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Friday, July 24, 2009

Phila taps Hankin over residents' choice Onion Flats for Francisville job

Philadelphia's Office of Housing and Community Development has picked Cameron Square Neighborhood Development LP, a consortium of Exton-based Hankin Group, Sam Sherman Associates of Philadelphia and Dale Corp., over neighbors' choice Onion Flats LLC, of Northern Liberties, to develop 69 condos and townhomes on 1.5 city-owned acres at 19th and Wylie.

This despite a vote by residents, meeting at Second Pilgrim Baptist Church (see PhillyDeals item last month), that went overwhelmingly (38-2) for the rival Onion Flats proposal. "There was no interest in what the community felt," Onion Flats partner Tim McDonald told me.

Why did the city override the residents? "The neighborhood preferred the Onion Flats proposal, but Hankin was willing to pay $900,000 for the land, and self-finance" construction, while Onion Flats would have needed bank financing, OHCD spokesman Paul Chrystie told me. But McDonald said the city had been willing to donate the land to either developer, and it shouldn't have been a factor.

How do neighbors feel being ignored? "We were lucky to get a proposal from two developers at the top of their game," Penelope Giles, executive director of Francisville Neighborhood Development Corp.,  told me. "We really coudln't lose." So why vote? "The Onion Flats proposal appealed more to the community because of the sustainability element. It was really about design. But it's my understanding the city selected Hankin based on its adherence to the way the Request for Proposals was written." 

For more about the proposals, see Inga Saffron's column here.
Posted by Joseph N. DiStefano @ 2:12 PM  Permalink | 13 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:49 PM, 07/24/2009
    This is the right decision. The city needs the money AND he has the ability to get moving on this project. It would be nice of some of the money went to fix up the park.
    — dreinterests
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:57 PM, 07/24/2009
    It would be nice if the folks in the neighborhood actually had reliable opportunities to participate in the discussion. Having meetings at 6:00 PM when most folks are on their way home from work; having one meeting; and/or publicizing the meeting to members can not be the only mechanisms used to get a communities participation. 21st century thinking would be much more creative....INTERNET surveys perhaps????
    — sangoboi
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:37 AM, 07/25/2009
    yeah, $900k to the city while onion flats wanted welfare.
    — dreinterests
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:51 PM, 07/25/2009
    Definitely the right choice. Onion Flats and their hipper-than-thou design was just too over the top trendy. A vineyard? Really? Give me a break. Not to mention they aren't nearly as financially solvent as Hankin, and we all know what pitfalls borrowing for real estate development present these days.
    — skipintro
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:51 PM, 07/25/2009
    Hipper-than-thou design? Just because it doesn't fit your aesthetic taste doesn't mean it's not the right choice. A $900k payout in the middle of a billion dollar deficit is a drop in the bucket and a pathetic example of poor or no thinking by they city government. Onion Flats would have brought not only a much more sellable design, but it would have brought invaluable press to the area. Onion Flats is getting coverage in national magazines about their progressive design and environmental approach to living. What is Hankin Group getting? Nothing. Which is exactly what it deserves for not thinking about the areas it develops or about how architecture can advance the way that people live. Why do we need another bunch of bland brick townhouses? There are 8 within 3 blocks of where I live that have been on the market for over 8 months. Most are new construction. This is a huge, huge loss for the Francisville neighborhood and a huge loss for the city. Open your eyes people.
    — TripleB
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:30 PM, 07/25/2009
    Oh relax. It's because of people like you that we get garbage like the glass cave monstrosity on north 2nd street (that took forever to find residents). The Onion Flats plan IS overly trendy and it IS hipper-than-thou and so are you. You like it because it will bring press?? Don't be so naive. "Press" and industry coverage don't do shtt for a depressed neighborhood that desperately needs development, appeal, and attention. The last thing it needs is a pile of poorly conceived junk that only appeals to readers of Architecture Digest. I know because I live right around the corner. "Sellable design" is a crock. Vineyards???? You really think *vineyards* qualifies as "thinking about the areas" or "advancing the way people live"?? ..(DUMB MATERIAL DELETED). There is NOTHING about the Onion plan that advances anything..(DUMB MATERIAL DELETED).. Hooray for the city doing something right for once.
    — skipintro
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:18 AM, 07/26/2009
    Hey skipintro,dont hold back...tell us how you really feel!
    — hjfree123
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:03 AM, 07/26/2009
    What are you talking about ...? Naive? Uneducated? You don't know anything about me. You are a truly sad person to resort to sophomoric tactics of name calling. It's pretty obvious you know you're wrong since you're lashing out in such a childish way. If you took an evening or two to make your way out of this "depressed neighborhood" as you call it (how's that for area pride?) and go over to the Piazza on 2nd, you'd see that just because it took a while to come to fruition, it is bright and lively social center that has advanced that neighborhood in leaps and bounds. Progressive design brings progressive people who bring progressive thinking who bring ideas and money. Ideas and money advance "depressed neighborhoods". Not the status quo like you seem to follow out of fear of being wrong.
    — TripleB
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:40 PM, 07/26/2009
    I have to agree with the opinions that say the Onion Flats design is too trendy for its own good. A timeless design benefits everyone. I don't understand why "green" and "sustainable" frequently become synonymous with pretentious and ugly.
    — NickFromGermantown
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:52 PM, 07/27/2009
    The Onion Flats design was very ugly. I liked the idea of sustainability and the vinyard idea sounded very cool as well, but the design was awful.
    — FairmountFrank
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:06 PM, 07/29/2009
    I sometimes wonder what architects from the 60s and 70s were thinking when I look at the design of many of the buildings from that era. I kind of feel like the Onion Flats would be going down that same path. I think there's a reason revivalist architecture continues to remain popular. It really is timeless.
    — ChrisInConshy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:51 AM, 05/28/2012
    AND WHEN IT WAS ALL SAID AND DONE THE LOT HAS SAT VACANT FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS. So much for the that
    — cocoboston


13 comments
About Joseph N. DiStefano
Joseph N. DiStefano writes this blog to feed his PhillyDeals column in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Joe has been a member of Bloomberg LP’s New York Finance Team, wrote the book “Comcasted,” taught writing at St. Joseph’s University, and studied economics and history at Penn. Reach Joe at 215-854-5194 and JoeD@phillynews.com
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