No protections for Jewelers Row buildings while Toll Bros. has demo permit, panel rules

The Philadelphia Historical Commission has decided not to rule on historic protection for two Jewelers Row properties slated for demolition as long as developer Toll Bros. has permits to carry through with its plan for a 29-story condo tower on the site.

The commission voted, 8-3, Friday to table a decision on whether to list 704 and 706-08 Sansom St. on the city's Register of Historic Places after some members asserted that a ruling to protect the properties would be meaningless, since Toll has permits to tear them down.

The Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia nominated the structures for the register in September, months after Toll applied for zoning and demolition permits to raze them and two others.

Under city code, a decision to list the buildings would not affect Toll's ability to tear them down because applications for demolition were filed before the Historical Commission began considering protection, officials have said.

The buildings first came before the commission in November, when it voted to table the decision for a 90-day period that ended Friday, with members saying they were wary of ruling on the buildings' historical merit in light of the permits for demolition.

Commissioners said Friday that they could take up the matter again if a pending appeal of the demolition permit is successful, or if Toll abandons the project.