and their track record attests to their ability to make that happen.
Here you can see some nice renderings of what those outdoor areas would look like.
The project is supported by the Fishtown Neighbors Association
and the Fishtown Kensington Area Business District.
Here you can see the letter of support from FNA, the Coordinating RCO.
and it references the support for the special exception. It notes that, or allow me to note for
the record, proposed hours of operation, Shake Shack 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sweet Green 10 a.m. to
10 p.m., and you saw the seating plans that show ample seating, and we also looked at the commercial
trash pickup, the interior storage of trash. No alcohol is proposed, Mr. Chairman, members of the
board. There's venting through the roof, which is very important. Here is Fishtown, Kensington Area
Business Improvement District's letter of unanimous support, noting that the neighborhood
oriented retail along Frankfort Avenue meshes nicely with what's proposed. It's respectful to
Crease Street in the rear, which is more residential. There is one additional retail
commercial unit that's not before the board right now. We believe that that will likely
fit within what's permitted in the district without special exception or other relief.
And we're grateful for the collaboration with the two community organizations. The proposal fits
into the surrounding neighborhood as evidenced by the neighborhood support, speaks to the granting
of relief being of a benefit to the public and within the spirit of the zoning code uh i'll
pause right now we do again have the full team including tom to adopt and affirm at the appropriate
time mr chair okay one of you bring one uh mr hallinan would you please uh once again raise your
Mr. Hallinan, would you please once again raise your virtual hand?
virtual hand
There he is.
You've already been sworn. Just state your name for the record.
Sure. Tom Hallinan.
Proceed, counsel.
Mr. Hallinan, you've been present for the entirety of this virtual presentation, I believe. Is that correct?
And would you adopt and affirm the testimony that I've offered as your own?
Yes. Thank you.
So are you comfortable with the proviso? Outdoor dining areas to close by 11 p.m.?
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Okay. Questions on the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
Questions or comments from Hillary Emerson, our attorney?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions from the virtual audience?
yes i have robert everett with his hand up i will allow him to speak
sir could you state your name please and spell for the court stenographer
yes good morning first name robert last name everett e-v-e-r-e-t-t do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth i do please proceed i'm a member of
the zoning committee of Fishtown Neighbors Association, just confirming what Mr.
Labor presented and agree with the proviso as well.
That was discussed at our meeting.
Thank you very much for taking the time to call.
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
Yes, Chair.
Mark Palazzo has a hand up.
I will allow to speak.
Hi, could you state your name, please, as spelled for the court stenographer?
Certainly.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mark, M-A-R-C, last name Collazo, C-O-L-L-A-Z-Z-O, and I'm executive director for the Fishtown-Kensington area bid.
All right. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, sir?
I do, I swear.
Please proceed.
Thank you, and I think we're all in agreement here.
As someone who is entrusted with running a corridor that's in the middle of the neighborhood, it is wonderful,
And I applaud the development team for their careful consideration of the design of this building and preserving the neighborhood components on Cree Street, bringing new density to this prime part of the area, but also finding the right type of retail dining establishments to put here.
It's no accident that Shake Shack and Sweetgreen were chosen in that we're, you know, in building a place with new family density.
It's great to have new luncheon options.
Also, there are hours of operation confirmed with that type of audience.
We concur with Mr. Everett and Fishtown Neighbors to support this project with the provisos provided.
Thank you very much for taking the time to call in.
Is there anyone else in the virtual audience?
no hands chair planning commission thank you chair bergman and board members david effecta with the
city planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the commercial mixed use
zoning at this location the appellant has shown that the proposed eating and drinking establishment
will have no detrimental impacts beyond what might be expected the city planning commission
recommends the board grant the proposed special exception for eating and drinking establishments
Thank you. MI 2023-001-839-1351-59 Frankfort Avenue. I vote yes with proviso. Outdoor dining areas to close by 11 p.m.
Thomas Holloman, my vote is yes with proviso.
James Stelman, my vote is yes with proviso.
Mr. Laver, please say yes.
Mr. Laver, my vote is yes with proviso.
Thank you.
Mr. Laver?
Yes, Mr. Chair.
