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Fri
Aug 19
2011

New Construction on One of the Worst Blocks in Point Breeze… and Another Rant on Taxes

Six foundations

A reader tipped us off about construction taking place at the corner of 21st and Annin Sts., so we found five minutes when it wasn’t pouring and checked it out. When we arrived on the scene, there was no work actively going on, but we did discover six fresh foundations spanning 2046-2056 Annin St., along with a truck with a stack of form work on its bed.

You can see a small part of the truck on the left side of the photo

The lots are owned by Roman Mosheyev, who purchased them earlier this year for $159K and intends to build three story single-family homes with roof decks, according to the zoning application. If you happen to walk down this block, you will immediately understand why this is a big deal.

Looking west on Annin St., toward the foundations

Looking east on Annin St.

It’s one of the most bombed out blocks in the neighborhood! On the north side of the street are the backs of the houses on Ellsworth St., which are not exactly welcoming. But it’s better than the south side, which is about eighty-percent vacant. Of the handful of houses that are still standing, most are boarded up buildings begging to be torn down or threatening to simply fall over by themselves. We’re not sure how long the rest of the block has been this bad, but we do know that these six lots have been vacant since at least 1991, when they were procured by St. Paul Chapel Baptist Church, located around the corner at 21st and Manton Sts.

A landbanking church!

The church acquired the six lots on Annin St. along with 2055-59 Federal St. in 1991. For $2,500. We’re not sure who owned the lots beforehand, but our wild, speculative guess would be the City of Philadelphia. Ooh, and do you want to guess the property taxes for those lots on Federal St.? That’s right, nuthin’. Seems they were paying $158 per year for all three lots through 2006, but their tax obligation disappeared once 2007 rolled around.

One can argue for or against churches being exempt from property taxes for buildings in active use as places of worship, but no rational person would argue that churches should be exempt from paying property taxes on vacant land. Without the pressure of a fair property tax, churches can and do sit on potentially valuable parcels indefinitely. Case in point: Twenty years of vacancy for six parcels on the 2000 block of Annin St.

As little appetite as our local politicians have for standing up to churches, this situation needs to change right away.

Sigh, who are we kidding?

9
COMMENTS
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Posted in Point Breeze | 9 Comments
  • Newcomer

    To be fair, at least something is taking place.  I still have faith in Point Breeze.  Some of the newly constructed homes around my block have finally been owned/rented by nice people, so things are looking up a little more than they have. 

  • Jellybean6000

    Any images of what the final products will look like?

  • Jellybean6000

    Also…I’m not sure if I would call it one of the worst blocks in Point Breeze. 

    Lately, before construction began, this was just empty land for dogs to poop on and a group of young children to play football in dog poop on.

    For it to be considered one of the worst blocks in Point Breeze, it would need to have more long term residents inhabiting it. 

    JellyBean6000 over and out

  • Stamy

    Congrats to Roman Mosheyev for having a vision for this
    block, I think we need more investors like this to move Point Breeze forward. I
    think the only way “one of the most bombed out blocks in the neighborhood” to
    become better is to have a transformation like this. Not too long ago, there
    were many blocks like this one in SWCC, and now some of those blocks are boasting beautiful
    homes on a tree lined block.  

    Let’s keep that vision going!

  • Becky

    I, too, would like to know what they look like.  I’m all for new construction and improving the neighborhood, but the new construction that has been happening ALL OVER the Breeze is just ugly. And they all look the exact same inside and out! I cringe every time I walk past another cluster of homes going up. No wonder most of them are hanging out vacant. The designs are uninspired, boring, and cheap-looking.  Maybe if a developer would come up with some new construction that actually compliments the existing and well-maintained (of which there are many) homes in the area, people would actually buy them.
    Just a thought….

  • http://nakedphilly.com/point-breeze/two-months-later-a-ton-of-progress-on-six-homes-on-annin-st/ Two months later, a ton of progress on six homes on Annin St. | NakedPhilly

    [...] in August, we wrote about six foundations on the desolate 2000 block of Annin St., and may have also launched into a short rant about property taxes. Based on the progress [...]

  • http://twitter.com/F1rstCitizen First Citizen

    There are a few who are really trying… but there are definitely a ton of developers flooding this neighborhood and littering it with some ugly buildings and stucco bays spreading like tumors.  While that’s often still better than what was there before, it’s still heartbreaking in its permanence.

  • The Old Man

    WOW…..To think a citizen, can not clean up their neighorhood. What in the world is this FOOL, named “Paul Chrystie”, thinking.?? He must love living in trash. I just saw the internet news regarding a man that spent approx. $20,000 of his own money to clean up a lot next to his place. I would have thought if this MAN, Paul, was there, why in God’s name did he not actually go and help clean up HIS lot…??? WOW…this Paul and his crowd likes to be known around the world…. All I can say as a 72 yr old man and VET is that — “hope this Paul and his crowd wake up”. Love to get a feedback folks.

  • The Old Man

    WOW…..To think a citizen, can not clean up their neighorhood. What in the world is this FOOL, named “Paul Chrystie”, thinking.?? He must love living in trash. I just saw the internet news regarding a man that spent approx. $20,000 of his own money to clean up a lot next to his place. I would have thought if this MAN, Paul, was there, why in God’s name did he not actually go and help clean up HIS lot…??? WOW…this Paul and his crowd likes to be known around the world…. All I can say as a 72 yr old man and VET is that — “hope this Paul and his crowd wake up”. Love to get a feedback folks.

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