In 1960, when Mary Nixon moved onto Pine Street at age six, she never imagined that the mansion across the street would turn into a 10-story hotel.
And yesterday, Nixon testified in front of the Zoning Board of Adjustment to say just that. She was one of 10 witnesses at yesterday's hearing for the opponents of the proposed hotel on 40th and Pine streets.
In December 2007, Campus Apartments and a private developer announced plans to build an extended-stay hotel at 40th and Pine streets. The hotel would be aimed at families of patients in area hospitals.
The first witness, Richard Tyler, who had sat on the State Historic Preservation Board, said the proposed 10-story building would "destroy the spatial relationships that characterize the district."
He added that even the demolition of the 19th-century structure and replacement with a more modern building would have a "less negative and detrimental effect on resources and the community" than adding onto the existing structure.
Many neighbors of the proposed hotel objected to the building as well.
Nixon, who lives across the street from the proposed project and has a Ph.D. in Architecture from Penn, displayed a model of the area in order to show the disproportionate scale of the proposed Campus Inn.
Nixon explained that all the buildings in the neighborhood are between one and three stories tall, as opposed to the "overly monstrous object that would now inhabit my three-story neighborhood" that she opposes.
Real-estate developer Guy Laren, a Penn alumnus who had originally submitted a letter in favor of the project and is a major developer in the Penn area, said the site is unsuitable for a hotel.
He provided examples of successful renovations to similar plots in the area that did not include drastic add-ons to the building.
Laren added that while the University claims it advertised the area to prospective developers, he was not contacted about the request for a proposal.
But Laren's testimony was challenged by those on the developers' side, including Campus Apartments CEO David Adelman.
Project developer and former Penn managing director of real estate Tom Lussenhop wrote in an e-mail: "As they pointed out, he has no development experience in the kind of project we are proposing."
Still, numerous architecture and traffic experts spoke about the site's inability to provide proper parking to patrons of the hotel and its accompanying restaurant.
Toward the end of the trial, about 20 to 25 neighbors stood up to show their opposition to the hotel.
Five neighbors in favor of the hotel stood up to display their support.
Attorney for the opponents David Fineman said he left the hearing with positive thoughts.
"I think it went very well," he said. "I have every confidence we'll prevail."
He said he expects to hear the verdict in early April, after he and Carl Primavera, attorney for Campus Apartments, submit their written closing statements and other pending documents on Mar. 8.
For now, his team is looking ahead to Tuesday, when it will appeal the Historical Commission's approval of the hotel in front of the License and Inspection Review Board.
Developers of the proposed Campus Inn project have remained firm in their beliefs that an extended-stay hotel on 40th and Pine streets is a worthwhile enterprise.
"For visiting parents and others, it will be a great and comfortable place to stay within walking distance of everything," Lussenhop wrote.
* This article was edited on Feb. 20 at 1:28 p.m. to reflect the correct number of witnesses for the opposition at the hearing.
Related StoriesOpponents to 40th and Pine hotel will testify in front of Zoning Board next month | Interactive timeline - NewsHistorical Commission committee approves hotel at 40th and Pine | Interactive Feature - NewsCommission recommends approval for hotel - NewsCommission recommends approval for hotel - News
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Campus Apartments has lived off of the Penn student community for decades getting the most money in exchange for for the least possible effort. While not exactly slumlords, the last thing that should be turned over to them is a breathtaking, but down-at-the heels mansion. This hotel belongs on some denuded stretch of Walnut or Chestnut Street where it is too late to retain the 19th century glory of West Philadelphia. But Pine Street is an entirely different story.
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[QUOTE id="e2482958-beba-4db1-8988-f51ae4417db2"]Allegro's is on Spruce...[/QUOTE] No, you're thinking of the old one, they're under new management now, they did a whole reconstruction thing and everything.
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As of Wednesday, Allegro's was still located on Spruce. I believe John is suggesting that the hotel be built on the site where AEPi's house used to be. Unless I'm mistaken AEPi has some claim on the land, and if they have any rich alumni I'm sure the university won't mess with them. Then again, if they don't, I imagine the university will build something else there soon, and may end up making it this disputed hotel. If John is in fact talking about building it on Walnut Street, I have no idea what empty lot he is talking about...
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4oth and Walnut is fully developed. 40th and pine is not the place for this monstrosity. I would say to the planning commission give the developer permission to go up 4 stories max.... and then see how fast the developers leave town. As for the aepi I belive the univ would own that land.
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Build it on the corner of 40th and walnut. It's currently an empty lot and a 1-story Allegro's pizza. There it would fit in far better with the retail corridor and look less ludicrously out of scale than it would on Pine.
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Allegro's is on Spruce... [QUOTE id="e2482958-beba-4db1-8988-f51ae4417db2"]Build it on the corner of 40th and walnut. It's currently an empty lot and a 1-story Allegro's pizza. There it would fit in far better with the retail corridor and look less ludicrously out of scale than it would on Pine.[/QUOTE]
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[QUOTE id="e2482958-beba-4db1-8988-f51ae4417db2"]Build it on the corner of 40th and walnut. It's currently an empty lot and a 1-story Allegro's pizza. There it would fit in far better with the retail corridor and look less ludicrously out of scale than it would on Pine.[/QUOTE] i can guarantee you that allegros is on 40th and spruce.
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In theory, I think redevelopment of West Philly is generally a good idea but this particular plan seems fraught with problems, the biggest one of all being that Campus Apartments would be in charge. Speaking from personal experience, that company constantly walks the line of legality (and sometimes crosses it) in managing their apartments. It leaves me with very little confidence that they would develop and maintain a respectable long term hotel.
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I used to be in favor of this hotel (I mean, you can't hate on patients' families too much) until I found out that the prices for the rooms are supposed to be pretty exorbitant and therefore will likely prevent people who need a long-term solution while family members are in the hospital from being able to stay there. And there is also talk of a restaurant on the ground floor which would bring way more traffic and noise to the area than it can handle. As someone who has lived directly across the street from this site for almost a year now, one of the most attractive things about Pine as opposed to Walnut or Chestnut or Spruce is its quietness, manageable scale and older architecture. Not in favor of destroying that. And yeah, Allegro's is at 40th and Spruce, and there is already some preliminary work going on to build the new AEPi house on the empty lot next door, so that's out. Not that a hotel would be the best choice for that site either.