The saga of the former Northeast Community Center took another twist recently when a for sale sign appeared in front of the 3/4-acre property at 2840 Holme Ave.
Speaking at the monthly meeting of the Holme Circle Civic Association on Nov. 19, President Elsie Stevens reported that a church group that has been leasing part of the 18,000-square-foot building has apparently stopped meeting there. Meanwhile, a proposed child daycare center never moved in, despite having been approved by the Mayfair Civic Association last February.
A Binswanger Realty sign now sits in front of the building. Stevens said that the agency is looking to find new tenants for the site or to sell it for $1.75 million, whichever comes first. City property records show that Huntingdon Valley-based Educational Charter Development, a firm represented by Jeffrey Fuchs, bought the site for $800,000 in September 2013.
Fuchs spoke at the Feb. 3 Mayfair Civic meeting as his firm sought community support for its city zoning application that would have allowed a tenant to open a daycare center for up to 50 children, ages 6 months to 5 years. Despite opposition from some immediate residents, particularly those living in the Rhawn Gardens section, civic group members voted to approve the daycare center conditionally.
Stevens had no information why the owners apparently changed their plans. Prior to the 2013 sale, the property had been in foreclosure and taken over by TD Bank. The previous owners lost the property to sheriff’s sale in 2012 after defaulting on a $1.1 million loan used to renovate the building.
The property had operated for years as the membership-based Northeast Community Center with a health center, pool, child daycare center and other services.
In other neighborhood news:
• Stevens said that the former Infant Jesus Convent, 2723 Holme Ave., has been sold by the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth to Conifer Realty to develop a 44-unit apartment building for older adults and the disabled. As reported to the civic association in September, a non-profit firm, Inglis, will partner with Conifer in the project.
• Paul Ragan, an aide to city Councilman Bobby Henon, presented the civic association with a $1,000 activities grant.
• Denise Mallon, an aide to state Sen. Mike Stack, the lieutenant governor-elect, presented Stevens with a certificate of recognition for her years of service as HCCA president. Stevens has announced she will step down from the presidency after this year, although she will remain active in the community.
• Stevens thanked former board member Matt Gabor for his seven years of service to the organization and gave him a framed certificate. Gabor and his family recently moved out of the neighborhood.
• Stevens reported that demolition is imminent for the Stokes House, a stone farmhouse and property at 2870 Welsh Road with history in the 18th and 19th centuries. Neighbors had tried to preserve the house as a historic landmark, but the owner has opted to subdivide the lot and build a series of homes there.
• The HCCA is partnering with Nationwide’s Chris Born Agency, 2865 Holme Ave., for a winter coat/clothing drive. Gently used items can be delivered to the agency for distribution to needy families in the community. ••