7 MI 2023-001-894-1148-62
Frankfurt Avenue. Letter of non-opposition from
Council Member Squilla. Letter of
support from Fishtown Kensington Area Business Association.
And there is also a letter of opposition from an individual
about the roof deck.
correct mr laver just for the record state your name yes mr chairman adam laver l-a-v-e-r blank
room could you identify your client in relationship to this property certainly blank room represents
1148 frankfurt partners llc which does business as altera property group a leo adamondo company
And our vice chair has just a few questions, sir.
and our vice chair has just a few questions sir
counsel do you
Counselor, do you agree to waive the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy?
Yes, Mr. Vice Chairman, I do.
Have you emailed in all the required documents that's needed to proceed with this case?
Yes, sir, I have.
Please proceed and share your screen.
Thank you.
As stated, we represent 1148 Frankfurt Partners, LLC, which is known as Altera Property Group, owner of the property at 1148-62 Frankfurt Avenue, with frontages on Frankfurt Avenue, Gerard Avenue, and Dunton Street.
Henry Sullivan is here on behalf of the ownership.
We have previously appeared before this board concerning aspects of Altera Property Group's reimagining of this important site.
You may recall that the subject property includes the historic Kensington National Bank Building, which is here, left portion of the site, where I'm indicating with the cursor.
This historic property is approved for retail, commercial, professional office uses.
And here you can see the rich historic imagery of this site, which actually poses several challenges to its redevelopment.
But Leo Adamondo and Altera Property Group have invested a lot and are committed to investing more to work with the Philadelphia Historical Commission and stakeholders to preserve this important resource in Fishtown for the long term and to find ways for adaptive reuse into the future.
Here are current contextual photos. It was last occupied by Wells Fargo. However, board members, you may recall that Wells Fargo is moving into a new construction portion of the property that would surround the historic building over on Dunton, which is under construction right now.
Now, this is just giving you a sense of the property itself that we'll be talking about
concerning the roof deck.
The site itself is in the heart of the vibrant Fishtown-Gerrard Avenue commercial corridor.
It is zoned CMX 2.5.
Here are conceptual renderings that were shared with the board and other matters to depict the
end project, if you will, being this new construction wrapping around. Not before the
board now, but I just wanted to refresh the board. And there's that Wells Fargo that will be relocated.
so back to the historic kensington national bank building which is approved for retail commercial
professional uses and uh focusing on this lower portion of that the one story portion of that
historic uh property here's the notice of refusal on the issue before the board mr chairman as you
mentioned at the start of the hearing, Leo has proposed the erection of a roof deck at the
second floor level of the existing structure for non-residential purposes. So this would be
accessory to the vibrant office commercial that Altera is trying to attract to the corridor.
and roof decks for non-residential uses are prohibited in the CMX 2.5 zoning district
without zoning board of adjustment review. Altera has worked and they're good at what they do.
They're known in the community for attracting high quality tenants. What they're hearing is
that commercial tenants in an adaptive reuse of historic property like this are looking for
outdoor space. Frankfort Avenue itself is a business district. Proposed variants would be
harmonious with the characteristics of the surrounding area. More importantly, for purposes
of the board's review, no dimensional relief is sought. What do I mean specifically about that?
All setbacks and dimensional requirements for the deck are met under the zoning code as shown in
the plans. And here in the lower right-hand corner, you can see the proposed roof deck
with an existing door right out onto the deck itself. Furthermore, although not directly
Furthermore, although not directly relevant to ZBA review, the Historical Commission has its own concerns about what is seen from the pedestrian right-of-way.
relevant to ZBA review.
So we are meeting all dimensional requirements of the zoning code, and if this project is to be approved and get a building permit, we'll have to meet the requirements of the Philadelphia Historical Commission, which we are absolutely prepared to do.
uh council member squila designated fishtown kensington area business improvement district
as coordinating rco their letter which is a long one that actually uh and i appreciate mr collazo
giving the full history to the board but i've highlighted the relevant sections for the board
on the final page there is support for the project there was an initial meeting on may 17th regarding
this proposed roof deck request and there was a public meeting on June 28th and I hereby certify
to the board and I've shared this information with council that there was full public notice
and that's in the file of the zoning board right now.
