Demolition permits have been issued for a three-story prewar rowhouse at 2019 Fitzwater Street in Graduate Hospital, South Philadelphia. The building is part of a block-long ensemble that is seeing an increasing number of recent and upcoming demolitions. Permits list Dan Borkson as the owner and Cider Mill Services Inc. as the contractor. Demolition costs are specified at $25,900.
The structure stands on the north side of a quaint, tree-lined block located between South 20th and South 21st streets, four blocks south of South Street. The facade is decked out in red brick and features paneled sash windows, stone lintels, and an ornate yet understated cornice. While the building is a great example of classic Philadelphia rowhouse architecture, it is hardly worthy of protection status on its own merits. However, its destruction is concerning not only because it further degrades a graceful street composition, but also because it reflects a greater trend that stems from an ill-wrought combination of city ordinances.
The block, as well as the surrounding area, has been a subject of scrutiny for several development-oriented publications in recent months, including Philly YIMBY. The reason for this focus is a growing number of demolition of prewar buildings that, at least on the surface, appear to be in fine shape, only to be replaced by new buildings of the same, or slightly smaller at best, scale. Our most in-depth report focused on the destruction of an ornate townhouse located just up the block at 2043 Fitzwater Street, to be replaced by a building of roughly the same size.
The phenomenon is driven by an unfortunate combination of city policies that incentivize new construction without any provision for partial preservation or renovations, while also limiting the scale of new construction so severely that, for the most part, only buildings of the same or marginally larger size may replaced those that are torn down. As the result, the city gets the worst of both worlds, losing valuable prewar building stock while getting minimal, if any at all, upgrade in density or new residential unit counts.
We urge the city to reconsider its zoning ordinances that accomplish the opposite result, where policies encourage preservation of historic buildings, allow for greater density for new construction, and incentivize incorporation of existing prewar facades into larger structures with a notable increase in housing units.
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Will the new one look like the cheap looking one two doors down with no lintels or cornice?