I'm pleased to have the opportunity to represent Nike Retail Services, Inc., the lessee at 1617
Walnut Street, the future home of the first Nike World of Flight shop in the United States of
America. With me virtually is Jamie Sinclair, Associate General Counsel of Nike, Inc., as well
as Andra Wooten, Project Manager, Andre Kim, Director of Retail Design for the Jordan brand.
On the screen before you, we can see an aerial photograph of the subject property.
As this board is no doubt aware, the subject property fronts on Walnut Street and runs
through to Moravian Street, which is to the north.
the property is located within the cmx 5 center city core commercial mixed-use zoning district
the proposed retail sales of wearing apparel and accessories are permitted uses of record
which have been registered at zp 2024 012054 along with certain excess
012054, along with certain accessory signage that has already been approved, namely a non-illuminated
sign above the storefront entrance, which you will see in a moment if the computer cooperates.
there we go on the screen before you just to put this in context is a conceptual rendering
uh an enhanced uh rendering of what you would see if you walked by walnut street today but a little
bit beyond that in that it shows above the main entrance the approved uh logo for uh the retailer
right above the door and as i said the underlying use for the entire property has been approved
we're here today to ask for an additional accessory sign approval which i'll share with
you momentarily and here we see some streetscape photos on the right the proposed world of flight
is devoted exclusively to the air jordan nike brand the retail space encompasses the entire
subject property two stories as you can see towards the left of the photo right
by what had been New Balance is no longer it's about 7,000 square feet of
retail space all Jordan brand and here's another photograph of the property if
you were to walk by today work has been underway Nike is really excited to
introduce this to philadelphia in the region so we're looking from the inside out beautiful windows
but there are lots of layers of review here which is one of the issues quite frankly that that
speaks to the hardship being philadelphia historical commission review to do this in a way that's
sensitive to the historic resource as well as art commission review so you can see that we
have a construction site uh that's being completed the application before the board concerns nike's
request for placement of the air jordan jumpman logo uh less than two square feet in size which
would be centered on the walnut street elevation gable here it is uh all the gable is all the way
at the top the pediment of the property uh and the proposed signage the exclusive issue before the
board is for a 17 inch 17 and one eighth inch wide by 16 inches high logo yes it's true what i'm
saying it's the it's the one that is indicated with the letter a up at the top and i'll go over
the notice of refusal and the reason that we're here it's a shame that nike had to wait so long
but uh this is just a nuance of the zoning code uh here's the notice of refusal and um as as the uh
lni document says the application concerns the erection of one non-illuminated accessory wall
sign above the second floor uh windowsill of the subject property and pursuant to 14904
one h of the zoning code variance relief is required if a wall sign is situated above
the second floor windowsill a couple observations if i may regarding the appropriateness of
variance relief under the law the property is located on the philadelphia register of
historic places which in practice as the board knows restricts options for exterior alterations
so in this case the placement of the proposed jump man logo has been reviewed and approved
in concept by both the philadelphia historical commission and the art commission mr chairman
you mentioned that at the start due to the concerns of both commissions i would respectfully submit
that options for placement of signage are generally more restrictive here at this site
then would be the case for properties not subject to philadelphia historical commission and art
commission review particularly in such a generous zoning district as the cmx5 zoning district
here is the signage detail once again the proposed signage is a mere 1.90 square feet
the least minimum variance necessary to provide relief from the regulation at issue
Why is this important to Nike and to World of Flight?
There's nothing more important to the Jordan brand than the branding itself, and to let people know that here in Philadelphia, we're going to have a very special exclusive opportunity.
There's nothing more important to...
And when people look up at this beautiful building right over the door, they'll see it really restrained.
You could imagine a very different sort of approach, a Times Square sort of approach.
and but we believe that something more is needed and that this complements the design very nicely
there is full support the project has been reviewed by the coordinating rco center city
residents association which lends its non-opposition along with the support of council
president kenyatta johnson i hope that this brief presentation has demonstrated that the proposal
fits into the surrounding neighborhood, as evidenced by the support for the de minimis
relief at issue, the first world of flight in the United States will surely be of benefit to
our city, to the general public, and to the granting of variance relief requested within
the spirit of the zoning code. And Ms. Sinclair is available along with the others, should there
be any questions. Thank you. Do you want to have someone just adopt your testimony? Yes.
Jamie Sinclair, would you please raise your virtual hand to be recognized by Chairman Bergman?
She has.
Bill will be coming back in as a panelist.
Hello. Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Sure. Hello. My name is Jamie Sinclair, first name J-A-M-I-E.
last name Sinclair, S-I-N-E-L-A-I-R. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth,
the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I do. Please proceed, counsel.
Thank you, Chairman Bergman. Good afternoon, Ms. Sinclair.
Hello. Good afternoon. How are you today? Very well. Thank you. Thank you for joining us.
Have you been present during the entirety of this hybrid presentation before the Zoning Board
adjustment? Yes, I have. And would you adopt and affirm the testimony that I've offered as your
own? Yes, I do. Thank you, Ms. Sinclair. Thank you. Question from the board. Yeah, I do have a
question. So the logo itself won't be lit, but will there be any lighting that will shine on the logo?
Mr. Johns, there's no light lighting that is proposed. Gotcha. Thank you. Certainly. Okay.
I don't have a question. I guess I have a, well, it's sort of a query. This is awfully small. So if you're standing on Walnut Street and you're looking up, you're, how, and it's not lit.
