Scuttlebutt is, nothing will happen at 43rd & Baltimore until after dust
settles on 40th & Pine outcome. And if the hotel project shifts to
another site, that may take quite a while longer for all to figure out.
40th & Pine cannot be torn down until it collapses by itself, because it
has been cursed with Historic Designation -- literally: the Philadelphia
Historic Commission's invariant policy is an address can only be
delisted if the building on it has already fallen down by itself.
There's no way, given today's economics, that building can be
rehabilitated to historic specifications within the limits of a 4-story
residential zone. Contemporary low-rise residences won't yield enough
per square foot to pay for such work on 40th St. So the neighborhood's
challenge is how to get that edifice to fall down.
A wise owner would now adopt maintenance practices that nudge 40th &
Pine toward collapsing sooner rather than later. If it becomes a vacant
lot, it becomes usable by society again.
-- Tony West
Elliot M. Stern wrote:
I'm wondering now what's going to come up at 43rd and Baltimore....And
when will the 40th and Pine Street building be torn down?
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