The Club, formerly known as Stalag 2000, must now await city and community approval. With two turn tables and a microphone, the West Philadelphia music scene will soon be where it's at. An alcohol-free indie rock music venue may open in early February at 4040 Locust Street, according to Tom Lussenhop, the University's top real estate official. "[4040 Locust] is emerging as the leading candidate," Lussenhop said yesterday. He said the site must pass final approval by city officials and local residents. The club's owners have now dubbed the former Stalag 2000 with the new name 4040. Originally, the club was slated to open at one of three sites: one near 40th and Locust streets, another at the intersection of 42nd and Walnut streets and a third near 43rd and Chestnut streets. Lussenhop said the University came to favor 4040 Locust Street, and grew less interested in the other locations, partly because the University owns the former. He added that the 40th and Locust site will likely serve as a temporary location for a year or two until the University finds a permanent venue more suitable for a music club. Club co-owner Sean Agnew called 4040 Locust the "best" location, adding that it is closer to campus and more intimate than the other sites. Noting that the building requires little more than a stage and better electrical wiring, Agnew said the club would be able to open without many renovations. Yesterday, Agnew said he did not anticipate problems obtaining community approval for the site. "The community embraced [Stalag 13]," he said, referring to a club he used to run near the intersection at 39th and Lancaster streets, which was closed last year after city officials discovered it was operating without any of the necessary permits. Spruce Hill Community Association President Barry Grossbach, who found out about the club's location late last week when a zoning notice appeared, said the site -- next to the Video Library and formerly occupied by Urban Outfitters -- seems logical. "It's exclusively a student area," Grossbach said, adding that the community will discuss the club's zoning this week, prior to a hearing at the end of the month. He added that the club's alcohol-free status should reduce community concerns. If the club opens, it will fulfill the alcohol task force's recommendation to open up a late-night, alcohol-free music club on or near campus. "Should there be any problems, the University would be in charge," Grossbach added. Grossbach predicted that some concerns with a music club operating under University license might be the frequency and times of 4040's shows. Agnew and his partners first attempted to open a club in the area at the end of October in a privately owned building leased by the University near the intersection of 40th and Market streets. At the last minute, plans fell through because some high-ranking University administrators aired concerns over the new club's location. Agnew, at the time, said the reason for the sudden breakdown in negotiations was that some administrators felt the club would bring a criminal element to the University City area. Students reacted with petitions, signs and letters. Administrators reopened the lines of communication soon after. University President Judith Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi both denied ever having cut off talks with Agnew. "I think it's important that it wasn't permanently scrapped," Undergraduate Assembly Chairman and College senior Michael Silver said yesterday. Because of the conditions under which Stalag 13 closed, Agnew decided to abandon the name Stalag 2000 for his new club. He asked many of Stalag 13's former patrons to submit ideas via e-mail, but ultimately chose a name he and his partners -- Anthony Croasdale and Andrew Martini -- created. "We pretty much came up with it," Agnew said yesterday, calling the approximately 50 other suggestions "ridiculous." "It's a pretty neutral name," he said. Students expressed enthusiasm for the club's 40th Street location yesterday, citing proximity to the Sundance Cinemas complex. "Within one year, [40th Street] is going to be one of the most exciting streets in Philadelphia for nightlife," said Social Planning and Events Committee President Jonathan Herrmann, a Wharton senior whom administrators consulted initially in the club's planning stages.
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