half open so i i would uh strongly disagree with council's uh claim that that this property has
been beautifully maintained this picture is an anomaly on a good day um if and i did submit
the pictures for the record yesterday i hope the uh board members had an opportunity to view them
uh more uh moreover i have not heard of uh the community group community on the rise i uh
have not had no previous dealings with them before this issue last i heard they were from
mcgee avenue which is miles away from this property and uh you know i don't know uh
yeah, I've never heard of them.
I don't know if they're legitimate or not.
So I, you know, I do know
that Raunhurst Civic Association
has opposed this measure.
They do have citations for high grass
as recently as September of 2019,
which is probably around the time
L&I had better things to do at the time.
So I don't, the property owners
had this property since 2007 uh i guess theoretically he's had three tenants till
2000 since 2007 he's not invested one iota back into this property and uh i i think and i you
know correct me if i'm wrong but the only reason we are here is because he was he got caught um
So I don't see a hardship with the, you know, if the, you know, there's no hardship in this property.
And I think it's an overuse and it's, you know, the ownership and maintenance in this property is very lacking.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
um anyone else to testify in this case please raise your hand here we have lee please unmute
yourself and wait for the chair hello good afternoon sir please identify yourself first
and last name lee l-e-e horn h-o-r-n-e we're in the firm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth yes sir please proceed um i am the uh zoning chairman for the runner civic
association uh i don't want to uh repeat the things that have already been said so i'll i'll
keep this short the um board members of the runner civic association are not in favor of this project
We do note that there's no increased parking for more residents.
This is not the intended use of this building as it was built.
And personally, I worry how this change will affect the value of homes on the adjacent block, which is Vista, which are single-family twins.
um i i also will state that i do not know who this other rco was is or claims to be i don't
know why they were given access to tour of the property and i don't know uh that they have any
jurisdiction in rawnhurst um everything else that has been said i agree with by the councilman and
state senator so i will thank you for your time thank you sir you're welcome anyone else
i see no other hands chair yeah just for clarity when these properties were built
correct me if i'm wrong were they built a single or uh duplexes these properties were built as
duplexes along the 2300 odd side of uh of blight okay i just wanted to make sure i was thinking
of Bly. Okay. I just wanted to make sure I was thinking right. And so the objection is to the
Right. And so the objection is to.
third unit, correct? Yes, sir. Okay. Questions from the board? I think I asked already, but I'll
ask you. No questions. No. Planning commission. Good afternoon, board. Peter Bernard for the
planning commission. This property is indicated for single family residential in the comprehensive
plan. The property is already in use as a duplex. We feel the addition of another unit represents
an overuse of the property and that the applicant has failed to demonstrate any hardship. According
to the granting of the variance. Thank you. MI 2020-000148. Well Mr. Chair can I
can I just also point as far as any issues that the board is having with hardship I just would
like to again point out that the testimony was that this property is currently set up for three
separate units so we have three separate utilities we have three separate entrances this is not set
up for a single family property and as I stated before we have a property certificate for the two
units so this would just be a minimal increase to increase the use from the permitted two units just
for an additional unit so you're saying you're saying it's set up for a triplex it's the i only
i see three three meters generally generally one meter is the public meter and the other ones would
be for each uh for the other units individual units so it's really set up for a duplex well
inside of the property it's also i can show you interior pictures um and so each unit is its own
separate unit with yeah but that doesn't mean that obviously you're here because you're an elite
you're trying to legalize that it was originally set up as a triplex that's why i asked the question
of the gentleman from the ron herr civic these were originally built as duplexes right and and
so but my client did not change it into the triplex it so there's no self-created hardship
here they they're merely trying to be permitted to use these the or increase i'm sorry
Yeah, understood.
And so internally, these are all set up as three distinct units.
So it would be a tremendous hardship to have to change this from the two units that it's currently set up for.
Or I'm sorry, to change the three units back into the two units.
To the way that it's currently configured on the interior.
And the fact that it has three separate utility meters.
And three separate.
again and i won't be labored to point the three meters one meter there's a meter for each unit
and then the third meter is what is referred to as the public meter so you would need it you would
need four meter meters for it to be considered a triplex um if sunny is still available i mean he
I got it please I don't mean to be disrespectful I think we got it all right MI 2020-000148
2301 Bly Street my vote is no my vote is no my vote is no my vote is no my vote is no my vote is
no thank you uh Carol I think now is the uh five to five to 13 all together five through 13 and 15
Okay, yeah, I have that down. Calendar number 2332-2301 Master Street. Calendar number 0660-2401 Ingersoll Street. Calendar number 3314-2400 Ingersoll Street. Calendar number 3386-2415 Master Street.
