KAREN ALLEN wrote:
John Gallery, the Executive Director of the Preservation Alliance, urged
the Commission to analyze the proposal in light of three criteria:
would the hotel proposal be compatible in size, in scale, and in
character with both the original mansion and the neighborhood.
Mr. Gallery concluded that no, this proposed hotel would not meet any
of the three criteria, stating that the addition would be too large,
would be out of scale with the original mansion, and that the
construction materials and window placements proposed for the exterior
facade of the hotel were not in character with the exterior of the
mansion.
To illustrate the potential impact on the neighborhood, Mr. Gallery also
presented a photograph of the north side of the 4000 block of Baltimore
Avenue (which backs on the hotel site) with his own hand rendering
of how the 10-story hotel building would look as a background to the
three-story twin houses on that block.
In denying approval, the four Commission members who did so stated that
the building would present a huge shift in scale, would not be a nice
neighbor because of that scale, was too big and aggressive, was too
massive, and would be overwhelming.
I have the perfect spot for this short-term hotel concept:
the southwest corner of 38th and walnut!
for decades this spot has been an eyesore, an underused,
inconvenient parking lot, an ugly abandoned backwater in the
midst of thriving pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
but all that can change. this lot has a more ample footprint
than the spot at 40th and pine, and it's perfect for tom
lussenhop's extended-stay boutique hilton hotel concept.
TOP TEN REASONS FOR PUTTING PENN'S HOTEL ON 38TH AND WALNUT:
1. it's easy for out-of-town visitors to get to, situated
right on two main arteries in philadelphia, walnut street
and 38th street (which, btw, stay nice and plowed during
snowstorms)
2. it's close to all the shops at penn along walnut street,
penn's annenberg theatre, the bookstore, the ica, farmer's
market and gap; it's within walking distance to all the
shops along 40th street, including the used book store and
fresh grocers and smokey joe's; it's a stone's throw from
ethnic eateries (korean, mexican, indian), a strip club, the
iron gate theatre, several churches, and just a hop skip and
a jump from amy gutmann's house at the historic eisenlohr
hall, from the campus starbucks, as well as being close to
convenience stores like the 7-11 and wawa. it's equally
convenient to access nearby neighborhoods to the west,
southwest, and to the north from this intersection, so
neighborhood residents and businesses will also benefit
3. it's right next to a nicely preserved victorian twin,
which penn owns, and restoring it to its original appearance
would benefit the entire community
4. its 10-story scale would fit in perfectly with wharton's
huntsman hall across the street from it, as well as with
5. the huge parking garage across the 4 lane intersection,
which would address the added parking strains that a hotel
would certainly bring
6. it's right down the street from the veteran's hospital --
in fact, visitors staying at this hotel could SEE veteran's
hospital, as well as HUP, the woodlands cemetery, for that
matter. also, they'd get a bird's eye view of campus
7. it's convenient to campus without being an inconvenience
on students/faculty/staff, and it wouldn't interrupt other
campus activities. in fact, 38th street has long needed
something that would revitalize it, and a visitor's hotel at
this spot, with space for meeting rooms and conference
halls, would provide a much-needed venue where penn and the
community could engage. it would serve as a nation-wide
model for how universities connect with their communities
8. it would be the one spot at that intersection that could
remain brightly lit and active at night, providing a much
needed sense of safety for that potentially dangerous corner
(where, you may recall, a student was shot in the thigh
about a year or so ago)
9. the spruce hill community association has held multiple
community forums about this proposed hotel at this spot, and
the reaction has been overwhelmingly in favor of it, a total
neighborhood project with unanimous support
10. the university city historical society has conducted a
community-wide survey and has determined that the victorian
twin attached to this 10-story boutique hotel would become a
much needed showplace, with restorations providing all sorts
of possibilities for restaurants and cafes which would, as
tom lussenhop said, attract more responsible neighbors to
the area.
..................
UNIVERSITY*CITOYEN
[aka laserbeam®]
[aka ray]
SERIAL LIAR. CALL FOR RATES.
"It is very clear on this listserve who
these people are. Ray has admitted being
connected to this forger." -- Tony West
"Ray's falsehoods are more sophisticated,
more believable" -- Tony West
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