doesn't have a picture those are the two and then that's not an egress window so yeah so the side
one is uh no she doesn't have she doesn't have the kitchen that's the basement that's the kitchen
in the basement and that is so that's this window here yeah that's this window here
okay but there is either way there is direct egress outside yeah there is direct egress
outside as well.
There is. There's just not a lot
of natural light. That's all.
The questions from the board.
Questions or comments from our
attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
I do not see any further hands, Mr. Chair.
Planning Commission?
Amy Boyd with the Planning Commission.
The comprehensive plan recommends no change in zoning at this location from the existing residential single-family twin, RSA 3.
The property is located on the block base consisting of RSA 3 homes with no parking.
The additional unit would therefore consist of an overuse of the property.
Therefore, the Planning Commission recommends that the Board deny the requested variance for two-family residential use.
MI 2024-002-641-621-North-64th Street, I vote yes.
Michael Jones, my vote is yes.
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
Iowan, my vote is no.
Thank you, Counselor, you have your votes.
Thank you.
Thank you, everyone.
Have a good day.
Number 15, MI 2024, 002-842-4143 Lancaster Avenue.
Henry Clinton is the attorney.
henry clinton is the attorney
they will be rejoining as a panelist soon sir
good afternoon mr chairman and members of the board
counsel could you please state your name and spell for the courts tonight
sure henry h-e-n-r-y clinton c-l-i-n-c-o-n
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Do you identify your client in relationship to this property?
Sure. My client is Kevin Roghani, R-O-W-G-H-A-N-I.
He's a member of the Orbitant Partnership.
Okay. Do you stipulate to the reading of the refusal, and do you agree with the accuracy?
I do, Mr. Chairman.
Please start your presentation.
And let me see here. I also. You have a letter of support from Hope, Philadelphia.
And also you have a petition of support from five neighbors, including four on the block.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, Henry Clinton on behalf of Mr. Raghani. Can you see my cover sheet?
We can.
All right. Contains a table of contents A1 through A10, which I ask be admitted.
it. This is the refusal. So this is basically a long, vacant commercial property, we believe at
least 10 years, on the 4100 block of Lancaster Avenue, where there are numerous commercial
spaces that are vacant. And there are some all residential units that are occupied, two triplexes.
And where the front facade of this property is in utter disarray, as is the internal
uh part of the property which i'll show you in photographs and we're basically going to rehab
the property drastically and and at great expense and redo the front facade
the background on this is there was commercial space historically and i have records from the
1920s indicating it was retail food and it was always retail or commercial on the first floor
and then three units above. Because my client contacted with a nearby commercial realtor,
basically advising us that keep the commercial space small because you have a better chance of
getting a commercial tenant. This is a block that's in transition. There are a lot of businesses
there, but there are a number of vacant spaces. So basically what we're doing is taking the first
floor commercial, shrinking the commercial space, keeping the facade as a commercial,
and then putting an accessible unit, one bedroom in the rear. So instead of having commercial in
three, we're asking for a commercial in four. And the reason being the commercial space is too large
and we want to try to attract some tenant there so we don't have a dark space. That's really the
background and I'll walk you through the presentation we do have an RCO letter of
support I just point out that there was other RCOs that also participated and
they're in support because they're trying to revitalize this commercial
corridor and they are happy that we're going to have an accessible unit on the
first floor these are signatures from other business owners on the block
there's a hair salon there's a barber shop and there's a sign shop and I'll
show you photographs. So this is an aerial view of Lancaster Avenue. Where my cursor is, that's
moving south. That's Brown Street, where my cursor is right now. And toward where my cursor is now,
it's north on Lancaster Avenue. So where the black line is, is the subject property. On the corner
is a new store that's supposed to be opening up. And I'll show you closer photographs of that.
As we work our way down the block going south, there's a hair salon, there's a sign company, there's a triplex, there's a vacant lot, and there's a few other vacant lots and some businesses on that side.
There's also some vacant commercial space.
This is a closer view.
So here with the red brick, which I believe has been painted over, and the front facade, which is in disarray, this is my client's property, which he just acquired in January.
The front wall, and I'll show you closer shots, is in really good shape.
I mean, it's going to be dressed up, cleaned up, new windows, and we're going to maintain the corners.
We're not adding anything to the footprint.
We're not adding any height or any third story.
We're basically keeping the building but redoing the front facade.
So this is a juice bar on the corner.
It's a relatively small space.
We believe it's under 500 square feet.
Here's the hair salon.
Here's the company that does printing.
Here is the triplex vacant lot, and then this is a triplex too.
Here is the triplex, vacant lot, and then this is a triplex too.
Again, some of the other, the closer shot of the various businesses.
The only thing I didn't say in the beginning, across the street, this is a tire repair shop.
A lot of vehicles parked in open space there, but it's been there for a while, and we understand that use.
So this is the rear of the property.
There's a bay that overhangs the second floor, excuse me, the first floor.
And this brings light and air into the units on the second and third floor.
And I'll show you the floor plan.
Because of the nature of this building, each unit is going to have ample light and air.
It's not a situation where the client's trying to cram a lot of units into a building where there's no light or air.
Because of the step-back construction of this property along the north wall, it really is advantageous for someone to have decent light and air.
This is the triplex down the street that I mentioned.
Here is a science store, another shot of our property, my client's property.
Directly across the street is a clinic from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathy Medicine.
And this is a better view of the property, again, with the hair salon right to the south.
Some interior photographs to show you the dismal condition of the property.
Basement will just be for storage and utilities.
These are the rear yard, overgrown, but will be taken care of.
