Sure. Thank you.
Hello.
Could you please state your name and spell for the stenographer?
Reed Bendit, R-E-I-D, B as in boy, E-N-D-I-T-T.
You swear or affirm that tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Precede, counsel.
Thank you.
Reed, please, what is your position with Wisville LLC?
I'm the owner.
And did you hear the statements that I made to the board today?
And are you true and correct to the best of your knowledge?
Yes, they are.
And would you adopt them as your own?
Yes. And that agreement, just real quickly, that agreement that I flashed up on the screen, that is the agreement that you entered into with SBS&A, the one that's referenced in the letters of support from both SBS&A and by Council Member Squilla, correct?
That's correct.
Okay. And this is your signature right here on the agreement?
Okay, thank you.
I have no further questions than Mr. Ben did.
And then I could have Rustin Oler, who's from the architecture firm that prepared the site plan in the area property plan, like we have in the top of statements.
Council, I do not see them in the virtual audience today.
I thought he had texted that he was still.
oh uh ryan solomio i think is actually on i just saw a text
rustin had to jump off so i think ryan from his firm who was also involved in the project
okay right there coming back in as a panelist now thank you
all right good afternoon
dude would you like to swear it your honor or mr chairman yeah good sir could you please state
your name and spell for the stenographer yes ryan solimeo r-y-a-n-s-o-l-i-m-e-o you swear
a firm to tell the truth told truth nothing but the truth yes i do please proceed counsel thanks
uh ryan um what uh what firm architecture firm are you with uh harman deutsch holder architecture
and i'm flashing up on the screen right now property plan floor plans um did your firm
prepare those? Yes, we did. And did your firm also put in the application for the buy-write use of
the sit-down restaurant? Yes. Okay. And you'll be handling the architecture through the conclusion
of this project? Yes, we will. And did you hear the statements that I made to the board today?
I did. And are they true and correct to the best of your knowledge? Yes, they are. Would you adopt
them as your own? I would. Thank you. I have no further questions for any to witness, and I moved
my exhibits including the fully executed lease agreement into the record and then just let me
know if you would like the copy of that agreement and i could upload that to the portal as well
after thank you very much questions from the board uh yes okay so uh can we go back to the
picture of this space please yes the i'm sorry the interior or the exterior the the interior yep
Okay. So people will come down this staircase here where the orange sign is. Is that?
That's the front. Yes.
Okay. And is there any other means to get out of this space?
Yes, the back stairs. So let me show you the floor plan again.
So the first picture, let me go here. So this picture that you see with the blue steps,
is here coming down from Broad Street and then this picture which is the steps leading to the
rear are these steps back here and they go and they go up and then if you go here they come up
and then there's that area in the back that I showed um that had like blockers but here I'll
go back for some here okay and that leads then that leads to the back all right to the parking
And then that leads to the back, to the parking area, which is a separate lot.
Gotcha.
So there will be two means of ingress and egress.
Yes, yes.
I mean, everything is going to be building code compliant, obviously, correct.
And are there windows in this at all?
I'm sorry to say what?
How are we handling airflow in this space here?
I mean, I think Ryan can speak to that to some degree, but there'll be, there'll be, we'll do the MEPs, the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing will all be permitted through the city of Philadelphia and meet the required city's requirements in each regard.
Because it, am I, am I correct in that there's no windows or anything?
No, no, no, we'd all, no.
How are we, how are we getting air circulation in this place?