I can't hear you
I said I guess
I'm just wondering
this is so small compared
to you know
if you're standing on Walnut Street
and you actually shave
you can be able to
I'm smiling
because my
14 year old
and 18 year old kids
say to me
i why i if you know you know whatever right that acronym is thank you ms win and and i believe
i i believe that the the hope is that people know that it's here but also
right over the door there there is a there is one that's approved yeah but this is adding
a nice uh touch to the top and we have gold color no it's uh it's a brush at all it's my
understanding however there are lots of layers of review and it's not not necessarily appropriate
for discussion before the zoning board but there's a greater policy question for the city of
philadelphia about opening our doors to business and everyone has an opinion uh and there are those
who have really wanted to focus on the historic architecture so we're doing the best we can
i understand i understand that i mean i i'm not objecting right i'm just wondering if it's going
to be you know if particularly if you're standing right in front of the building you're not going
to see it if you're right in front if you're walking by across the street and you look up at
the at the facade you'll see it and you hopefully you'll want to come in if you didn't know it was
there exactly yes okay all right i have a question about the fasteners which i'm sure
also came up with the historic review it looks like the sign is not sitting flush to the stone
and so how is uh drainage or like water
And so how is drainage or like water management going to happen around the sign?
manage
Well, it is not flush to the stone, which is actually a little bit better because it's designed to connect in as discreet a way and non-invasive a way as possible to protect the historic resource and allow water behind it and cleaning as necessary repair.
it's it's a small space but enough to achieve those objectives okay
questions or comments from our attorney uh no chair questions or comments from
the virtual audience i do not see any hands raised at the time mr commission
good afternoon chair members of the board michael gall with the philadelphia city
planning commission the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the existing zoning
of cmx5 commercial mixed use at this location the proposed proposal completed its civic design
review in january 2025 the civic design review committee's advisory recommendations are not an
expression of the city planning commission's recommendation or opinion regarding zoning
variances special exceptions or other discretionary approvals associated with this proposal an appeal
for a sign at the first level floor level was granted under zp 20 24012054 there are no other
signs on this block on either side that are at this height the appellant has not demonstrated
that the absence of the proposed second sign at the gable would cause economic detriment
city planning commission therefore recommends the board deny requested variants for sign height
thank you um mi2025 001 570 1617 walnuts street i vote yes michael johns my vote is yes
Cheryl Gaston, my vote is yes.
Tanetta Graham, my vote is yes.
As a Chicagoan born in the 90s, I feel like I probably should have to recuse myself, but Tywin, my vote is yes.
Let's not count her vote.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.
Number four, MI 2025-001-571-6948-50 Tarsdale Avenue.
Vern Anastasio is the attorney.
there's a letter of unanimous support from taconi civic five votes total including two
near neighbors and a letter from council member driscoll the council offices in support of the
rco's recommendation good afternoon mr chair council could you please state your name as
spell for the stenographer yep it's verne anastasio a-n-a-s-t-a-s-i-o do you swear or
affirm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth yes sir do you identify your client
relationship to this property individuals harvey schmidt schmidt and michael daly for today
um do you waive the reading of the refusal and agree with its accuracy
i do why don't you start your presentation thank you
members of the board mr chair we have a 113 page exhibit packet that i'm going to move into
evidence i will not go through every page but this is in fact an application for a group home
for veterans and specifically as i said for vets and from the love pray peace project
Their information is included in my exhibit packet.
It's a nationally recognized veteran services organization, and they help vets bridge the gap back into permanent housing solutions.
And what we have here is going to be this property is a longstanding institutional residential property.
property. It used to be part of a church complex, specifically a convent. For 70 years, it has
served in some form or fashion as an institutionalized residential home. And that's
based on the history that I also submit under evidence today. And with that said,
the property, as you'll see in photos, it's impossible to convert at this point to a single
family home. After all of that, as such, the community was happy that we were occupying it,
and we got unanimous support from them as well as the council office, which is unusual for a
use like this. So I think that speaks volumes. And with that, I'm going to go over the plans with you.
I'm going to pull out briefly and then with questions we can zoom in.
i'm going to pull out uh briefly and then with question
This is just the overall site plan.
Then we have the first floor here, which is lots of living space.
There are one or two bedrooms on the first floor.
but mostly living dining and entry hall living space an office the kitchen
we got the second floor with bedrooms and baths and we've got the third floor
with bedrooms and baths right there second floor is on the right bottom third floor is
on the right top basement is mostly storage and utilities here's the photos
Roof of posting, exterior,
There's the mailing that went out to all immediate neighbors, inviting them not only to the RCO meeting, but to the community meeting.
Sixty three individual households were mailed.
Resulting in unanimous vote from Tocconi Civic Association came with a letter as well.
So here's some of the information about the nonprofit that I had mentioned earlier about
offering affordable and safe housing for vets, financial literacy, and veteran benefits,
making sure that they connect those vets with those benefits.
All of that is being moved into evidence.
uh and hold on then we have the property history well-documented 70 years mostly
some sort of residential group home convent
and all of that is being moved into evidence as well
and finally
I wanted to just briefly
show you some exterior
shots these were recently
as yesterday
all nice and cleaned up
we have a property management company
who will be handling the
exterior maintenance and upkeep
of the property and we
end with council member
Driscoll's letter of full
support
because of the property's long history
serving uses very much like this one
because we have come to the community
and explained our plan
and have earned unanimous support
because it would be physically impossible
to turn this very large home
into a single family dwelling
that would be sustainable.
I respectfully request
the granting of the variance
and as such,
So I asked my client to raise his virtual hand.
Before we move on, Ryan, could you handle the whole parking issue?
I see there's a missing refusal for parking.