Now, Council Member Squilla has, I just found out this morning, issued a letter of non-opposition
following the designation of the bid as the coordinating RCO and recognizing that.
Mark Collazo is here and will likely wish to speak.
I would like to recognize one thing, Mr. Chairman and members of the board.
You have a letter of opposition from a respected member of the Fishtown community, a noted accessibility rights advocate, and we have engaged in discussions with him.
Altera Property Group continues to speak with him regarding the challenges of making the historic protected property accessible.
Although this is not at all a zoning issue before the board, I would like to publicly recognize in this public forum Altera Property Group's commitment to this issue and to working to not only meet all existing code requirements, and I'm not talking zoning code, I'm talking about accessibility and building code, but if possible to exceed those.
And we will do that outside of this forum. I wanted to mention that for the record. We take
that seriously. Leo takes that seriously. This proposal fits into the dynamic, vibrant commercial
corridor of the surrounding neighborhood. Opposed variants would represent the minimum variants to
afford relief and represent the least modification possible of the regulations at issue. The grant of
variance relief will not substantially increase congestion in the public streets, increase the
danger of fire, or otherwise endanger the public health, safety, or general welfare.
There is no change in density to the new construction portion of the project. This
doesn't impact the new construction. In fact, specifically, this is about creatively finding
ways to preserve a historic property with its inherent challenges. This will not adversely
affect transportation or unduly burdened water, sewer, school park, or other public facilities.
There are no environmental issues. At the appropriate time, Mr. Sullivan, on behalf of
the ownership, is prepared to adopt and affirm. And we are all here to answer any questions the
board may have. Can you have your testimony adopted, please, now? Certainly. Mr. Sullivan,
would you please raise your virtual hand? Henry Sullivan.
There he is.
Good morning, sir.
Could you please state your name and spell it for the court stenographer?
Yes, Henry Sullivan, H-E-N-R-Y-S-U-L-L-I-V-A-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes, sir.
Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you.
Mr. Sullivan, have you been present for the entirety of this virtual hearing before the Zoning Board of Adjustment?
I have.
And would you adopt and affirm the testimony that I've offered as your own?
I would.
Thank you.
Questions from the board?
No, Mr. Chairman.
No, Chair.
No, Chair.
Questions or comments from our attorney, Hillary Emerson?
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience?
yes i have mark collazo i will allow to speak mr collazo just for the record state your name
you've already been sworn certainly good uh good afternoon i'm sorry good morning mr chair
Certainly. Good morning, Mr. Chair. Mark Collazo, M-A-R-C-C-O-L-L-A-Z-Z-O.
mark collazo
Please proceed, sir.
Thank you. And again, I appreciate the time this morning to speak on this project.
I'm Executive Director of the Fishtown-Kensington Area Business Improvement District, who had been designated as the primary RCO for this matter.
And as Mr. Laver correctly put it, we were, I sent a letter highlighting all of our activity.
We've certainly been involved on this project from day one with all the great uses that come with it, as well as the challenges of preserving the historic nature of this Frank Furness building.
This property falls in the heart of our commercial corridor.
So what is essential for us as we see it is to ensure that the historic use is preserved, while also facilitating bringing in office or retail space, which is necessary for our corridor to grow.
As you all know, the way that everyone works post-pandemic is very, very different than what it used to be.
So what we have seen, certainly in our district, in creating spaces that pull in maybe larger corporate clients, certainly as like Live Nation or Red Bull, they're not looking for necessarily just the traditional, here's an office with desks and so forth.
They want to create a creative environment for their employees to thrive.
And part of doing that is actually, and I've had the privilege of seeing this space, Mr. Chair, is to utilize an outdoor space for their employees to use that will allow them congregate together, not only decompress, but also collaborate.
And nothing better than, to be honest, that to be on a space that overlooks what we feel is one of the best corridors in the city of Philadelphia.
It does so without any disruption to any other use.
We certainly appreciate the neighbor who will testify here, as Mr. Lever correctly pointed out.
He is a respected member of our community.
He's not only a colleague, he's a friend and a wonderful advocate.