Community Engagement

In my capacity as Board President of Germantown United Community Development Corporation, I have prepared this overview about the proposed redevelopment of the former Germantown High School and Robert Fulton Elementary School properties. For those who may not be aware of the history, this will help bring you up to speed.

In January 2019, a real estate listing surfaced promoting development of Germantown High School by a firm called MSC Realty. The listing depicted a suburban-style shopping center surrounded by parking lots on what is now the lawn of the high school property, fronting Germantown Avenue.

The upcoming meeting that Councilwoman Cindy Bass is coordinating about this development will be an important opportunity for the community to share our thoughts about the project with the developer (meeting date to be announced). It is necessary that we, as a community, attend this meeting as prepared as possible, and with some shared vision for the space. If individuals would find a pre-meeting helpful, I’d be happy to coordinate that.

SCHOOL CLOSURES

2013

• Germantown High School (GHS) opened its doors in the fall of 1914, built out of the community’s desire to have their own high school. Previously students had to travel across the city to go to high school, as they do today. The community itself pledged to raise $500,000 of the needed funds when the Philadelphia School District refused to do so.
• GHS and Fulton Elementary School were selected for closure by Philadelphia’s School Reform Commission (SRC) in the Spring of 2013 due to declining enrollment and lack of agency of the community.
• While the Germantown High School Alumni Association and others put up a valiant effort to fight the closure they were ignored, and the school officially shut its doors in June of 2013.

• An interesting footnote: one of the reasons given for the closure was that our students would receive a higher quality education elsewhere. I’ve been tracking test scores at the two feeder schools our students were sent to (Martin Luther King and Roxborough) and they remain consistently poor.

Suggested reading:
School Reform Commission votes to close 23 Philadelphia schools, sparking anger and despair for students, parents, teachers
Teachers, students and neighbors mourn the loss of Germantown’s Fulton Elementary School
On the scene for the last day of Germantown High School’s life (1914-2013)

THE BUILDING SALES 

2013-2017

• In 2013, the school district closed 23 total schools and partnered with Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) to coordinate the sale of the properties. Because some properties were more attractive to private developers than others, PIDC bundled school buildings to sell off as package deals. In the offering, PIDC’s suggested sales price of GHS and Fulton was $4.55 million.
• In September of 2014 GHS and Fulton were approved to be sold to the Maryland-based Concordia Group. Other schools in the portfolio included Charles Carroll High School in Port Richmond and Walter G. Smith and Abigail Vare Elementaries in South Philadelphia.
• After closing their doors in 2013, the future of both Germantown school buildings remained in limbo. The sale was stalled because of a lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court by a grassroots community group in Point Breeze who opposed the closure of Smith. Because the school buildings were packaged in bundles, redevelopment of all the properties included in the sale came to a halt, while communities simultaneously grappled with the loss of their schools and effects of large vacant buildings (abandoned structures affect crime, property values and public health).
• In March of 2017 a judge ruled that the sale should go through.
• Though the suggested sales price of GHS and Fulton was $4.55 million, court documents show that Concordia bought Germantown High School for just $100,000 and Fulton for $500,000: “As an accommodation to [Concordia], and for purposes of consideration recited in each of the deeds (and for transfer tax purposes), the [District] acknowledges that [Concordia], for its purposes has allocated the Purchase Price amongst [the Properties] as follows: Property Allocated Purchase Price [Carroll] $700,000.00 [Fulton] $500,000.00 [Germantown] $100,000.00 [Smith] $3,100,000.00 [Vare] $2,400,000.00.”

