125-year-old Narberth church to be demolished for apartment project

Leaders of a suburban Philadelphia borough cleared the way for its new owner to knock down a 125-year-old church so an 18-unit apartment building can go up in its place.

Many commuters are familiar with the vacant Baptist Church of the Evangel, located at 198 Elmwood Ave. in Narberth, across the street from the SEPTA Regional Rail station.

The buyer purchased the corner property last year, aiming to preserve the structure and convert it into a mixed-use property that would hold his forensic audit business, according to Main Line Media News.

    That would, however, had required an amendment to the borough’s existing provision for residential conversion of certain older civic buildings to permit mixed use. After the proposal raised concerns about intrusion of commercial uses into a residential neighborhood and about inadequate parking, the ordinance amendment passed on a 4-3 council vote, but failed on a subsequent veto by Mayor Tom Grady.

Recent changes to the borough's zoning code, however, allowed the owner to pursue a new path for the property – a three-story, 18-unit apartment building with 10 parking spaces under the property, another six in an adjacent lot and two on-street spaces, the newspaper reported.

In a 6–0 vote, the Narberth Borough Council unanimously approved the sketch plan for the project, although one community leader told Main Line Media News: "For us, as individuals, it may be a misnomer to say we approve.”

The newly adopted zoning code helped the project, which as a solely residential property no longer contained a commercial use that was so hotly contested by neighbors in the past.

Talk of redeveloping the long-vacant church provoked the ire of many in the community over the past year – but, the newspaper reports, no public comments were made on the sketch plan this week.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal