The Royal Theater--A Royal Mess thanks to Kenny Gamble and Universal Properties

[topogigio]

I just got an email asking a great question and it deserves it's own thread in SWCC -- what is up with Kenny Gamble and the Royal Theater, and why is it still a vacant blighted mess over a decade after SWCC was pitched that Universal had the answers to what this historic building and the community needed? The answer is a long and convoluted look at how the Democrat's closely held landbanking policies fail in practice, since they sit outside of any market based correction, and how no Democrat in Philly has the stones to criticize a generous contributor no matter how questionable or obviously lacking.

The Royal Theater is the microcosm case that explains why Nutter and City Council refuse to assess property taxes according to state law using some objective criteria, and refuse to fix property tax collections. If they were to do that, friends like Kenny Gamble and his holdings will be reassessed in real time, and have to pay their fair share.

The story of the Royal, is the story of what went wrong with the Philly Democratic party when it got access to huge federal grants for low income housing. community, and urban development. It shows how HUD fails cities and how Democrats corrupt themselves to retain a paying contributor, dropping the ball on follow up and public stewardship.

The Democrats have developed a blind spot so profound about Universal that they will ignore the lessons of how Gamble handled the Royal and most of the other Universal properties in order to give him yet one more federal grant -- $500,000 to study how to take over Audenried High School, even though Universal once ran an EMO (Educational Mangement Organization) under Paul Vallas, and lost most of the schools in its charge, with the schools reverting back to the Philly School District control. Kids who grew up in these schools and who realized how far behind they had fallen staged a mutiny, a coup, against having Universal run another school that they had no choice but to attend.

[teriaki]

I just got an email asking a great question and it deserves it's own thread in SWCC -- what is up with Kenny Gamble and the Royal Theater, and why is it still a vacant blighted mess over a decade after SWCC was pitched that Universal had the answers to what this historic building and the community needed? The answer is a long and convoluted look at how the Democrat's closely held landbanking policies fail in practice, since they sit outside of any market based correction, and how no Democrat in Philly has the stones to criticize a generous contributor no matter how questionable or obviously lacking.

The Royal Theater is the microcosm case that explains why Nutter and City Council refuse to assess property taxes according to state law using some objective criteria, and refuse to fix property tax collections. If they were to do that, friends like Kenny Gamble and his holdings will be reassessed in real time, and have to pay their fair share.

The story of the Royal, is the story of what went wrong with the Philly Democratic party when it got access to huge federal grants for low income housing. community, and urban development. It shows how HUD fails cities and how Democrats corrupt themselves to retain a paying contributor, dropping the ball on follow up and public stewardship.

The Democrats have developed a blind spot so profound about Universal that they will ignore the lessons of how Gamble handled the Royal and most of the other Universal properties in order to give him yet one more federal grant -- $500,000 to study how to take over Audenried High School, even though Universal once ran an EMO (Educational Mangement Organization) under Paul Vallas, and lost most of the schools in its charge, with the schools reverting back to the Philly School District control. Kids who grew up in these schools and who realized how far behind they had fallen staged a mutiny, a coup, against having Universal run another school that they had no choice but to attend.

Where is the like button?

[Jayfar]

Where is the like button?

See the rate this thread popup menu at the top of the thread (below title, to the right).

[Coco]

I just got an email asking a great question and it deserves it's own thread in SWCC -- what is up with Kenny Gamble and the Royal Theater, and why is it still a vacant blighted mess over a decade after SWCC was pitched that Universal had the answers to what this historic building and the community needed? The answer is a long and convoluted look at how the Democrat's closely held landbanking policies fail in practice, since they sit outside of any market based correction, and how no Democrat in Philly has the stones to criticize a generous contributor no matter how questionable or obviously lacking.

The Royal Theater is the microcosm case that explains why Nutter and City Council refuse to assess property taxes according to state law using some objective criteria, and refuse to fix property tax collections. If they were to do that, friends like Kenny Gamble and his holdings will be reassessed in real time, and have to pay their fair share.

