad Street. The structure (circa 1892) is an architectural treasure in its own right and is socially significant as the first racially integrated hotel in the U.S. This component of the project will accommodate approximately 135 new condominium dwellings and a street level restaurant and lounge facing Broad Street.

Accompanying the rehabilitation of the existing structure will be the development of a new residential and mixed use complex on adjoining parcels. This component of the project will have approximately 412 new one-bedroom and efficiency-type units, a +/- 44,000 sf of retail, health club & fitness center, and a café. A fully screened parking structure with approximately 330 spaces will support the overall development program. Site improvements are to include a new pedestrian plaza facing Ridge Avenue, and ample landscaping and pedestrian street lighting on all sides of the parcel.

Primary vehicular access to the parking garage will be from Ridge Avenue. A fully-enclosed central loading dock is proposed along Fairmount Avenue to serve the retail and residential components.

It is estimated that The Residences at the Lorraine will create some 200 construction jobs and more importantly an estimated30-50 new permanent jobs to support the retail and residential facilities.

It is the intention of the Developer to complete the project in the August of 2009.



Phase II

The project contemplates a future expansion of the development program to the south on a parcel bounded by Ridge Avenue, Wallace Street, 13th Street and an area approximating the location of the current Melon Street. This component will incorporate approximately 256 one-bedroom and efficiency-type units, additional structured parking with +/- 146 spaces and the potential for +/- 18,000 of community street level retail adjacent to the supermarket.

An additional access point for the garage is proposed along Wallace Street. Again enhanced streetscape lighting and landscaping will address all street frontage.

The proposed dates for the future development of Phase II have yet to be established.



Development & Management Team

Lorraine Land LP is the Development team for The Residences at the Lorraine, and is comprised of a partnership between Sunergy Housing USA, LLC from the Netherlands, NSI from Michigan and a prominent local builder, Michael Treacy Sr. The basic development program for this project is modeled after highly successful urban redevelopment projects that have been completed or are in progress in a number of principal European cities with specific adaptation for the Philadelphia marketplace. The local builder, Michael Treacy Sr. and his son Michael Jr. have spearheaded the renaissance of the Spring Garden neighborhood, just across Broad Street, with countless successful residential projects there. The general partner directing the project on behalf of NSI and Sunergy is Van Wagenberg-Feiten, Inc.

Legal Counsel for this project includes Carl Primavera, Esq. and Darwin Beauvais, Esq. of the Philadelphia firm of Klehr, Harrison, Harvey, Branzberg.



Design Team

The design team represents a professional collaboration between two established Philadelphia architectural teams. Dan Peter Koppel & Associates (DPK&A) will direct the rehabilitation of the existing Divine Lorraine building and Cope Linder Architects (CLA) will be responsible for the site planning and the design of the new construction. A number of experienced locally-based consultant engineers and specialty designers will support the efforts of the architects for the project.

Mr. Frank Montgomery of Traffic Planning and Design, Inc. has been retained to provide thorough traffic analysis and engineering for the project.

For further information about this project, please contact Frans A. Wagenberg, President of Van Wagenberg-Festen, Inc., the General Partner, at 301-652-1575 and Michael Treacy Jr at 215-778-5149.


For more information, or to find out how NSI can provide similar services for your organization, please contact: Michael Treacy Jr

no two bedrooms? is this still happening, perhaps as rentals?
http://www.nsi-consulting.com/projec...hp?projectID=3

[five apples]

I heard from someone who lives in this vicinity that the civic association is run by what she described as basically a mad man, and he pretty much killed the project all by himself.

[Hospitalitygirl]

I heard from someone who lives in this vicinity that the civic association is run by what she described as basically a mad man, and he pretty much killed the project all by himself.

Pretty much what he said.

[eldondre]

I heard from someone who lives in this vicinity that the civic association is run by what she described as basically a mad man, and he pretty much killed the project all by himself.

The offices of the West Poplar NAC are located at the Mother African Zoar United Methodist Church, 1204 Melon Street.

