Glenn wrote:
Three cheers for the courageous neighbors from Woodland Terrace!
I was glad to see in the u city review that our neighbor architect marianna thomas took the time to create illustrations that showed what the proposed hotel would be like in context. the renderings I'd seen by the developers manipulated the perspectives so that the existing building looked large and the proposed hotel looked small and short.
here is a comparison of the drawings: http://tinyurl.com/28ahgu and here is the article: (http://tinyurl.com/28yhcb) - - - - -
IMMEDIATE NEIGHBORS DO NOT LIKE ELEVEN STORIES By Lou Mancinelli Special to the University City Review A group of Woodland Terrance neighbors met with Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell last Wednesday, to voice their opposition to the development of an 11-story extended-stay Hilton franchise hotel at the corner of 40th and Pine Streets, in the adjacent lot next to the historically designated "Italianate" mansion at 400 South 40th Street, owned by the University of Pennsylvania. [illustration: Rendering of the proposed hotel produced by members of the community. It is meant to convey the solidity and scale of the proposed Campus Inn, in contrast with what critics say are "the rather translucent renderings which the developer has presented."] Members of the group say they expected administration and real estate services at Penn to be more responsible to the community when attempting to develop projects, and they do not understand why the university wants to build a building that is, what neighbors claim to be, out of touch with the rhythm of the neighborhood. "An eleven-story slab of construction is really quite out of keeping with everything in the immediate neighborhood," said Marianna Thomas, an architect who attended the meeting as a concerned neighbor, in a phone interview this week. "We wanted to make sure Councilwoman Blackwell’s office was aware there were people in the community who felt the project was a little bit too much." Lack of parking and an increase in traffic were two other major concerns, according to Thomas. At the meeting, Thomas presented artistic renderings of the proposed hotel from different angles in the neighborhood. According to Thomas, the drawings created by architects at Atkin Olshin Schade (the firm responsible for the project’s design) diminish the scale of the hotel and make the building look almost hollow. Thomas said her pictures actually reveal the building to be solid and inconsistent with the rest of the neighborhood. "We are opposed to any drastic increase in density, or zoning of the immediate area," said Chris O’Donnell, a Woodland Terrace neighbor who was also at the meeting, in a phone interview this week. "This is a drastic departure from normal urban planning concepts," he said. O’Donnell said that Penn already has a tall building at 40th and Chestnut (the Hub), and another one is being built at 39th and Walnut (the site is leased through Penn), both with little parking. "Penn has a responsibility to use good urban planning, modern technology, and green concepts," said O’Donnell. Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell had not responded to UC Review requests for comment at the time of publication. According to Thomas, Councilwoman Blackwell said at the meeting she wants to be sure the developer negotiates with the community. "[Councilwoman Blackwell] is committed to working with the community," said O’Donnell. According to O’Donnell, Blackwell suggested designating a liaison to increase communication between the community and developers. "The project is not yet fully confirmed, and is still going through the process," said Tony Sorrentino, Executive Director of Public Affairs. According to Sorrentino, there are still a number of civic and city agencies that need to approve the project, as must the university itself, before any plans become official. Sorrentino said representatives from Penn concluded an extended-stay hotel was consistent with the retail and commercial activity at 40th and Pine Streets witnessed during the past decade. He said increased traffic could help local merchants. "First and foremost, our goal at 40th and Pine was to preserve the wonderful mansion and restore pride in the community and animate the corner, while providing options for new development," said Sorrentino. The property in question would be leased by the University of Pennsylvania to developer Tom Lussenhop, former executive assistant for project development at Penn, in conjunction with Campus Apartments. It would host 113 efficiency style apartments, according to plans presented by Lussenhop and architects from Atkin Olshin Schade (designers of the Penn Alexander School at 4209 Spruce).The lot is currently zoned for residential use and would require a variance before construction could begin. The Mansion was built in 1856 by architect Samuel Sloan. It served as a nursing home during the 1940s. Despite several concrete additions to the building’s exterior throughout the 1960s, the building received individual historic designation in 1973. It remained a nursing home until 2003, when it was closed by the state due to inhumane conditions. Penn purchased the building in 2003. In the past, Lussenhop has said the hotel will be used for six- to eight-night stays, and to house families of patients at Penn’s hospitals, or families of students and academics in town for conferences or fellowships. Each suite would be equipped with a full-kitchen and the hotel would include a "semi-public" courtyard, a pool on the roof, and an adjacent 500-square-foot café/restaurant. In October, the Philadelphia Historical Commission ruled in favor of the project "in concept," two weeks after the Architecture Review Committee of the Historical Commission offered a "denial in concept" ruling, citing the proposed development’s "mass and scale." In between the two meetings, plans were slightly altered to reflect the suggestions of the review committee. Revised plans included a buffer zone between the building and street and increased vertical fenestration. The project would include restoration of the mansion. In its current state, pieces of the exterior of the mansion are hanging from the building, its doors are boarded, and the foundation of the building’s upper-most structure, a small room, which comes up from the roof like a chimney, is slanted. Development would include a two- or three-story transitional building in between the mansion and the hotel, to ease the difference on the eyes between the sizes of the two buildings. In November, members of the Spruce Hill Community Association protested plans presented by Lussenhop and architect Andrew Curtis, of Atkin Olshin Schade. "Everyone thought when Penn bought [the mansion], Penn would do the right thing," said one neighbor in a telephone interview, referring to removing the additions and restoring the building for something like office use.
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