Now that attempts to transform a large vacant Spring Garden Street building into a single family home have petered out, a proposal is on the table for the site to become a daycare center. The other day, we spotted an orange zoning application in the window of 2225 Spring Garden St., a historic building despite that fact that it was built in 1958. The zoning notice indicated a ZBA hearing on March 20th for a ground floor daycare, an apartment above, and signage.

The building

“That’s it in a nutshell,” said Stephen Pollock, the attorney representing the interested party. A hand applied stick it note on the application listed Pollock’s number and said to call with any questions.

We imagine that this proposal will be supported at the ZBA, though we could fathom neighbor concerns about added traffic from a daycare. On the other hand, Spring Garden’s extra width could mitigate that worry considerably.

Looking west, you can see the Art Museum

The upstairs apartment, assuming it’s approved, will provide residents with partly unblocked views of the Art Museum and the Parkway, and an intoxicating view of the sunset. Directly across the street is the high rise 2200 Pennsylvania apartment building. But the view to the west is largely unimpeded. With new homes being constructed around the corner at 23rd and Brandywine and lots of other development in Fairmount and Spring Garden, it makes plenty of sense to see this building redeveloped. Hopefully, a new resident will be able to enjoy the view here sometime soon.

–Lou Mancinelli