Frankford Community Blog | Local News, Events, Community Resources
Community Zoning Meeting
DATE: July 13,2017
Frankford Community Development Corporation
4667 Paul Street 1st floor
Philadelphia, Pa. 19124
Time: 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Join us and Vote!
On what happens in your neighborhood!
You must be 18 or older with ID to vote in these proceedings.
Time &Property: 4719 Leiper Street
Project Proposal: Transitional Home (18) occupants in 6 units (single room residence)
Eligible Voters: Community and Neighborhood Residents/ Residents must have ID in order to vote.
The congregation of St. Mary’s Malankara Orthodox Church at Orthodox and Penn Streets has held their last service in Frankford. They have relocated the church farther up in the Northeast to better serve their members. We wish them well.
The building was originally St. Luke’s Reformed Episcopal Church which was designed by architect Frank Rushmore Watson. It has been purchased by Frankford Friends School for use as an almost full-size gym as well as to provide enhanced music and theater spaces.
This is a win for the Frankford community. Frankford Friends will care for it well and continue to stabilize that area of Frankford.
These stores operate under false pretenses and should be shut down unless they comply with the regulations. Is it really this hard. Read the story from City and State at the link below.
The House Liquor Control Committee Tuesday afternoon unanimously reported to the full House legislation that is designed to address issues related to “stop-and-go” stores in Philadelphia.
Source: Stop-and-go legislation starts up again in PA House | City & State PA
At the Frankford NAC zoning meeting on June 8th, the community heard a presentation about the proposal to build a 44 unit, 5 story, HUD subsidized, senior residence at 1611-41 Ruan Street. A variance is needed because the property is presently zoned commercial and also because the proposed parking spaces fall below what is normally required for a building of the size proposed. 15 full sized parking spaces are the standard but the owners propose providing 13 full sized spaces and 3 for compact cars.
1611-41 Ruan Street
The property would be managed professionally with amenities and services for seniors. The NAC supports the proposed variance. Funding however is not in place for the project so this is only the first step in the process. After the zoning variance is approved, applications will be submitted for funding which could take another year before a decision is made.
Also on the agenda was 2116 Gillingham which is between Worth Street and Torresdale Avenue. The application was for an auto body and repair facility with no spray painting. There was no community opposition to the project.
The next Frankford NAC zoning meeting will be held on July 13th at 7 PM at the Second Baptist Church, 1801 Meadow Street.
Demolition began this week on 4743 Griscom Street which was the Griscom Street entrance of the Hub Arcade.
We haven’t heard that name often since it became a vacant eyesore but it was a big deal back in 1928 when it opened. It housed a collection of shops almost like an enclosed mall that would come along in the 1960s. In the 1930s, radio station WFKD broadcast children’s programming on Sundays from the Arcade. It was still active right through the 1950s.
Now how do we keep the drug users and bums out of the vacant lot that will be left behind.