Calendar number 0663-2418 Master Street
Calendar number 3132-2421 Ingersoll Street
Calendar number 3387-2411 Master Street
Calendar number 0867-2448 Master Street
Calendar number 0866-2450 Ingersoll Street
and calendar number 1-2-3-8-24-53 Ingersoll Street.
The attorney is Meredith Berliger.
There you are.
Good afternoon.
Name an address for the record, please, and spell your last name.
Meredith Berliger with Delworth Paxson, F-E-R-L-E-G-E-R, 1500 Market Street, Suite 3500E.
if the administrator can also allow Darwin Beauvais access, as well as my co-counsel.
access, as well as my co-counsel. Sorry. Okay, that's always the thrill. Do you swear
Sorry.
Okay, that's all we need.
for me to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Certainly. Do you also agree to waive
the reading of the refusal and stipulate to its accuracy? Yes, with the exception of 2301 Master
Street and 2421 Ingersoll Street. We do believe those refusals were issued in error, and I will
cover that in the presentation okay have you emailed the exhibit packet with proof of ownership
tax compliance refusal referral photos plans five days in advance of this hearing and have you met
with the rco and do you have a letter yes to all the above oh there you are mr beauvais do you
swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me god
so so help god help you and i assume that you also agreed away the reading of the refusal
and stipulate to its accuracy except for the exceptions okay that's correct it's always good
to see all of you uh madam vice chair it's also also you mr chairman
thank you sir thank you okay someone can proceed thank you very much uh okay so first of all thank
you for reading out all of those addresses there's 10 in total uh the developer here today
is philadelphia housing authority and i have several representatives on the line today that
will testify about the history of the project and what they're looking to do here. Architect is Chris
Stigler with Blackney Hayes. I also will bring him on to kind of walk you through this in some
detail. But before I do that, just a little bit of background. The proposal before the board today
is being pursued by PHA in conjunction with the Philadelphia Department of Housing and Community
development or dhcd and represents phase 4a of the sweeping redevelopment of the sharswood blumber
neighborhood for 58 units of affordable housing the board is likely familiar with the project
as a result of hearing variance requests for several prior phases that were all approved by
this and prior boards the project has received expressions of support from dhcd the city planning
commission as well as received a letter of non-opposition from the coordinating rco brewery
town shardswood community civic i am also hopefully that mary jones from council president's office is
still on the line as i do believe he will also be expressing his support we do understand that
a lengthy letter of opposition from several neighborhood residents was sent to the board
so as a result we will need to walk the board through this in some detail and we will do our
very best to be concise. I did submit to the board a lengthy exhibit packet containing 29 exhibits.
Now given the length of the exhibit packet, I prepared a separate presentation that will be
easier to walk you through. However, please note that the full over 600 page exhibit packet
does include all of the tax clearances, copies of appeals with refusals, deeds, code sections,
required notices, and other detailed evidence that support the variance request before the
board today. The letters of support that I referenced are included at Exhibit 13.
I'll start with some general background, and then I'll bring up my first witness.
I'll discuss the refusals during the course of the presentation.
If the board refers to Exhibit 2, which I now have up on the screen, you'll see an overall
key plan of the proposed development, which spans an area extending from North 23rd Street
all the way over to North 25th Street and between Harlan Street here to the north and
Ingersoll Street to the south. Overall, there are 10 separate appeal applications before the board
today. If you refer to the aerial, and I'll bring up, I'll zoom in a little bit on this.
This is at exhibit 12. You'll notice that the area is currently a mix of vacant land
and a smattering of remaining structures. The proposal sits next to the large Valks school
here on Master Street. Now, as of the time that we filed the 10 zoning applications,
which was last May, the properties were at the time all zoned RM1 with some corner CMX2 zoning.
They were reviewed in accordance with that RM1 and CMX2 zoning. Now the board should note that
rezoning bill number 200144 passed out of the rules committee in September several months after
passed out of the Rules Committee in September several months after these applications were
reviewed by L&I. You'll see that full bill at Exhibit 11 and images of the map changes up on
the screen. So as you can see from the zoning map currently, which is at Exhibit 10, the properties
are now largely zoned RSA5 with one site 2301 remaining RM1 but no longer really any CMX2 zoning.
