Penn explores future of old mansion

It was once the Hamilton estate, with an ornate mansion in the midst of 500 acres of the country's finest gardens.

Then it became a cemetery and financial troubles hit.

And, with the help of Penn, the mansion in the Woodlands cemetery, located at 4000 Woodland Ave., may become a conference center in an attempt at fiscal stability.

"We want it to become a place that the community, that the institutions, that the people can use for events and functions," said Eric Goldstein, a Woodlands board member and executive director of the University City District.

Last month, an agreement was reached between Penn and the Woodlands Cemetery Co., to form a committee to study the cemetery's future.

Five people each from Penn and the Woodlands boards of directors will have seats. Penn Executive Vice President John Fry said he will choose the people to represent Penn from departments such as facilities planning, public safety and business services within the next "two to three weeks." Woodlands officials anticipate a similar timetable.

The group will work to implement the cemetery's master plan, currently being completed by the Philadelphia-based landscape architecture firm Olin Partnership, which finished a new master plan for the Penn campus earlier this year.

"This is a long-term operation and a long-term commitment to work in the interests of both institutions," Woodlands board member Philip Price said.

The goal is to restore the mansion and grounds, which are both National Historic Landmarks, while keeping them open to the public. The mansion, which is said to be one of the finest examples of Federal architecture in the nation, was declared structurally unsafe several years ago, and a repair project is now being completed.

The possibility of turning the mansion into a conference center and a performing arts venue has been discussed. And Goldstein said that he envisions the grounds as an urban arboretum, one that "people can walk through, enjoy the park, look at the trees and look at the tombstones." Only 20 of the Woodlands' 54 acres have gravestones on them.

But although it may take the committee at least a year to set the Woodlands' next direction, some things are already certain.

"We're not going to do a housing development in the Woodlands, and we're not going to build a Starbucks in there," Goldstein said. "It's not a commercial enterprise."

Improving the gateway and fence and increasing the Woodlands' name recognition in the city are also key initiatives.

Fry said that the committee will be jointly managed and funded. Beyond this initial money and staff support, Fry said that Penn will not supply additional funding, but only business, to the Woodlands.

"What we're telling them is if you raise the money and restore it, maybe we can put some of our conference business over there," Fry said.

Last year, Penn recommended two additions to the Woodlands' 17-member board of directors, Goldstein and Morris Arboretum head Paul Meyer, both of which were approved. Fry said that Penn's interest in the project is limited to ensuring that this green space will remain available for public use.

"We're not interested in purchasing it," Fry said. "It's not an opportunity for [Penn's] expansion."

While the cemetery has a small endowment to plow the snow and cut the grass, it is not enough to fund any major improvements. Dropping revenue has been a problem for at least the last several years, Price said.

"We don't have enough walk-in business," he said. The lack of an active sales program has meant that only a few burials a year occur in the Woodlands.

Like other small cemeteries, the Woodlands is too small to be efficient, Price said, adding that this has made mergers and buy-outs commonplace. The Woodlands decided to seek out partnerships instead.

"We explored all the other options with cemeteries, but decided that this way was the best," Price said of the partnership with Penn, and also of an earlier one with the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

During a cash pinch in 1995, the University of the Sciences agreed to lease about 11 acres from the Woodlands for 20 years. It has been transformed into two tennis courts and a softball field.

Although some residents have expressed concerns that the leased land is now fenced and off-limits to the general community, Elizabeth Bressi-Stoppe, University of the Sciences vice president for executive affairs, believes that point is moot.

"As far as I know and as far as the cemetery knows, that land got very little use," Bressi-Stoppe said.

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