From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:20:30 -0400To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]: [Ucneighbors] Re: [UC] Secretary of the Interior's standards
for rehabAs I understand it, when the property was purchased in 2004, no one
involved knew that the building was on the local register, so they weren't
anticipating renovation costs for the Italianate house. And I've been told
that they paid "roughly $1.8 million" for it, and that renovation costs for the
house are expected to be over $3 million.
I checked the Board of Revision of Taxes database and its records indicate that
400 South 40th Street was sold on March 25, 2003 for $1,685,000 to "OAP, Inc."
...no one involved knew that the building was on the local register, so they
weren't anticipating renovation costs for the Italianate house.
This doesn't make any sense to me. If no one knew about the designation at
the time of sale, how was it eventually found out? Since it was eventually
found out, that means that it could have been found out at the time of sale had
anybody bothered to do research. The title search didn't disclose it? Penn has
access to big-time lawyers, and Penn Law and Wharton School faculty, and they
couldn't discover this? I'm sorry Penn didn't do its due diligence, but the
neighborhood shouldn't have to suffer for it.
This also raises the question of what were they originally planning to do with
the vacant lot.
Can anyone suggest other possible uses for it?... Please be practical; we all
know that Penn has an endowment and a lot of money, but they also have Trustees
to answer to, and a mission of education. They don't do projects that don't
make financial sense.
Penn can start a campaign among some deep-pocketed donors, foundations, or
what-have-you to raise money for the specific purpose of restoring that house
to its former granduer, and using it as a guest house for visiting Penn
dignataries, akin to Amy Gutman's house on Walnut Street.
However, I suspect that any serious suggestions will all be shot down as
impossible because Penn wants us to believe that the ONLY thing that makes
financial sense is what they have already decided they want to do, and that's
to kick some business Tom Lussenhop's way with that 10-story monstrosity.
And speaking of "educational mission", exactly what "educational mission" are
they meeting by buying up all of these properties anyway?
Karen Allen
