Greater St. Matthews church sold

[BarryG]

Funny thing is....if you head on over to NakedPhilly and read about the pending new CHOP development, the biggest complaint within the comments is....wait for it.....TOO MUCH PARKING!

"The neighborhood of no."

[Spicoli]

....so what happened? Can't imagine it was boring.

[BrianL]

pretty quiet, no decision made at the hearing

[Lolly]

pretty quiet, no decision made at the hearing

Oh Brian I never knew you to be so understated! Come on, it was fun!

Seriously, the opposers were "all about parking" and the supporters made a great case (methinks ). We shall see what the ZBA thinks in due time.

[lee]

The interesting part, for me, is that parking has NO bearing on the case. None. The only zoning variance these folks need is to turn the rectory into apartments. (It is zoned for a single-family home; the zoning for the church requires no variance.) When "repurposing" a building, all parking requirements are waived. I thought the commission was most dismissive of the parking complaints and groans. The opponents included folks from as far away as 26th and Lombard. A decent number of proponents appeared. The woman who spoke for the proponents presented two clear arguments concisely: saving the building and creating more density to attract services.

I didn't recognize many of the people on each side, meaning some probably weren't longtime homeowners in the immediate area of the church. An elderly guy did apparently recognize me. As the hearing began, he came up to me and said, "Honey, the opponents are over there. You're on the wrong side of the room." He looked shocked when I said, "No I'm not."

[Lupo]

Owners of cars are entitled to a higher level of safety & security than the rest of us. That, at least, seems to be the argument put forth by one of the motley crew assembled by Gail Gross to protest the development of St. Matthew's at the Zoning Board meeting yesterday. His daughter had been attacked because she had to walk a long distance from her parking space. Apparently the rest of us who have to walk or cycle home late at night don't matter. (I have been to a few of the community meetings with the Police Department & have never seen this gentleman there.) This argument came after the chairperson of the Board expressed surprise that the only reason for opposition was about parking & asked if there were any other reasons. It also exposed the selfish reasons people have for rallying to Ms. Gross's misguided cause. The word "community" was never mentioned by the opponent's side.

This was the last speaker of the sorry-ass spectacle that was Ms.Gross's opposition. The first speaker was disallowed because he didn't live close enough to the church to have any legitimate interest, which certainly makes one wonder how many other opponents are in the same position. This point was made by a lawyer for the developer when the chairperson was presented with a "petition" purporting to be signed by people against development. It was immediately dismissed because there was no statement & the lawyer said that there was no way to check addresses of the signers.

It was certainly an odd "coalition" that Ms. Gross put together. Several members looked - & I mean no disrespect - too elderly or infirm to be driving. Others were the ladies who served as election monitors at St. Matt's, again leading to speculation about Ms. Gross's connection to the Democratic Party. One was the father of a college student who is a known associate of the drug dealers on Fitzwater St.

It would have been quite clear to any unbiased observer that the only reason for opposition to this project is self-interest: personal convenience & private safety at the expense of the whole community. The Board, to its credit, did not seem impressed. Ms.Gross looked worried - as she should be at the collapse of her ego-driven, totally selfish attempt to stand in the way of progressive, responsible development.

[Franklin Stove]

It was certainly an odd "coalition" that Ms. Gross put together. Several members looked - & I mean no disrespect - too elderly or infirm to be driving. Others were the ladies who served as election monitors at St. Matt's, again leading to speculation about Ms. Gross's connection to the Democratic Party. One was the father of a college student who is a known associate of the drug dealers on Fitzwater St.

It is crazy what straws people will grasp at to fight change, whether it be to much parking (CHOP) or too little (St. Matt's). Having said that, just be careful about how you choose to disparage people online. Any kid who grows up in the city is, unfortunately, a "known associate of drug dealers"...they all go to elementary school and summer camps together, play at the same block parties and on the same basketball teams etc. I grew up in the city and knew a lot of kids who went on to do bad things. I still talked to them and played ball with them when we got older. That shouldn't disqualify my dad from having an opinion on neighborhood issues. What I'm trying to say is, the strength or lack of strength of an argument is really all that needs to be focused on here - personal issues (perceived or real) don't need to come into play.

[Gladys]

It is an odd description.... a father who has a college student who knows drug dealers... don't most college students know drug dealers?

[topogigio]

The real underlying issue is that a few people in the area were driven by their own self interest without concern about how this particular development would benefit the entire community.

[emc]

The interesting part, for me, is that parking has NO bearing on the case. None. The only zoning variance these folks need is to turn the rectory into apartments. (It is zoned for a single-family home; the zoning for the church requires no variance.) When "repurposing" a building, all parking requirements are waived.

This is hilarious.

[Jayfar]

Top Philly landlord plans apartments on 3 big ex-office sites

PhillyDeals blog item about a report to clients from Daniel P. Donlan, real estate analyst at Janney Capital Markets:

But demand for rental apartments in Center City and other parts of Philadelphia is on the rise. Donlan cites three groups of tenants: "empty nesters" who still work in the city or have retired and sold their larger suburban homes; recent college graduates who don't own cars; and, "as people are waiting longer to get married, they are staying in the city longer."

[lee]

Just received a notice saying the zoning variance was granted. The project can proceed as planned.

[torts]

The Royal is up next. lol.

[torts]

Greater St. Matthew = new developer = renovation = new philly

Royal = universal = wasteland = old philly

yucky

[Lolly]

Just received a notice saying the zoning variance was granted. The project can proceed as planned.

Woohoo. Chalk up a point for the Neighborhood of YES.

[Citigirl]

The Royal is up next. lol.

now that's what i'm talkin' about!

[Gladys]

Woohoo. Chalk up a point for the Neighborhood of YES.

Well let's see if the opposition proceeds. as we've seen a zba yes doesn't necessarily mean the project will happen.

[carloss]

This might be a necropost, but: is this still happening? Last time I checked, the For Sale signs were still up.

[devilspocket]

Heard construction noises at the rectory the other day when I walked by, and AFAIK the church's congregation is moving to their new quarters at the end of the month, so I think that this project is proceeding.

[torts]

Any word on the royal?