The story of the Royal, is the story of what went wrong with the Philly Democratic party when it got access to huge federal grants for low income housing. community, and urban development. It shows how HUD fails cities and how Democrats corrupt themselves to retain a paying contributor, dropping the ball on follow up and public stewardship.

The Democrats have developed a blind spot so profound about Universal that they will ignore the lessons of how Gamble handled the Royal and most of the other Universal properties in order to give him yet one more federal grant -- $500,000 to study how to take over Audenried High School, even though Universal once ran an EMO (Educational Mangement Organization) under Paul Vallas, and lost most of the schools in its charge, with the schools reverting back to the Philly School District control. Kids who grew up in these schools and who realized how far behind they had fallen staged a mutiny, a coup, against having Universal run another school that they had no choice but to attend.

IMO, a development/renewal of the Royal would give this neighborhood the ultimate boost it needs and benefit every business that's been holding on on South Street, often by a thread, waiting for a better day! If Kenny would only communicate with the community, be part of the community and move forward with us!

[BarryG]

They still haven't repaired the fire damage visible from the street, I mean The Avenue of the Arts, on the Philadelphia International Records building. The fire was 18 months ago. The politicians won't bust his balls but maybe Inga or someone can write a column about how the guy cashing big checks from City Hall is contributing to prominent blight.

[Jerry19127]

IMO, a development/renewal of the Royal would give this neighborhood the ultimate boost it needs and benefit every business that's been holding on on South Street, often by a thread, waiting for a better day! If Kenny would only communicate with the community, be part of the community and move forward with us!

Yeah alright......Keep dreaming!

[torts]

Kenny Gamble/Universal/Royal Theater/Disgusting Blighted Eyesore = Old Philly

Michael Grasso/21st & South/Nice Clean Fresh New Business = New Philly

Winner: Michael Grasso/New Philly

[torts]

"but but i could finish it with more stimulus money." wow!

[ArcticSplash]

I'm going to drop a note on Inga's Facebook to see if she'll write a follow-up column on Kenny Gamble, and mention that he still hasn't cleaned up his space at International Records since the fire and the blighted Royal Theater.

[nostradamamamos]

My understanding is they received somewhere around $1 million in State of PA money already to fix the place up. And there was a line in this years budget to give them $30 million or so to make the place a music venue or something, but I don't know if it was funded. Seems like not such a good track record for somebody to receive $30 million in state of PA tax payer money. There's been a lot of new investment right around it, so you'd think at some point he'd consider selling the place, but I doubt it.

[Eastcoast]

Perhaps the Royal should be given to Toll Bros?

[torts]

Or, gasp, how about we let the market decide.

[topogigio]

Universal's Royal Theater properties are a stretch of properties that include lots running from 1520 South St. to 1534 South St. The theater shell is included in that.

1520 South St. is a vacant lot owned by Universal Companies if the OPA data is correct (it is often faulty when it comes to under-assessed but politically generous friends of Philly Democrats) as we shall soon see. Although Universal paid $155,000 for the lot on 10/24/2007, it is only assessed as having a value of $34,000, and pays an astounding $988.12 a year in property taxes. Though that is more than other lots on the block, it is far below what vacant lots are assessed elsewhere in CC or SWCC. Comparable lot values are quite high. The property tax bill goes to 800 S. 15th St., the address for Universal.

1522 South St. is termed a "two-story masonry building" by city records. It was bought on 3/4/1998 for $51,000. The city assessment is $43,100 on the property, a significant difference from the adjacent lot ratio of purchase price to assessment. The property taxes are $1,252.59 a year. Though the Preservation Alliance is listed as the owner, this is an error that the city has not corrected in the ten years I've tried to point it out to them. The property tax bill also goes to 800 S. 15th St., the address for Universal. The Preservation Alliance transferred all ownership to Universal for the Royal Theater in 1998.

