Groundhog Day arrived a bit late for members of the Upper Holmesburg Civic Association.
On the eve of spring last Thursday, neighbors learned that they’re essentially back at square one regarding redevelopment of the former Liddonfield Homes public housing project. During the UHCA’s monthly meeting, the group’s president, Stan Cywinski, reported that the Philadelphia Housing Authority plans to issue a new request for proposals, inviting developers to bid on the 32-acre tract while submitting plans for its reuse.
Cywinski said he met recently with PHA Executive Director Kelvin Jeremiah, City Councilman Bobby Henon and other officials about the property on the northeast corner of Torresdale Avenue and Megargee Street. Cywinski had requested the sit-down as neighbors sought definitive information about PHA’s plans.
The meeting lasted about 45 minutes and was “cordial,” Cywinski said. Jeremiah indicated that he valued the community’s input and that he is “bound by law” to issue a new RFP, according to the civic leader.
Under a previous bidding process, PHA awarded development rights to a consortium of builders who proposed a combination of athletic fields, dorm-style housing, retail shops and affordable housing for seniors. The winning bidder identified Holy Family University as the intended end user of the fields and dorms.
PHA awarded the contract in July 2012, but the work never began. Sources familiar with the project said that the relationship between the builders and university soured over funding. PHA pulled the plug in January.
Cywinski said that he advised Jeremiah that the civic association does not want PHA to consider new bids from the same developers. The civic leader also told Jeremiah that the UHCA would not support new public housing similar to the old Liddonfield model. Rather, neighbors would like to see a combination of athletic fields or open space and senior housing.
Jeremiah agreed that anything like the old Liddonfield is off the table and that senior housing could be a viable component, according to Cywinski.
PHA officials have not responded to a standing request by the Northeast Times to discuss the agency’s plans for the Liddonfield site.
Cywinski told residents that the UHCA has hired an attorney to review the last bidding process to ensure that the community’s rights were not compromised. The attorney will also represent the civic group as a new bidding process moves forward. The UHCA will have to ramp up its fundraising efforts to cover the projected costs, Cywinski said.
In other business:
• The civic association voted 17–6 to oppose a developer’s plan to build a new Philadelphia Federal Credit Union branch on the James D. Morrissey Inc. property at Frankford Avenue and Academy Road.
During a traffic study presentation and discussion, opponents criticized the proposal for creating new unsafe traffic conditions near the busy intersection of a state highway and an access road to Interstate 95. The credit union would have one entrance and exit on Frankford about 260 feet north of the intersection.
Residents complained that traffic already backs up on Frankford beyond the proposed driveway during rush hours and that motorists wishing to turn left into or out of the property would create safety risks.
A traffic engineer commissioned by the developer reported that the volume of vehicles that the new business would generate would be “a drop in the bucket” statistically compared to the hundreds of vehicles that pass through the intersection during peak hours.
Previously, members of the East Torresdale Civic Association also voted to oppose the credit union plan. A zoning board hearing is scheduled for April 1.
• John Kevlock of the Holmesburg Fish and Game club told residents that work on the new walking trail along the Delaware River has been stopped between Pennypack Creek and Pennypack Street because of concerns about nearby municipal gun ranges, a police bomb disposal training site and the water department’s hazardous material disposal site.
Plans for a walking bridge over the creek were modified with the span being moved several hundred yards upstream from the mouth of the creek. As a result, the proposed path will come much closer to the gun ranges used by police and the city’s prison officers. The new plans are under review, Kevlock said.
Further, the Fish and Game club representative has raised questions about law enforcement coverage of the trail once it is open to the public. According to Kevlock, no agency has taken responsibility for patrolling the trail, which will be in a secluded area and could attract illegal activity, he said. ••