More info:
SRC approves Germantown High School sale to Md. developers
Point Breeze activists feel blindsided by loss of prize charter
School District appeals decision blocking sale of five buildings to developer
Pa. court orders judge to OK controversial $6.8M sale of 5 closed Philly schools

CONCORDIA BACKS OUT

2017

• Though Concordia first floated the idea of turning some of the buildings into apartments, it seems that the lengthy lawsuit and protests were enough to convince Concordia to cancel plans. It is believed the company flipped the two Germantown properties to a local developer named Jack Azran. I personally know of two individuals who have met with Azran regarding the properties, though clarity is needed as to who the owner is (in part due to dated online property records). Note here that no property taxes have been paid on either property since they were sold.
• There is little information about Azran on the web although this article about a property in Old City is a helpful read (and red flag, perhaps). In 2017, Azran and his partner Eli Alon were Grand Jury Award Winners at the 2017 Preservation Achievement Award Winners for the redevelopment of of 135-137 N. 3rd Street (positive outcome).
• And the other schools? Concordia sold Smith in Point Breeze and Vare in Pennsport to controversial developer Ori Feibush. High Top Real Estate & Development is redeveloping Carroll in Port Richmond

More info:
School sites sell after legal tussle, with Feibush to develop Smith Elementary building

PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT

2018 – TODAY

• In January 2019, a real estate listing surfaced promoting development of the lawn of the high school property, fronting Germantown Avenue, by a firm called MSC Realty. The listing depicted a suburban-style shopping center surrounded by parking lots.
• The Germantown community got wind about the proposed plans after the listing was shared on neighborhood Facebook groups, sparking much discussion.
• In an email exchange with MSC, they indicated they are the brokers for the owner and are not involved in the design or build. The listing appears to have been removed from the MSC Realty website, as of this posting. The images below are from a brochure from MSC (download PDF) which show what the full listing promoted.

• The above proposal presented by MSC Realty is very different from the vision promoted by the City’s Philadelphia 2035 plan seen below, which was created with community input.

• The above vision included in the Upper Northwest District Plan, adopted in October 2018, incorporates elements identified by stakeholders as desired assets in the neighborhood – retaining the historic auditorium and gymnasium for public use, with a mix of residential, educational, and live/work space filling the balance of the complex, with an open front promenade.
• If you are not familiar, Philadelphia 2035 is the comprehensive plan for managing growth and development in the City of Philadelphia. The staff of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission creates the plans through a well-informed and open process that includes outreach to citizens, business associations, institutions and other city agencies. The Commission itself then adopts the Plan. Once adopted, government agencies, elected officials, and community partners put the plan into action. View the full Upper Northwest District Plan here, which covers Germantown, Mt. Airy, and Chestnut Hill.
• In late January of 2019, I received a call from the legal representatives of the owner who assured me the owner was interested in engaging with the community after the site design was finished. I urged him to meet with the community first as the community has put a lot of thought into development ideas for the property. He informed me that Jack Azran is not forward facing on this project (why he never returned any of the emails I sent him over the years) but that High Top Real Estate & Development is taking the lead. High Top are also the developers who control the property at 156 W School House Lane that is seeking a variance for three apartment buildings, and the developers of Carroll in Port Richmond, which was part of the bundled sale.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SINCE CLOSURE

• Immediately following the 2013 closure of the school a meeting was convened at Janes Memorial United Methodist Church to discuss ideas for re-use. Many ideas were discussed including senior and/or affordable housing, artist space, co-working and educational space.
• The Alumni Association along with a group of individuals and representatives from Germantown-wide organizations began meeting around the idea of re-installing a school. This group also included architects. Kim Douglas, a Landscape Architecture Professor at Philadelphia University had adopted the school property to teach a field course creating adaptive re-uses for the school.
• In November 2014 the coalition submitted an application to open a charter high school in the building focused on the building trades, historic preservation, and the hospitality industry. View the group’s presentation to the SRC.
• The application was rejected for political reasons but there is still interest in reestablishing a neighborhood high school.

More info:
Germantown Community Charter School presents to SRC
What’s next for germantown high school?
The Death of Philadelphia’s Public Schools

NEXT STEPS

In accordance with our mission, vision, and values, Germantown United CDC will remain vigilant in following the development of these and other large vacant properties in Germantown. Councilwoman Bass is finalizing a March date for the community meeting with the developer, stay tuned for date. Until then, if there is interest in a pre-meeting to share ideas, please let us know.

Yours for Germantown,

Julie Stapleton Carroll
Board President
Germantown United CDC
[email protected]