I mean, it'll be done by mechanical means. I mean, I don't think the neighbors want us necessarily opening up windows in any event. So there's no, they don't want any of this outside. So that's one of the things that's nice that it is in the cellar and it's surrounded by earth. And then through vents, the airflow will be, air will be exchanged through air conditioning and air handlers.
okay and then lighting how are we handling i mean i mean basically you're in
the equivalent of a like a bomb shelter or something yeah it's all it's all concrete it's
pretty it's pretty uh it's pretty intense yeah uh yeah so i mean there'll be lighting that will
meet the requirements of the various codes as far as the amount of lighting that's required
um it's not going to be we're not going to be walking around with candles and flashlights and
mobile phones on uh finding our way around i can assure you and how many how many seats are we
so the total number of occupants is 213 between the between the performance area here and then
the seating area and that takes into account i mean we've shown seating but that takes into
account obviously that not obviously but it takes into account um open areas which where people
could stand as well we have to account for that as well not just show uh whatever we're showing
in terms of seating okay and then what i'm doing i'm sorry um that that number is referenced the
213 max number is referenced in the agreement as well with sbsna okay and then what are we doing
about um uh fire and fire code and what have you and again we'll be compliant it'll be sprinklers
i guess it would be ryan i mean i think it's already sprinklered if i look to see you can
see sprinkler heads running already in the cellar it is okay and then um okay
okay and again this is a special exception case not a variance case and i think we we will comply
with all those code requirements and and again i think particularly because this is in a as you put
it bomb shelter i think it's even less likely to have any type of impact than a a um an assembly
and entertainment use would typically have um let alone one that doesn't have live music and dancing
okay so this is more like a comedy club you said it is a comedy club yes yep that's what
that's exactly what it is and my client has experience in the in the business
it's going to be claude's comedy club and bar and then i guess my other question is um
accessibility i mean how do people who have some kind of um i that's a good question um ryan can
you speak to that i'm not sure how the existing building code works in that respect
yeah so the existing building code since this is an existing basement space with two means of egress
we don't and it doesn't have an elevator in the building already we do not have to meet the
building code we don't have to provide um ada access well wheelchair access specifically we
still need to meet all the other ada applicable codes the bathrooms all that meets all the
requirements of the code, but we don't have to provide
wheelchair access to the basement.
Okay, so you're basically going to
have limit
basically some of your client base because they can't
get into this space. Yeah, unfortunately, unless
we're able to work something out with the landlords and take some of the space and
and put something in that allows for that.
But as of the present time,
we're unable to do that
because of the physical limitations
and restrictions of the building.
All right. Thank you.
I have a question about the HVAC work. Have you already engaged an HVAC engineer? And what's the plan for the ceilings? Are they going to be exposed or dropped or softened?
I have a question about the HVAC work.
Ryan, can you speak to that or read? Maybe you've had some communications and you can just answer freely.
yes we have already worked with sprinkler contractors and hvac contractors to get
general idea of because it is a pretty tight ceiling utilizing smaller smaller and wider ducts
so we are already engaged with mep and the sprinkler company we're going to do some things
where we pull the sprinkler pipes all the way to the wall and invert the heads
um so we are we are working to make sure that we're doing it as neatly and um keeping everything
as tight as possible right do you know if that's going to remain exposed or is that going to are
we going to almost put in like a drop ceiling it to the sprinkler i think it's going to all be
exposed okay from our last conversation and then do you know what the current ceiling heights are
in this space it looks like they're barely at eight feet
i mean that's i think that's one of the reasons the sprinkler heads have to be or the sprinkler
pipes have to be taken to the ceiling and the heads and birdies obviously they are but it's
still i mean like you're i'm talking like you might have three inches of clearance so
the reason i asked is that without having a design plan this seems really really tight for
the number of people that are going to be in this space i've been to many clubs i've been to very
few clubs that are for 200 people that have a you know eight foot ceiling height um my other
question is about signage what's happening is the check cashing place staying in place they're all
staying there yep so how do people know where clods is because i feel like the only thing i
know about this building even from like driving past it a million times is that all you see is
check cashing united how are we how are people going to even know that this exists so i mean cmx
we i had i had this conversation with reed um when we first um discussed the matter and
you know as far as inventorying the the existing signage and my understanding that there's going
to be some type of an accommodation if necessary to reduce the existing signage or just to add
their signage whether it's just on the door or another location on the front of the building
obviously and that has yet to be figured out and um and that'll be compliant with the cmx2
limitations unless if it's not we'll have to come back to the zoning board again but the idea is
that'll be within the limitations and restrictions of cmx2 and then for the light bites that are
being served, are those being prepared on site? Reed, can you quickly talk about that?
