Just about everyone agrees that South Street West has undergone an impressive transformation over the last several years. Numerous buildings have been renovated. Vacant land has been filled in with new construction. Dozens of new businesses have popped up, bringing a new vitality to this strip that separates the Rittenhouse neighborhood from the Graduate Hospital neighborhood. But with all this development, one notable eyesore has remained more or less unchanged- the Royal Theater.
The Royal
For those unfamiliar, here’s a very brief history: built around 1919, the building was designed by Frank E. Hahn and targeted an African American audience, featuring movies with black stars and performances by prominent black entertainers. It closed its doors in 1970, and was purchased by Michael Singer Real Estate in 1973, who proceeded to neglect it for twenty-five years. The Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia bought the building in 1998, and sold it to Universal Companies two years later for $250K. For thirteen years, Universal has considered multiple uses for the building, but has done little more than prevent it from falling down during that time.
About two years ago, we told you about a plan from Universal to tear off the rear of the building, construct market-rate homes with 2:1 parking on Kater Street, and use the remaining front quarter of the Royal for retail, meeting spaces, offices, and community spaces. Since that presentation, we’ve heard nothing else about that plan. Last summer, the Royal went up for sale, and we know of at least one concrete offer of $3.2M, and we later heard of another offer in the $4M range. That deal has apparently fallen through, however, and the property is no longer listed for sale.
Another view. You can see the "green roof" very clearly in this photo.
With Universal displaying no apparent momentum toward developing or selling the Royal Theater, a near neighbor has decided to take matters into his own hands. Last week, architect and business owner Juan Levy, someone who was involved in the fight to save the Royal from demolition back in the 1990s, filed an Act 135 suit against Universal. For those unfamiliar, Act 135 allows residents, businesses, or non-profits to take conservatorship over a blighted property, fix it up, and sell it off. Properties involved in such cases need to meet a variety of criteria to prove that they are blighted, dangerous, and that the owner of record isn’t taking the necessary steps to maintain or improve the property.
In Mr. Levy’s filing, he suggests Ori Feibush as the conservator for the Royal Theater. The preliminary plan for the site would be the demolition of 40% of the rear of the building and construction of residential units with underground parking. It would also include the preservation of the front 60% of the property, with commercial uses on the first and second floors and apartments on the third and fourth floors.
Murals would probably be replaced with doors and windows
According to the law, a conservator can make no more than a 10% profit, so this effort is motivated by a desire to preserve one of the most important architectural and cultural buildings on South Street West. The timing is important here because both Feibush and Levy believe that the building is at risk of imminent collapse.
Will this filing result in Feibush taking conservatorship over the Royal and executing the plan described above? Will it instead light a fire under Universal and encourage them to move forward with a plan to renovate the building or sell it off to someone who will? Will we still be writing stories like this five years from now? Gosh, we sure hope not.
Disclosure: Ori Feibush is the owner of OCF Realty, parent company of Naked Philly.