[topogigio]

Image of The Royal Theater as it appears today, 6/9/11.

[topogigio]

The Royal Theater, 6/9/11. Detail of the east wall/roof line.

[BarryG]

They still haven't repaired the fire damage visible from the street, I mean The Avenue of the Arts, on the Philadelphia International Records building. The fire was 18 months ago. The politicians won't bust his balls but maybe Inga or someone can write a column about how the guy cashing big checks from City Hall is contributing to prominent blight.

Let me correct myself, the stretch of Broad St that the Philadelphia International Records building is on is actually named "Gambe & Huff Way." What a disgrace.

[topogigio]

1524-1534 South St. is the piece de resistance of the Royal Theater, per city records. It was purchased for only $160,000 in 3/4/1998, and for all of its size and premium location, it is still only assessed at $189,100, an appreciation of merely $29,100, quite out of character for every other property (not owned by Universal) in the neighborhood, even for most empty lots. It's property taxes are a mere $5,495.70 per year, making it on par with the assessments of the single row houses on the same block. It's less then 1500-02 South St., listed as a 2280 square foot 3-story row house in the city records which pays almost $6,000 a year.

The city again is having trouble with that pesky record keeping and doing updates that made Nutter abolish the BRT in a fit of pique. The owner here is erroneously listed as The Preservation Alliance. But the bills for property taxes go to 800. S. 15th St. -- Universal Companies. At other points in the record, the owner is shown to be Universal Community Homes if you click through.

On the same block however, condos seem to also be suffering from a records gap by the city in spite of Nutter's efforts. Though the bill is in place for them certainly, at 1514-16 South St., the OPA records are missing the online records for their certified market value and gross property tax. That is an error I've never seen. The data simply is not there online. None of the other properties have such a consistent error on the block. Just the condos.

The other properties on the block tend to be taxed at $4,000 or $5,000, some only $3,200. But none enjoys the special time freeze in assessment that Universal gets. It's peculiar. None of the others on the block or in the area are missing assessments in the online record either so far as I've been able to tell, scouring property records across SWCC.

Whatever the property taxes are on the condos, it seems likely that they are just as high as the single family homes, but with smaller square footage. It may be the case that including these comparative prices would trigger a reassessment or just cause messy questions to be asked of friends of Kenny Gamble, such as why are these people put in charge of schools when they are not paying their fair share for the schools on the blighted property that they hold? Or WTF is wrong with the Philly Democrats who are gutting the schools but refusing to do the work of assessing property taxes impartially and legally?

If property taxes were impartially assessed only upon Universal's holdings, just Universal and Kenny Gamble, we would not have to lay off thousands of school employees. This story of underassessment on Universal's behalf characterizes every single one of their property, even if the property contributes nothing to any social goal, such as affordable housing, religious observance, or other exempted purposes. In fact, the properties are sources of equity and revenue killing blight because they are allowed to pay so little. There's no penalty for stasis.

How long does Universal get the golden ticket to do little if nothing but hold underassessed blight throughout South Philly, and when do we convene a grand jury to find out where all the money went? And why do all of the Democrats in Philly lockstep cover for them?

Why is Universal pissing on the taxpayers' leg and telling us it's raining?

[VeganDike]

Yea OK so how many of you are part of the 17% that took the time to vote? I'd imagine 1 of 5 posters.

If you don't vote you have no right to complain about anything...

[teriaki]

If you don't vote you have no right to complain about anything...

Actually, voting police, you do have the right to complain.

Go pleasure yourself over the fact that you voted in another thread.

[VeganDike]

Actually, voting police, you do have the right to complain.

Go pleasure yourself over the fact that you voted in another thread.

Sorry love, that's quite contrare. It is widely accepted that in order to complain one must vote. It is quite obvious that
you didn't vote. So shushim upim.