What's New?
July 4, 2008
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- A contractor is nearing the end of a project to repair
the storm sewers under Wollerton Alley (from New to Waune) and
Wayne Street from Wollerton Alley to Hannum Ave. They do this by
placing a synthetic insert into the line and then curing it in
place -- much faster and cheaper than excavating the entire line
to replace it. The work should finished in July.
- The "West End Neighborhood Association" has scheduled
its second meeting for July 14. Members of the group are
studying the proposal submitted by the East End Neighborhood
Association which led to the revitalization of their neighborhood
using money from the state-funded Elm Street project. If you are
interested in learning more about the group, send an email with your question and contact info
(name, address, and phone or email) to get on the list.
West End neighbors listen to an explanation of the Elm Street
project at the first meeting
- Earlier this week, a neighbor spotted a sinkhole forming
beneath the intersection of W. Miner and S. Brandywine Streets.
The intersection handles traffic from PA Route 842, which
includes large trucks, so Public Works employees responded
quickly to open the street and repair the damage. By early
afternoon on July 3. the work was finished.
Emergency repairs fixed a sinkhole that started to form near
Everhart Park
- The status of Rex's Bar: Although banners
announcing the new Thai restaurant have appeared on Rex's Bar at
344 W. Gay Street, as of July 4, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control
Board is still mulling over the application to move Rex's liquor
license to E. Market Street for use at Donny Moore and Bam
Margera's new theatre/club (rumored to be called "The Note"). he
Thai restaurant will use a liquor license transerred from the
former Marty's Tavern in Mortonville.
Banner announcing a Thai restaurant due to replace Rex's Bar
- On Tuesday, June 24, the Planning Commission took a
second look at a proposal to divide the property at 500 W. Gay
Street, on the southwest corner of Gay and Brandywine Streets,
into three parts so that the applicant can build two
semi-detached houses on new lots facing N. Brandywine Street.
Since the applicant did not show up for the meeting and the plans
were not complete, the Planning Commission took no action. The
proposal will appear once again on their July agenda.
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| Ward 6 Issues
Before Borough Government |
Unless otherwise indicated, these items appear on Borough
government meeting agendas. The public is invited (and
encouraged) to attend all meetings of Borough Council, boards and
commissions.
- At their meeting which starts at 6:30pm on Monday, July
7, Borough Council's Parks Recreation & Environmental Protection
Committee will discuss the request by the Friends of Everhart
Park for authorization to replace and expand the paved area
around the Children s Summer house Building in Everhart Park with
some form of pervious paving. NOTE: The "Summer House" is the
green building located on the south side of the park near Union
Street.
- At the Parking Committee meeting at 7:30pm on Monday,
July 7, there will be a discussion of a request for a handicap
parking space at 118 N. New Street. The discussion will also
include a complaint by Morris Brown , who lives at 118 N. New
Street, regarding church and bus traffic on the block, plus Mr.
Brown's request to add two parking spaces on the west side of New
Street just north of Hannum Ave.
- At 7:30 pm on Tuesday, July 8, Borough Council's
Planning, Zoning, Business & Industrial Development Committee
will discuss setting dates for two public hearings on proposals
to alter the Borough's Zoning Code. One proposal is for the
former Bishop Shanahan High School at the corner of W. Gay and N.
Everhart Streets. The applicants want to demolish the existing
building and replace it with houses, so their request is to
change the zoning to allow them to put more houses on the
property. Although it does not directly concern the residents of
Ward 6, the other proposal for a zoning change concerns the
former Wyeth factory site. The applicants want to change the
zoning from Industrial to Mixed Use so they can build a mixture
of stores, office space and houses.
Also at the 7:30pm PZBID meeting on Tuesday, there will be a
discussion of "air rights" (the right yo use the air space over
someone else's property) since two different entities art
considering projects that involve air rights. One is the Hickman
Home on N. Walnut Street which wants to construct a pedestrian
bridge between its current building and a new building to be
constructed on the site of the County's Hazlett Building. The
other is Zukin Realty which wants to build a combination of
condos, hotel rooms, restaurant and store on the Rite-Aid site at
the corner of N. Walnut and E. Gay Streets, with park of the
building extending over the alley to connect to the parking
garage.
