Germantown Needs Planned Development

Just as the springtime has officially arrived it is springtime for the outlook of Germantown. It has been a long time since Germantowners have felt so optimistic.  With the 8th Councilmatic District primary in May, and candidate forums taking place across the district, the Germantown/Nicetown Transit-Oriented Development Plan has become more needed than ever before. The Germantown Classic town status needs to become our great rallying place for Germantowners, for we have reached the dawn of a new day.  

My family has been a part of the fabric of Germantown for 50 years, for I attended Robert Fulton Elementary School, Roosevelt Middle School, and in 1972 we were the first official class to open Martin Luther King/Germantown high school, then ultimately graduating from Germantown as the class of 1975. And with attending college here, and theology school here, and serving my entire 34 years of ministry here, and pastoring here for 22 years, trust me, we are well invested, so what I am about to say is from that perspective.  

The recent closure of the Fresh Grocer Supermarket and its proposed development plan is very short-sighted, ugly, and has absolutely no neighborhood input in one of the best locations with some of the best housing stock in Germantown.  

This location sits immediately adjacent to the R8 Chelten Avenue train station. In all the dialog that has swirled around this property, not once have I heard anyone mention partnering with SEPTA to create a new transportation hub for the area.  As one who has spent 30 years in the commercial construction industry with a degree in architecture, plus 18 years as a commercial builder, it makes perfect sense to me to demolish the existing, (to small) supermarket, and use the frontage of the property to create a new transportation hub and a more appealing entrance to the entire property.

At Germantown Avenue and Sedgwick Street, the SuperValu Acme had the same exact problem we have, with a supermarket which had outlived its competitiveness in that industry.  What did they do? They rebranded the site by erecting a 50,000 sq. ft. supermarket and reconfigured the new store so it could become competitive.  The older 20,000 - 30,000 sq. ft. supermarkets are a thing of the past, and they cannot compete with big box stores like Target, Walmart, Sam’s, and BJ’s, not to mention the several 40,000 - 60,000 square foot supermarkets which are within driving distance.  

Quite a few residents do not shop in the area because many of the stores are not clean, the residents do not feel safe, and the service is ghetto in comparison to the suburban and outskirt competitors.  Germantown needs a serious reset, and this site is just what the doctors ordered.  

I think that we need to approach our friend’s at SEPTA, and ask them to get involved in the plan of this development, as the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) plan suggests, so that it can become a win-win for all concerned.

And why stop there? Chelten Avenue is serviced by two bookend train stations with large land tracts available on the east side of Germantown Avenue near the R7 train station as well.

We cannot look at these things in isolation. We need to approach SEPTA in a comprehensive way. Let’s do a public/private venture where it makes sense.  Let’s use our new classic town destination to reset the entire focus of the area, so that we can draw credible tenants to the area, for we have a prime opportunity to reclassify our area.  No more short-sighted, knee-jerk, reactionary approaches to development in Germantown.  

Germantowners spent over a year vetting an area- wide plan in hopes of jump-starting a renaissance in the area.  I remember when Manayunk went through this same transition, when what was a series of old outdated mills, and industrial buildings became a major asset in the area.  Our rich historical buildings, diversity, and great location warrant thinking strategically and not just looking at the Chelten and Pulaski Avenue site alone.  

Have any of you driven from Mt. Airy Avenue to Washington Lane lately?  Mt. Airy has reinvented itself, with a new streetscape improvement project which enhanced the entire area.  Germantown has much better buildings, and we can use a similar approach to create something that can make this a hot property area.  The Germantown Community Connection was born out of the TOD Plan, so let’s go back to our roots and capture the new opportunities before us.  Also, the new funding SEPTA has had restored to the Wayne Junction regional train station project gives us an opportunity to retread the TOD Plan and have three, not one transportation-oriented projects on foot at the same time.  

And let’s not forget the Wister train station, for our plan is in place and the Philadelphia City Planning Commission can be very helpful with assisting us with the new direction.

Lastly, checking the Pennsylvania state budget as is my habit, before former Gov. Rendell left office, he allocated $10 million of the needed $16 million needed for the demolition of the Queen Lane projects, and for the erection of a new development on that site.  This was also a part of the TOD Plan and we have heard very little from PHA on the matter.  It is slated to occur and be done in 2012.  So we need to ask questions like: where are they going to relocate the residents who currently live at that facility?  How about local employment when good jobs are at a premium?  How about neighborhood having any input in the design and conceptual plan for this site also, for this will transform the entire area once that blighted tower is gone?

It is time for the GCC to develop a policy position on anyone desiring to do development in the area. Therefore anyone desiring to garner public support of the community stakeholders must address the GCC.  We need all of our elected officials to buy in to this, and agree to yield to the new support policy, for we need a proactive approach to any development work in the area, for we desire to draw good businesses and residents to the area.             

SEPTA has a large public asset at the main entrance to the Chelten Avenue/Pulaski Avenue property.  We need to collectively look at our area-wide plan and tweek it to the new circumstances. We need to use a comprehensive approach and an adversarial approach to resolve our concerns. Much of the back door politics took place in the halls of power because we were not united as a community.  But today we are more committed and united than ever before, and we all desire to see Germantown fulfill its full potential.

Ricci J. Hausley Sr., Apostle                       

Eagle’s Nest Christian Fellowship,

Eagle’s Nest Community

Development Corporation