Image from Planphilly

According to Planphilly, a developer intends to build on the site pictured above, on the corner of Girard Ave. and Corinthian St., and has proposed tearing down the existing buildings to construct two new buildings with 42 residential units. These buildings are part of a historic district, but are not on the Register of Historic Places, which makes them vulnerable. The community, not surprisingly, voted overwhelming against the project, objecting to demolishing the buildings and also having a problem with the density added by the 42 units at this location.

We look at this situation and see it playing out all over Philadelphia. Old buildings that have a historic value often pit the wishes of the community at odds with the wishes of developers. As we mentioned last week, a similar battle could soon take place over the Royal Theater in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood. Now, we love old buildings but also recognize the importance of redevelopment in a modern city. What to do? We don’t claim to have all of the answers on this one, but the most important thing is for conversation to happen and ideas to be exchanged. In a transparent way. Regrettably, not all of our architectural history can be preserved, but when the developer communicates with the community, sometimes an even better plan can emerge.

To read the whole article from Plan Philly, click here.