Here we go again (maybe UCD won't meddle in this one, although "the project's planned developer" is on the infamous NID Steering Committee.) Article from the DP followed by a comment by your humble and obedient servant Al Krigman ------------------------------------------- Market St. liquor store may move
Community leaders in talks to move store on 41st and Market to 43rd and Walnut Madeleine Kronovet (http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=0d0a9e30-be42-4f99-947e-b5224b615bd9) Talks between the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and community leaders to move the Wine and Spirits store, located near the intersection of 41st and Market streets, are ongoing, according to officials familiar with the negotiations. The PLCB, which regulates all liquor sales in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is looking to lease the retail space of the already-vacated Rite Aid located at 4237 Walnut St., said Dan DeRitis, owner of Apartments at Penn, the project's planned developer. Spruce Hill Community Association Director Barry Grossbach confirmed that the community is discussing the move with the PLCB but cautioned that the talks are only in their preliminary stages. Zoning has yet to be approved and will be discussed at Spruce Hill's upcoming community meeting on Feb. 28, Grossbach said. PLCB officials would not comment on the project but said that details would be announced later this week. According to DeRitis, the PLCB is "looking to find more refined, high-end wines and to get out of the selling of low-end wines and pints." They want it to be a "wine and spirits shop, not a liquor store." The new Wine and Spirits store will also have parking, DeRitis said. "We're looking to get out of the image that has been created on [41st] and Market," he said. Community leaders have repeatedly stressed the need for higher-quality liquor stores in the area. "Our neighborhood has suffered for it," DeRitis said. "We lose too many residents that go to Center City; we're losing commerce to other parts of the city. [People] go buy a bottle of wine or three, and maybe they'll do some shopping there, too." An improved Wine and Spirits store is already in the works for the block of 4900 Baltimore Ave., near Cedar Park. It is expected to open in late spring. If the liquor store does complete its move, it would be placed at the border of Penn's patrol zone, which extends from 30th to 43rd streets and from Baltimore Avenue to Market Street. "Irrespective of the location of the Pennsylvania state liquor store, whether in its current address … or at the prospective [location], the most important safety and security concerns revolve around the quality-of-life issues that arise in proximity to state stores, such as panhandling, vagrancy and loitering," Division of Public Safety spokeswoman Karima Zedan said. College junior Jake Kleinman said the prospect of a move may have its appeal because of its move away from an area that is perceived to be unsafe. "I feel that for those of us living off campus, it's convenient, but as everyone knows, it's obviously not in the greatest location in the world," Kleinman said of the current store. "I have female friends who don't like going there after dark, [and] 43rd and Walnut might feel a little safer." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------- Comment submitted to the DP by Alan Krigman: The proposed site is directly across Walnut Street from a mosque. This choice of location shows an astonishing insensitivity to the sensibilities of a growing segment of the diverse community in University City. A few months back, a long-established Baptist church (Hickman Temple) opposed the zoning permits for a brewpub in what's known as "the Firehouse" diagonally across from its edifice on Baltimore Ave. The proposed brewpub, at least, would be more a restaurant than a take-out beer supply shop or a tavern -- the possible negative consequences of which were the points of contention. But a great deal of ill-will was generated by the whole project (it went through, by the way). A liquor store would have fewer saving graces with respect to the institution already in place and opposed to it. I'd obviously like to see the former Rite-Aid developed into something the people in the area find attractive. And someone will object no matter what it is. But this particular proposal seems beyond the pale, under the circumstances.
