A little over a year ago, we brought the blighted 1516 Green St. to your attention. We told about how this building, located next to the Chapel Lofts, became blighted over the years as it was owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority. And we expressed hope that it could be redeveloped soon, as it had been purchased by a private developer at auction, for a rather high price.
Initial plans were to demolish part of the rear of the building and reconstruct it, ultimately housing six apartment units in the building. This plan was ultimately rejected the Historical Commission. We wonder if now they wish they had given their approval, as the building is currently in the process of being demolished. A demolition permit issued last month even waived the traditional 21 day waiting period for demolition due to the structure being "imminently dangerous and in disrepair." The demolition effort has made good progress.
Think it's kind of crappy that we're losing a building with such great bones in a historical neighborhood? You can send your thank you cards to PHA for allowing the building to fall into such a state, to HUD for making it so difficult for PHA to unload properties, and to our City's government for taking a laid back approach to the selling off blighted and vacant properties owned by City agencies. It's a trifecta, folks!