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Drama in Center City that has nothing to do with the Avenue of the Arts, is complicating a proposed downtown real estate development.

At the last minute, a Center City real estate investor has offered to buy three Rittenhouse-area buildings that are slated for demolition.

Michael Singer, who owns numerous properties around the city, and his business partner, Frankel Enterprises, submitted a proposal to rehabilitate the three properties, which are currently owned by the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

However, the Parking Authority has other ideas, as for several years it has planned to demolish the three buildings and replace them with a 10-screen movie theater and parking structure.

The properties -- which include the former Rittenhouse Coffee Shop, at 1904 Sansom St.; the Warwick apartment building, at 1906-1916 Sansom St; and the Bair Funeral Home, at 1918-1920 Sansom St. -- are considered historically significant, and form part of the Rittenhouse-Fitler Residential Historic District.

Aside from the historical significance of the three properties, neighborhood groups are also concerned about the Parking Authority's apparent refusal to revisit the issue.

"I think the Parking Authority has an agenda that they want to do this project," said Joanne Davidow, president of Rittenhouse Row, a merchant association that no longer supports the project. "We would love to see the numbers that would show what the city is actually going to get, how it's going to benefit."

Additionally, the recent opening of the Bridge: Cinema de Lux on 40th and Walnut streets, along with the proximity of the 17-screen United Artist Riverview Theater on Columbus Avenue, has some people questioning the need for another movie theater in the downtown area.

"We think it's going to be people that would go to the Riverview Theater [who] would go instead to Rittenhouse Square," Davidow said, emphasizing that no need exists for an additional venue. "If people want to go to the movies, they really only have to go only five minutes one way or 10 minutes the other."

Davidow and her organization are also worried about the potential traffic impact that a new theater could have on the Rittenhouse area.

"We're extremely concerned that there's going to be 1,700 seats [in the theater] changing every two hours, with people coming and going," Davidow said. "Traffic would be terrible."

In the end, Davidow feels that it may be a political move, and that nothing can be done to prevent the planned Parking Authority project from moving forward in the near future.

"If it's politics, I don't know -- it could just steamroll ahead," Davidow said. "If they really care, then they should stop and listen."

Repeated requests for information from the Parking Authority were not returned.

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