At this point if the administrator can look for Nicholas Dima with PHA.
Nicholas you can free you're free to unmute yourself I believe I did
Mr. chairman if you can swear Mr. Dima in or Miss vice chairman chairwoman are you are you there
Mr. Dima yes I am can you hear me uh yes did you put your name and address on the record yet
I did not. Can you please do so? Sure. My name is Nick, N-I-C-K, DEMA, D-E-M-A, representative of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, located at 2013 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 19121.
Thank you. Do you swear or affirm to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
I do. Okay. Chair, I'm turning it over to you.
Thank you. Mr. Dima, you've already put your name and address on the record. Could you share
with the board how long you've been with PHA? Approximately five and a half years.
And you've been involved with this project largely since its inception?
Correct. One of the reasons for coming to PHA was given my experience in development and really
to take a lead on this particular major initiative by the Housing Authority. Now, this project is
being funded with a combination of Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency tax credits, as well as a
Choice Neighborhood Grant. Is that correct? That is correct. Now, first talking about the Choice
Neighborhood Grant, am I correct that there were two separate phases of this grant referred to as
the transformation plan and then the subsequent implementation phase is that correct that is
correct we received a choice planning grant in 2014 and then last year we see re excuse me and
that was in the amount of close to a million dollars and then last year we received a choice
implementation grant in the amount of 30 million dollars and so the board understands a little bit
of the history here. Can you briefly explain how the transformation plan came to be and who was
involved in that planning phase? Now as Nick speaks, you'll see up on the screen just a few
snapshots that I pulled from that transformation plan. The full plan itself is 50 pages and was
released in 2015 and is in your exhibits at 21. So Nick, if you can just give them a little bit
a history of how that plan came to be. Sure. So the CHOICE initiative is really centered around
a public housing site. And for this particular initiative, it was our Blumberg Housing Development,
which is not in the middle of this neighborhood. It consisted of 500 public housing units
located in three high-rise buildings and a series of low-rise buildings.
From PHA's perspective, this was one of our toughest sites.
So when we applied for the planning grant, it was centered around the redevelopment
of the Bloomberg campus, but also choice not only wants to recognize the redevelopment of
a distressed public housing site, but how will you also have a planning that will address
what the neighborhood and the community wants. So we applied for a planning grant in 2014.
we were successful. Under the choice regulations, you really have to do about a two-year planning
process to work with all of the community members and stakeholders within the community
to really come up with what we call a transformation plan, which is a vision of
really driven by the community and not by PHA. So in summary, our transformation plan through
about two years of constantly meeting with various stakeholders.
The overall plan came up with, we would like to develop 1,200 new housing units.
That included the complete demolition of the Bloomberg campus, except for one high-rise
building.
The other piece of the choice, it's not only housing, but there's what they call neighborhood improvements and people improvements.
The other piece of the choice, it's not only housing, but there's what they call
From the neighborhood improvements, we have two initiatives.
One is to create Ridge Avenue as a major commercial corridor.
And some of our recent activities kind of support that.
We recently built a $50 million headquarter building along Ridge Avenue.
And we recently closed on a mixed-use retail shopping center right adjacent to PHA's headquarters.
And from a neighborhood perspective, as Meredith indicated, this development is right next to the Vox School.
That was originally a public school that was closed in the neighborhood, as well as another school, Reynolds Schools, to kind of show the devastation that was going on within this neighborhood.
there were two local schools that were shut down. In addition to this initiative, just to give a
sense of the blight that was kind of around the Bloomberg development, in 2016 we completed the
acquisition of over 1,500 parcels. Just to give you a sense of those parcels, 800 of those parcels
were already in public ownership in one form or another, whether it was the city, the redevelopment
authority, or other city agencies. The remaining 500 were public, and of the 1,300 parcels that
we acquired, less than 100 were actually occupied, and about 70 to 80 percent of those parcels were
vacant lots. And then also, as I was saying, from the neighborhood perspective, PHA also acquired
both the Vox School and the Reynolds School. PHA converted that closed high school into what we
call kind of a quasi-public school. It is a Philadelphia high school, but there is a private
partnership that actually runs the school. And we've also created a major community center there.