A "wise" owner would nudge the building at 40th and Pine toward collapse, huh? How about an antisocial and unethical owner! Are you aware that what you are counseling is not only appalling, but illegal? Toll Brothers attempted to destroy the historic Naval Home through neglect until the courts forced them to maintain it. As for the economics of restoring the mansion and developing the site in a suitable fashion - well, Penn is poised to spend hundreds of millions on developing the Post Office site, so they can certainly afford to spend some money at 40th and Pine. They don't need to worry about their return on investment, that's for sure.
Furthermore, you routinely present yourself as a journalist. Do journalists deal in scuttlebutt? If you know anything factual about the plans for the 43rd and Baltimore site, then perhaps you should do a service to your neighbors and be more explicit. The fate of that property is extremely important to the neighborhood and I suspect that the owners indeed had very definite intentions when they paid $3.5 million for it. Or do they spend that kind of money on a whim? I think most people would find it unsettling that the contractor (James Campenella) who knocked down the buildings is a convicted felon (for bribing a tax assessor in 2007) and that the owner (Campenella's partner in previous real estate deals) has not paid any property taxes since its purchase in January, 2008. I know I get a little heartburn when I think of the economic woes of the city and fat cat developers from New York getting a free ride for a year and a half on a multi-million dollar property. You may recall that Campenella had so much influence with our Councilwoman Blackwell that she introduced a special bill into City Council which would have permitted him to develop a large homeless shelter across from West Catholic. This bill would have locked the city into an unconscionably long lease and cost the taxpayers millions in inflated rent. The extraordinary bill raised questions in the press, the neighbors reacted and the project was scrapped. Now this guy is taking another whack at our neighborhood and I am very concerned. So, if you know anything about the plans for 4224-26 Baltimore, then you should probably let the community in on it, so it is not caught flat-footed, as it was when the buildings were demolished. **************We found the real ‘Hotel California’ and the ‘Seinfeld’ diner. What will you find? Explore WhereItsAt.com. (http://www.whereitsat.com/#/music/all-spots/355/47.796964/-66.374711/2/Youve-Found-Where-Its-At?ncid=eml cntnew00000007)