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Contributions
welcome!
If you have something you want to share with
your neighbors in Ward 6, use this link to
email it to WCJIM. As long as it is not libelous, profane,
blatantly commercial (i.e. no business advertising) or illegal,
he'll find a place to post it on this page.
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On-Going Issues
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Town homes at 103 N. Everhart St.
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Current Status: McCool Properties
LLC has purchased the 3.1 acre site bounded by W. Gay, N.
Everhart and N. Brandywine Streets that, until recently, was home
to the Collegium Charter School. For many years before that
(since 1957), it was Bishop Shanahan High School, and before that
the site was used as a ball field by the Knights of Columbus.
The property is zoned NC-1, Block Class A; the current
educational use is a non-conforming use. The McCools want to
demolish the existing 62,000 sq. ft. structure and build
housing on the site.
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| Current Status:
The applicant has aoolued to change the property's zoning from
Block Class A to Block Class B which, if approved, it will allow
them to place approcimately 60 houses on the property, instead of
the 37 permitted under the current zoning. At their June 24
meeting, the Planning Commission examined the project and asked
the developers to consider som changes and to come back with more
information.
What's Next? The applicants will
most likely return to the Planning Commisison twice in July -- at
the July 22 work session and the July 29 regular session. Once
the Commission makes it recommendation, then Borough Council will
have to approve any zoning change. Then the developers can
devise a preliminary land development plan and present it to the
Planning Commission for another recommendation. That will go to
Borough Council for approval, and then the developers will go
through the process once more with their final development plan.
Depending on what they propose for the property, may need to go
before the Zoning Hearing Board, but they are not likely to need
to present plans to the Historical and Architectural Review
Board, since the site is outside of the HARB district.
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Office Building at 313 W. Market St.:
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Current Status: At its
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 meeting, Council approved the conditional
use application to build a six story building with two floors of
one-site parking. One parking entrance will be on Harmony Alley
(north of the property) and the other on Market Street (south of
the property). Council's approval comes with a long list of
conditions about parking management, exterier design, and other
features that have an impact on the surrounding neighbors.
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[More information]
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What's Next?
The developer may decide to challenge any of the conditions of
approval. If that occurs, then lawyers for the developer and the
Borough will meet and try to reach an agreement.
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Hotel for 118-134 N. High St.:
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Current Status: On March 20,
developer Brian McFadden received final approval to build an
86-foot tall, seven-story building containing a 90-room hotel on
the parking lot behind the former Warner Theater at 118-134 N.
High Street. The hotel will have loading zones on High Street
and Prescot Alley, retail space on the first floor along High
Street, and satisfy a number of other conditions related to the
design of the building and its impact on the surrounding
neighborhood. On June 9, the Zoning Hearing Board ruled that the
applicant must provide a 12' building stepback along the Chestnut
Street side (the zoning code requires 15'; the applicant
asked for 0').
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Get more information at the developer's web site or an
earlier WCJIM article.
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What's Next? On March 19, the
applicant appealed three of the conditions to the Court of Common
Pleas (case #08-02883) and offered to neogtiate a setlement with
the Borough. Lawyers will try to reach an agreement for Borough
Council to approve.
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Townhouses at 420 West Market Street:
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Current Status: Last fall, Tony
Stancato and Victor Abdala (Market Street
Ventures) applied for approval to build twelve three-story
townhouses on the lot containing the old blueprint shop and
adjacent building. Six will face W. Market Street and the other
six will face Wollerton Alley. The project received final land
development approval with conditions on Wednesday, May 21, 2008.
Council also accepted a donation from the developer, Market
Street Ventures LLC, towards the cost of fixing the stormwater
drainage problem at the intersection of W. Market and S.
Brandywine Street. The work should be completed this summer.
What's Next? Construction can
begin.
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The two
existing buildings at 420 W. Market Street 
[More information]
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