A year after killings, the Piazza at Schmidts holds its luster

A DIAMOND WAS erected in the rough parts of Northern Liberties, the Piazza at Schmidts, an upscale commercial development that has garnered much attention - first for its dazzling Roman-style design and then for a double murder.

Today, some Piazza residents are still haunted on the first anniversary of the June 27, 2009, slaying of Rian Thal, hip-hop party promoter and alleged high-end drug dealer who was slain just outside of her seventh-floor apartment along with Timothy Gilmore, 40, in the Navona unit at the Piazza.

Thal, 34, a blond socialite, had four kilograms of cocaine and more than $100,000 in her apartment when she died. Police said she used her apartment as a "stash house," where other dealers stored drugs. Her death was described by police as a robbery gone wrong.

When word of the slayings first spread, little was known publicly about the ties Thal and Gilmore both had to the drug world.

That caused some observers to question the safety of the then-sparkling new Piazza amid the rough edges surrounding the neighborhood.

"I feel safe here in the Piazza," said Amy Perez, 29, of Warminster, who was soaking up sun and watching the Phillies game on the jumbo screen in the main square. "Once you step foot out there [outside of the Piazza] it's a little freaky."

The Piazza at Schmidts, at 2nd Street and Germantown Avenue, is bounded by shops, entertainment, restaurants, chic boutiques, hip bars and fancy residences. The ritzy Northern Liberties complex was developed on the site of the former Schmidt's brewery by Bart Blatstein.

But the architectural beauty and sense of being a kind of inner-city suburbia causes some to forget about the risks of life outside of the Piazza.

"It's like a retirement country club for young people, but it still ain't the world, it ain't that safe," said Joseph Massarueh, 38, who lives just outside of the Piazza. "This has a tendency to not be a reflection of city life."

In fact, compared to the rest of the city, the Piazza might be one of the safest places in Philly.

Since June 28 of last year, just beyond the plaza on the 1000 blocks of 2nd and Hancock streets, according to the Philadelphia Police Department Web site, two apartments and one office have been burglarized, one person has been assaulted with a handgun, and five personal thefts, six bike thefts and 19 vehicle thefts have been reported.

As for the Piazza, "the only crime we see is car break-ins," said Capt. Mike Kram, the head of the 26th District, which includes Fishtown, Kensington and Northern Liberties. The Piazza, he said, "is the crown jewel of the neighborhood. There's a real good community scene there."

Tom French, 30, moved into his second-floor apartment in the Navona building right after Thal's death. Ironically, that's how he learned of the Piazza, he said.

"It seemed like it was a very isolated incident," French said. "It didn't scare me, seems like everybody knew."

But the incident did have one resident shaken to the core, even as he thought back to that Saturday in June. Thal was killed the day before he moved in and they shared the same floor.

"It was really scary," said the resident, who declined to give his name. "I had to walk over yellow tape. I already signed the lease. I was considering not moving in."

He said two people moved out of the Navona that day.

Thal was known by many across the city as a popular, charismatic party planner who attracted hip-hop stars and other celebrities to local events.

But Thal was also known by authorities for figuring into at least 10 local and federal drug investigations; for twice getting busted on drug charges, and for getting kidnapped by some dealers in 2004.

Thal's slaying was eventually connected to a longtime player in the local drug scene, Will "Pooh" Hook, who police said arranged a plot to rob her of the cash and drugs that she had stashed in her apartment at the Piazza.

The robbery attempt went wrong, and Thal and alleged drug runner Gilmore ended up dead.

Flash forward to now, and fresh on the minds of the Piazza community was the June 2 brutal rape and slaying of Sabina Rose O'Donnell, 20, who worked at a nearby bar, because residents said it was so unexpected. A man has been charged with killing her near her residence just beyond Northern Liberties.

"People are definitely on edge," Massarueh said.

"I think more people are affected by the girl Sabina," said Navona resident Elizabeth Miller, 27, who works at a law firm in Center City. "She [Thal] was kind of wrapped up in a bad scene."

Miller added that some wanted dibs on the Thal's plush apartment because it was one of a few that had two porches. But her death, she said, has tainted Piazza's rep.

"It gave a bad stigma to the Piazza," Miller said. "I am leery of people lurking around the entrance," but "there's always a lot of people around - I feel safe."

Staff writer David Gambacorta contributed to this report.