All tagged Development
My grandfather built the Celia Building in the early 1920s. He had even imported marble from Italy for the foyer. After a long struggle with the town, he was finally able to build this apartment building with two businesses, one of which was his shoe store. Please remember what the town represents. Please remember what Swarthmore is. A condo building is not part of that representation.
If this project goes forward, we will regret all that we have lost, and how we have been changed for a long time to come. I urge the development team to re-envision this project so that it is in keeping with the aspirations that we share for ourselves and our community.
It is important that we engage positively with developers so we can improve the built environment in ways that benefit Swarthmore. However, we also need to think deeply about what makes Swarthmore such a great place and how the borough can preserve that historical value.
I appreciate W.S. Cumby “going back to the drawing board” on their proposed condos. I now ask them to go back not to the drawing board but to the map. As others have pointed out, a project of this outlandish size seems better suited outside town center.
I strongly urge Swarthmore Borough Council to keep the values and physical beauty that makes Swarthmore what it is. I look forward to a fair, and positive decision—without Swarthmore becoming the Main Line of Delco. And I believe this is possible.
The response by the Condo Development Team published in the October 29 issue failed to say how they will obtain a demolition permit for the historic properties located at 102-104 Park Ave and 110-112 Park Ave that is required to clear the site to make way for the proposed 110 Park Ave building. Demolition of these properties is in violation of the Swarthmore zoning code because they were determined to have historic value.
Based on the rendering, the building is, in my opinion and many others, a monstrosity, an architectural misadventure. At the very least the architectural plan needs a major revision; the best outcome would be to scrap the project completely and leave the current streetscape intact.
I am writing in defense of Mssrs. Delson and Cumby with respect to their proposed condominium project. I’ve known both these men well for at least 30 years and I can say with complete conviction that they are generous, civic minded, and caring individuals who are primarily interested in promoting the future and well being of Swarthmore.
Imagine dropping Media’s huge West End Flats into the middle of our town, because that’s what this project would do. W.H. Auden said it’s impossible to get rid of your shadow, and this gargantua will cast a long one on our town’s character and economy.
We cannot expect Don Delson or Bill Cumby to subsidize units in the proposed 36-unit building, but I believe that there may be another way to make a portion of the units more accessible to senior citizens.
Without a doubt, the development at 110 Park will transform Swarthmore’s Town Center. Obviously, the Planning Commission and Borough Council have the final say, but anyone who cares about the appearance of our town should be paying attention to this proposal, and to this end, the Swarthmorean can and must provide full and balanced coverage of this story.
I read that a luxury, five-story condominium complex is planned to replace the buildings on 102/104 Park Ave. and 110/112 Park Ave. Here is my serious and urgent request to council not to approve these plans.
We are happy to announce plans to create a premium condominium project on Park Avenue, across from Borough Hall.