I think they're going to be more prepared behind the bar. Reed? Yeah, I guess my question is how,
because there wasn't a flat portion and exhaust. Yeah, that's just a whole nother process
in a space that's very tight. Yeah, we had, there were some recent emails about getting
health department uh plan review approval um uh so i think uh jason can you let reed in to speak
i think he needs to be promoted back he just texted me back in okay thanks hi thank you yeah
uh i might have missed a sentence or two in there but to answer the question about the food um yeah
they're going to be light bites served i'm going to be having some countertop cooking equipment
like hot dogs and grilled cheese, like a panini press, simple stuff like that.
And to speak to the signs, the landlord is going to be divvying up the sign into four panels.
So the existing structure will be there, but just the facade and the names of the businesses are going to be changed.
So I believe it'll be each four businesses and one on each side of the panel.
And you say the panel, the big green that says check cashing united.
Yeah, each one will be divvied up four ways.
Okay, gotcha.
there's four businesses in the building
i thought right now there was one and we're talking about you all would be the second
no it would be the fourth so there's check cashing okay there's pawn shop there's and
there's church church on the upper floor right i i guess my controversial question for reed is
what drew you to this building for your use because this feels like it's going to be really
really hard and somewhat expensive to get the use that you want in here comfortably um and
um and there's a lot of unknowns that like yes we could approve you today for zoning
there's a lot of unknowns that like yes we could approve you today for zoning
but you've got to hit a lot of very specific lni related things that are like not the easiest path
forward from a design standpoint and like i just i'm curious like what drew you to this location
well so i've been promoting shows and putting on shows uh comedy shows for a long time uh one thing
comics are drawn to are low ceilings so that's immediately what got me interested in the space
on top of being in Broad Street.
Also to speak to some of the clearance,
I believe in the most recent engineering plans,
the sprinkler system will be inverted
and it will be actually inside of a drywall ceiling.
Sorry, I don't have the exact terms right.
So there will be the full clearance of about,
after the ceilings,
it'll be about seven foot four of clearance throughout.
Which I don't know that that's legal
in a basement in Philly.
I think you have to have 75% of the, of the open floor area has to have a seven foot 11 ceiling, which is what my concern was.
Cause I was like, you really, you literally within like a six foot clearance range of, of code.
So, okay.
I understand.
I understand what you're saying.
And they're all very valid questions.
And there are things that they've been specifically working on from the beginning and aware of.
And I can assure you, nobody's leading Reid down this path without the idea that they can comply with those requirements, because that height is obvious as soon as you walk in and as the photos reveal, but it may be part of what may be kind of unique about this space as well, as Reid mentioned.
For better questions.
Questions from our attorney, Hillary Emerson.
Not at this time, Mr. Chair.
Questions or comments from the virtual audience.
i do not see any hands mr chair planning commission thank you chairman and good evening
david effector with the city planning commission chairman and board members the comprehensive plan
recommends no change to the cmx2 commercial mixed use zoning at this location the city rezoned this
neighborhood in 1998 and council requested map change the appellant has shown that the proposed
assembly and entertainment will have no detrimental impacts beyond what might be expected
the city planning commission recommends the board grant to propose special exception for assembly
and entertainment thank you mi 2025 001 538 1123 to 25 south broad street i vote yes
johns my vote is yes show guest and my vote is no tennetta graham my vote is no
ryan mcadams my vote is yes tywin my vote is no
so in the event of a tie the appeal is denied what's that in the event of a tie the appeal is
Denied. Appeals denied. Thank you. Thank you.
Number eight, MI-2025-001-548-926-76 East