In August 2020, Philadelphia YIMBY reported that permits were filed for the demolition of a historically designated four-story building at 107 Chestnut Street in the Old City Historic District in Center City, half a block away from Penn’s Landing. The structure was built in 1840, at a time when the neighborhood bustled with maritime commercial activity, and was one of the last remaining buildings on the street’s old mercantile row. The Philadelphia Historical Commission approved the demolition after engineering experts declared the structure unsafe yet required that the owner rebuild the historic edifice in its original form within a year. However, YIMBY’s recent site visit reveals that the structure’s former site still sits cleared and paved over with no signs of new construction, perched next to its lone prewar neighbor that stands surrounded by a parking lot.
I-95 Park, with 107 Chestnut Street. Looking northwest. Credit: Google
107 Chestnut Street (center left). Looking northwest. Credit: Google
107 Chestnut Street. Photo by Jamie Meller
107 Chestnut Street. Photo by Jamie Meller
The property owner, Harvey Spear, is also the proprietor of the expansive parking lot that surrounds the site. Spear has a long record of demolishing historic buildings, both historically designated and otherwise, in the immediate vicinity. Two historic buildings opposite 107 Chestnut Street, both owned by Spear, were demolished in 2007, after the Department of Licenses and Inspections declared them imminently dangerous. Both of their sites were used to expand Spear’s parking lot. Spear also demolished a Victorian structure at Passyunk Avenue and Bainbridge Street.
107 Chestnut Street. Photo by Jamie Meller
107 Chestnut Street. Photo by Jamie Meller
The condition of the building at 107 Chestnut Street had deteriorated severely by the mid-2010s. Over the years, the property racked up several safety violations, and at one point bricks were allegedly falling off the structure onto the sidewalk. The Historical Commission performed an exhaustive review of the building’s precarious structural condition, available in an illustrated 151-page report, and concluded that the structure must come down for safety reasons.
The Commission approved demolition by a vote of 7 to 5 in 2020. At the time, Paul Steinke, executive director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, scorned the development as a “clear case of demolition by neglect” by the owner, calling such neglect a deliberate action by Spear.
As part of the conditions for demolition, the Commission required Spear to preserve historic materials to reuse them in future construction at the site and reconstruct the structure within a year or otherwise ask the Commission for an extension. However, in 2020, a lawyer for Spear stated that the owner has no plans to rebuild the structure within a year. In addition, he denied that the whole process was “some end-around to create a bigger parking lot.”
The structure was demolished by late 2020 and its site was paved over. Since that time, no new construction permits have been filed for the property. Instead, the property appears to have been visibly integrated into the lot. Our site visit revealed an “E-Z Park” sign anchored at the location. At the sidewalk, a “Welcome Drive-In” sign points directly toward the exact location of the former historic building. Cars were seen parked directly at the former building site. We could not independently confirm whether the owner has since requested an extension from the Historic Commission.
107 Chestnut Street. Photo by Jamie Meller
107 Chestnut Street. Photo by Jamie Meller
107 Chestnut Street. Photo by Jamie Meller
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Ouch, that hurts.
This is so frustrating. Obviously this was done on purpose. The city should take legal action.
So what is going to happen to Harvey Spear?
The real problem is Philadelphia’s do-nothing City Council. All talk, no action. If Harvey Spear violated existing law, why isn’t City Council asking why no action has been taken? If the answer is that no current laws were broken, then City Council should act quickly to enact new legislation or amend existing statutes to correct the problem.
Cars are always the priority.
The Historical Commission will permit demolition of a historical certified building after reading voluminous documentation justifying it’s demolition however they cannot make the owner build a replacement building unless he wants to do so. The owner is blessed with having a building with structural flaws which had to be torn down.
The owner is free to sell the parking lot tract to developers who will build condos or apartments on the site and will have to leave the remaining buildings on the tract.
The owner can seek an extension for rebuilding; it was a stipulation of the action by the Philadelphia Historical Commission. From the minutes of the June 12, 2020 PHC meeting:
–quote–
ACTION: Mr. Mattioni moved to approve the demolition of 107 Chestnut Street as necessary in the public interest, provided the building is documented and the historic materials are salvaged as outlined by the staff; the salvaged materials are stored offsite at a location identified to the Historical Commission and satisfying L&I’s requirements; the demolished building is reconstructed within one year unless the Historical Commission grants an extension of the reconstruction period within the year; and the building at 105 Chestnut Street is safeguarded during the demolition. Mr. Hartner seconded the motion, which passed by a vote of 7 to 5.
Late to the party here. After researching into this property.. I think you sould change remaining ‘buildings’ to ‘building’ as this property owner has one-by-one demolished every structure on the lot until only one is left standing. I think judging by this parking lot’s history… any city with a competent city council and a functioning public works department would see this owner as a criminal. However, we live in Philly, a city that continually fails to protect its history from greedy slumlords and developers, so my money is on corruption will continue to allow this man to demolish the remaining building on the property and flip it to an out of state developer in the next 5 years.