The Architecture Committee of the Philadelphia Historical
Commission voted Tuesday morning to approve the design plans for Azalea
Gardens, a 122-unit apartment complex planned for the historic property at 40th
and Pine streets.
The application for final approval from the University of
Pennsylvania and developer Jonathan Weiss was “very similar” to one approved on
a preliminary basis by the committee more than two years ago, according to the
Commission director Jonathan Farnham. The updated design incorporated a number
of suggestions of the committee, Farnham said, including reducing the number of
balconies. Farnham recommended the application for approval.
Paul Boni, an attorney who represents a group of
homeowners and owners of nearby rental properties, told the committee simply
that his clients continue to object to the project.
The committee voted unanimously to approve the design
plans.
The property is the subject of two legal battles with the
same sides in each. Boni’s clients—the Woodland Terrace Homeowners Association,
Constellar Corporation, and Maryann Kurmlavage—are appealing both the granting
of variances for the planned development and the permit to demolish the
existing historic structure.
The demolition appeal is heading to the Commonwealth
Court. Meanwhile, Court of Common Pleas Judge Ellen Ceisler affirmed the
variances for multifamily use of the property but remanded the case to the
Zoning Board of Adjustment for more argument on the dimensional variances.
Source: PlanPhilly
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