Locust Street building to be demolished, façade saved after fire

Most of the Center City apartment building ravaged by a four-alarm fire last month will be demolished, but its façade will be saved, City Hall announced Thursday.

The Department of Licenses and Inspections said the owner of the four-story building at 2122 Locust Street that was destroyed by the Jan. 19 blaze had been instructed to apply for demolition permits.

However, the structure's façade will remain standing, officials said.

The brick building, constructed in 1899 at the corner of Locust and Van Pelt Streets, was originally known as the Charles F. Gummey House and designed by the architectural firm Baker & Dallett, the city said.

It is now owned by William Penn Realty, which rents units in Center City and Delaware County and says it plans to build a new apartment complex there.

"We're going to rebuild that building," property manager Marc Ginsburg said.

Ginsburg said demolition would likely begin in the next few weeks, with the rebuilding process starting a couple months after.

City officials said a safety plan must be submitted before the demolition permits can be issued. The demolition will be done by hand by a certified contractor.

"Once the project is underway, our inspectors will be out there regularly to monitor compliance with rigorous City safety requirements," David Perri, the L&I commissioner, said in a statement.

Philadelphia Fire Department officials have not said whether the cause of the blaze had been determined, but arson has been ruled out A spokesman couldn't immediately be reached Thursday.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries battling the fire, which raged for more than two hours before placed under control and displaced residents on a bitterly cold winter evening.

No residents were hurt and the fire didn't spread to any other buildings.

The building's 21 residents have found new places to live, according to Ginsburg.