We need to do a better job examining our surroundings when we go out to take photos of development. Just last week, we told you about a ten home project that's nearing completion on Green Lane in Manayunk, replacing a parking lot that was previously used by the nearby Saint Lucy's church. We knew that the developer for this project, East Main Manayunk, had also converted the former church school building into luxury apartments and that they owned the former church as well. What we didn't notice until a reader was kind enough to point it out to us was that a demolition notice had been posted on 140 Green Ln., the former church itself.
Originally, the developers were hoping to demolish the building and construct an apartment building with 31 units, but pushback from the community resulted in a slightly reduced unit count of 29. According to an article from Montgomery Media, some neighbors preferred townhomes instead of apartments, but the developers indicated that the steep incline of this property would have made that prohibitive as it would have necessitated demolishing the entire foundation. It's worth mentioning that to handle some of the added density, the project will still include 24 car parking spots and 11 bike spots. Considering the challenge of parking on the steep hills in this area, this could be a huge selling point for people that move here in the future.
For people who grew up in this parish, it will surely be a hard pill to swallow to watch this church get demolished. But just looking at the structure, which dates back to 1968 according to the cornerstone, we're not sure how anyone could reasonably expect to do anything with the building other than maintain it as a house of worship. Unlike the former school across the street, the design of the existing building doesn't seem to lend itself to reuse. And while the building surely holds a special place in many hearts, we don't imagine that too many preservationists will lament its loss. Fortunately, these developers have shown a penchant for decent design thus far on this block, so we have a reasonable hope that the new building that's soon to come will be a nice addition to the neighborhood.