As a way to help restaurants survive during the pandemic, “streeteries” began to pop up all around the city. Now that some sense of normalcy is returning to our lives, a decision must be made as to whether or not they remain. Under a new Philadelphia bill, these “streeteries” have a fighting chance to stay! What would you prefer?
The battle for more affordable housing in new developments in Philadelphia has been a tricky one. A previous bill hoped to encourage developers to include affordable housing in their projects by allowing them to receive additional floor area or dwelling units, or to build past height restrictions, but most opted to contribute to the city’s Housing Trust Fund, so it wasn’t very successful in terms of constructing affordable housing. As a tweak to the previous bill, Philadelphia City Council voted to add some restrictions on who could ask for bonuses based on the project’s unit numbers, and increased the cost of payments into the Trust Fund.
Permits have officially been issued...Fishtown’s St. Laurentius Roman Catholic Church is being demolished. After a long battle between preservationists, developers and community members, a decision was made in April 2020 by the Philadelphia Historical Commission to allow the demolition. The building will begin its destruction this November after a year and a half of silence.
Ghost signs, should they live or die? Old faded advertisements or business logos are on virtually every corner in Philadelphia, typically strategically placed on the sides of visible brick buildings. Over time they can become less and less recognizable. Should new property owners and developers acquiring structures with a ghost sign repaint them, or allow them to fade away?