We took a photograph of the property at night, just so you can see how it appears, and we
think that the brick may have been painted over and that there's maybe a brown or gray
brick underneath.
this is what the rendering this is running what the property will look like again maintaining the
cornice nice row lock of our windows the headers they'll stay the same and we'll redo the front
facade the door on the left is the entry to the accessible unit on the first floor and also to
get to the apartments upstairs let me just switch this around
again just the depiction of what the property will look like again maintaining what is there
let me go back and
this is the site plan but I and this is what I was talking about with the step back nature of the
building. This is the corner store, which is going to sell drinks and smoothies, and this is our
property. So along the north wall, it steps back, and this line will then serve as a line for our
commercial space with a door here so that there's open space for the commercial tenant to put
whatever items they want in the alleyway, but also along this alleyway, they're light to bring
into the first floor rear handicap unit and then the second and third floor also step back
and there'll you'll i'll show you there's windows here and also there's a two-story protruding bay
in the rear i'll work left to right this is the basement there'll be a shared basement accessible
for anyone who wants to use it except for the commercial space uh the front door as i said
There were two doors. One leads to the units. The other door leads to the commercial space, which is about 330 square feet.
Again, when my client, and he will testify to this, spoke to a commercial broker in the neighborhood at 52nd and Larchwood,
she said that it's best to try to keep the commercial unit small.
You're really going to be able to attract more of a wide range of tenants because they don't want to pay for large commercial space on the first floor.
and we don't want to compete with the other tenants on the commercial space on the block.
So my client is trying to gear this to maybe a small nonprofit, maybe a contractor, maybe
an accountant, you know, an accountant, something like that, that you don't need a lot of back
area, but you do need frontage on a commercial corridor and you do need to have an appealing
facade. So as you walk into the second door, the door on the left, you would lead to the
accessible unit in the rear, which has one bedroom and a full bath, kitchen, living room,
and dining area. Then you would walk up the steps to the second floor. You would have a two
Then you would walk up the steps to the second floor. You would have a two-bedroom unit as you enter. In the front would be a living, dining, and kitchen area, one bedroom all on the side with window area, and then bathroom having a window, and then a rear bedroom also having windows.
So the layout is going to be one bedroom on the first floor, two bedrooms on the second floor, and then on the third floor, it would be, again, one bedroom and then a studio apartment.
So you would then walk up the steps, and at the top of the steps on the second floor, there are trash enclosures for each of the three apartment dwellers on the second and third floor.
The first floor apartment will be able to keep the trash in the rear, and the commercial unit will be able to keep its trash outside.
in that small breezeway. I'll return to the third floor. We have one bedroom in the front
and then a studio, an affordable studio in the rear of the property.
The rest of the documents are the typical documents you would see in such a presentation,
our application, tax clearance, zoning map. Again, it is a unique small lot, but does have
an out area in the rear yard, but because of the step back nature of the building,
you are able to bring light and air into the building. The deed indicating ownership in
January of 2024, our notice letter, and then just some zoning records that we were able to find from
1954 indicating, because I couldn't find any current use at all. That's why I say it's been
vacant and in a blighted condition for a minimum 10 years and the folks on the during the community
meeting really weren't sure how long it's been vacant so i don't want to overstate that but we
do believe it's at least 10 years 1956 three family with retail and hand clothing this is a
document, the historical document just indicating 1924, three units, 1956, three units in the
business. And again, that same year, 1956. And again, this is a record from 1968. We were able
to find three-family retail food and cosmetics.
So, in conclusion, at least with regard to my testimony, I can have my client adopt my
testimony, but I did want to ask him a couple of questions before I concluded.
If he could unmute himself, Mr. Chairman.
Kevin, can you raise your hand, please?
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Yes, my name is Kevin Rogani, K-E-V-I-N-R-O-W-G-H-A-N-I.
Or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth.
Please proceed, counsel.
Kevin, good afternoon.
And you've been on the call the entire time when I presented your project.
And can you tell the board whether or not you spoke to a commercial broker?
And if you did, what did that broker tell you and where are they located?
They are located right down in Havertown, Havertford Road, or Havertford Avenue right there in West Philadelphia.
I spoke to them about this property and about my future plans.
They did agree that a small commercial space is better suited considering the area has a lot of vacant businesses and some of the existing businesses are using very small space.
The changes that we've experienced in the last five years with COVID, a lot of businesses are not requiring as much space.
um especially if it's a you know non-profit or some sort of contractor office or small office
of that sort um they said uh you know it would uh rent out um and it would be uh more affordable
for a small business to launch um in an area that needs you know uh commercial space to be filled
Kevin, you've been on the block numerous times, correct?
Correct.
And how many vacant commercial spaces are there on the block right now?
I would say at least 50%.
Um, there's, uh, there's a lot of businesses that went out of business and they're, uh, boarded up or the, uh, gates that are, uh, to protect the building or the glass, uh, are pulled down and they're just vacant.
There's a lot of businesses that went out of business.
Right. Do you have any leads on commercial tenants?
I'm like, not at the moment, because the state of the property is just not attractive to entice somebody to rent as is. So at the moment, no.
You have an intention to sign a listing agreement with a commercial broker?
Absolutely.
And do you intend to move forward with that if the board looks upon us kindly today?
Okay. I don't have any further questions, Captain. Thank you.
By the way, one more question. Are you going to have this property professionally managed by someone, by a commercial broker?
Okay. And are you going to make that first floor accessible unit affordable?
Yes, I will. That first floor is essentially matches the sidewalk grade. So in some aspects, it's easy for handicapped folks.
And also the studio apartment on the third floor, is that also going to be an affordable unit, which you told the community group?
Okay. No further questions of this witness, Mr. Chairman.