Mailing address: 1204 Melon Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
e-mail: TWPNAC@netscape.com


Margie Pierce, Executive Director
Sonja Trauss, Administrative Assistant

Board Members:

Norman Greene (Board President)
Jacob Adams (Chair, Housing & Development Subcommittee)
Edna Devlin (Chair, Youth & Education Subcommittee)
Webster Jackson (Treasurer)
Delores McBride
Enrique Reyes
Bishop Ethan Thornton
April Gigetts
Angela McFadden
Maurice Shannon
Darin Toliver
Eyvontheria Duncan
Ruth Holland
Diane Monroe
Deborah Stanton
Cindy Vance
Betty Ricks

this one?
http://westpoplarnac.org/contact%20us.html

[Hospitalitygirl]

El, the project is DOA. From what I understand, the "lovely, young couple" whose project it was, couldn't modify it further and make any money on it.

[eldondre]

El, the project is DOA. From what I understand, the "lovely, young couple" whose project it was, couldn't modify it further and make any money on it.

I was hoping the Nutter ZBA would be more forgiving

[raider.adam]

I was hoping the Nutter ZBA would be more forgiving

Has to get past a councilman before it gets to ZBA.

[Hospitalitygirl]

I was hoping the Nutter ZBA would be more forgiving

Not. at. all.

Has to get past a councilman before it gets to ZBA.

It has to get past the crazies before it even gets to that.

[five apples]

It has to get past the crazies before it even gets to that.

Technically that is not true. It has to go before the local zoning committee and if they do not like it they will send a letter to the ZBA recommending against it. Developers like to get this approval as it increases their chance of getting approved by the ZBA. However it does not stop the developers from going to the the ZBA.

[Hospitalitygirl]

Technically that is not true. It has to go before the local zoning committee and if they do not like it they will send a letter to the ZBA recommending against it. Developers like to get this approval as it increases their chance of getting approved by the ZBA. However it does not stop the developers from going to the the ZBA.

You most certainly are correct. That is where it got hung up--that was the step where they wanted some ridiculous modifications, in addition to the NAC asking for an absurd amount of money...

Welcome to another episode of "As the stomach churns..."

[five apples]

You most certainly are correct. That is where it got hung up--that was the step where they wanted some ridiculous modifications, in addition to the NAC asking for an absurd amount of money...

Welcome to another episode of "As the stomach churns..."

Now the NAC has a big empty building that might never get developed sitting there. Now if it had been developed you would have had all these new people move in and new businesses spring up and the safety of the neighborhood made better. What a bunch of stupid pieces of . . .

[raider.adam]

Technically that is not true. It has to go before the local zoning committee and if they do not like it they will send a letter to the ZBA recommending against it. Developers like to get this approval as it increases their chance of getting approved by the ZBA. However it does not stop the developers from going to the the ZBA.

The issue tends to be is that the developer needs the councilman to do things (like zoning, permits, etc.). The councilman says the developer needs community support first. CDC or Civic Associations, knowing they have the developer over a barrel, do some squeezing before they give out support. If they don't, the councilman holds up the wheels of progress to the point where even if they get a variance, it doesn't help.

[eldondre]

Has to get past a councilman before it gets to ZBA.

who is the councilman? and is this "councilmanic privilege" rather than actual law?

[Hospitalitygirl]

who is the councilman? and is this "councilmanic privilege" rather than actual law?

In this case YOUR councilman, the most esteemed Darryl Clarke , and yes, councilmanic privilege, not law.


Allow me to remind you of that really big broom we need...

[raider.adam]

In this case YOUR councilman, the most esteemed Darryl Clarke , and yes, councilmanic privilege, not law.

Correct.

[bluecuracao]

Has to get past a councilman before it gets to ZBA.

How did they manage that? It doesn't even work that way in Old City.

[eldondre]

So, I hear the problem wasn't that there was no resolution, but that the process dragged on so long that the credit market tanked before the project got off the ground but that it is still a go IF financing can be secured.

[hammersklavier]

What a farce. Just goes to show, if you're rich enough, you can be a loon and still ruin it for other people.

[eldondre]

What a farce. Just goes to show, if you're rich enough, you can be a loon and still ruin it for other people.

huh?

[Sharkfood]

The list of West Poplar NAC board members does not sound very diverse (it sounds heavily African-American). South of Fairmount Ave., on Green St., Mt. Vernon St. etc., the neighborhood is more diverse. Where is the representation from that part of the neighborhood?