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Wed
Feb 8
2012

A Tenant for a Commercial Space on Point Breeze Ave. in a Building That May or May Not Get Built

Over a week ago, OCF Holdings presented a proposal for a new mixed-use building at the corner of Point Breeze Ave. & Titan Sts. at a somewhat-less-than-successful South Philadelphia H.O.M.E.S zoning meeting. Though there are obviously people who don’t believe it should be built, this building would be a tremendous step in any effort to revitalize Point Breeze Ave.

The lot in question

The project would establish a sizable, new construction commercial space on Point Breeze Ave. for the first time in what must be decades. The Breeze has historically been a vibrant commercial corridor, but has fallen on tough times in recent decades, and the commercial mix is definitely lacking.

If you walk or drive down Point Breeze Ave., you’ll notice several houses of worship, numerous residences, and a smattering of different types of stores. Take-out restaurants are plentiful, as are hair salons. One large supermarket can be found, along with another smaller market as well as a few bodegas/corner stores. Family Dollar is a popular spot, since it offers so many different necessities under one roof. Additionally, we spotted two hardware stores, a few launderettes, a handful of clothing shops, and one bank. Vacancy and blight are unfortunately an all-too-common feature.

Some residences on The Breeze, Titan St. lot in the distance

A more vibrant stretch, just north of Reed St. Hardware store and hair salon visible

Several stores, including a take-out place, a cell phone shop, and a wig store. Some vacancies, too.

Largest supermarket on The Breeze

A little further south, a large vacant lot

Further south, even more vacancy

A rehabbed space for rent, next to a severely blighted building

More blight

Even more blight, just south of Titan St.

A doctor's office at 1400 Point Breeze Ave. is one of the nicer looking buildings. Across from the lone bank.

At the meeting, some residents expressed a desire for a pharmacy, an amenity currently lacking on the Breeze. Ask and ye shall receive (sometimes and within reason, ok?): Though the lease details are still being worked out, OCF Holdings has a tenant lined up for the commercial space and… it’s a pharmacy!

PharmDirect Rx on Grays Ferry Ave.

PharmDirect Rx, currently located at Osun Village on the 2300 block of Grays Ferry Ave., wants to open a new location in the proposed commercial space at Point Breeze Ave. & Titan St. This would be a sparkly new business on Point Breeze Ave. that would provide a much-needed service for the neighborhood.

So… maybe SPHINC can tell us the outcome of last week’s vote already?

To be continued…

 

Full disclosure: OCF Realty is the parent company of OCF Holdings and Naked Philly.

26
COMMENTS
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Posted in Point Breeze | Tagged , , , , , , | 26 Comments
  • http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/forum/south-philadelphia/28234-point-breeze-residents-your-attendance-required-mon-jan-30-6-00pm-22.html#post465564 Point Breeze Residents – Your Attendance IS REQUIRED – MON JAN 30 6:00PM – Page 22

    [...] saw this… A Tenant for a Commercial Space on Point Breeze Ave. in a Building That May or May Not Get Built | N… Reply With Quote + Reply to [...]

  • http://www.facebook.com/ed.ruane.jr Ed Ruane

    Will the pharmacy employ pharmacists from the neighborhood?

  • ConcernedAddict

    Will there be a foot doctor to rub mah feet? How quickly will this place get robbed? Will the suspect wear a hoodie? Is oxy and vicodin still good for resale? Will this place accept WIC and MEDICARE?

    My son is 26 years old, will he be covered once he is release out of prison?

  • hubba1

    I hope the Pharmacist aren’t Mexicans…ohh man, they ruining that area!

  • Guest

     Watch your fucking mouth, you snobby little shit.

  • http://twitter.com/ThisOldCity This Old City

    I know the owner, and not that it should matter anyway you xenophobe, but no they are not Mexican.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001415182229 Lewis Fernrock

    Shameful. 

  • Anonymous

    What a well-articulated thought! If I thought for one second that Tiffany Green was literate, I would think that she was the “guest” behind this insightful comment.

  • Anonymous

    Some people just don’t get it.

  • Anonymous

    We can’t be sure, but we’re guessing that the commenter is sarcastically referencing some of the comments made (with full conviction) by members of the community at the SPHINC meeting last week and doesn’t actually believe that Mexicans are ruining the area.

  • Yanni

    wow ur are a moron!

  • Hank

    Great job Mr. Ori!  The community voiced there concerns and stated they wanted a pharmacy.  And guess what, you are giving them a pharmacy!  I see no reason why this wouldn’t be approved and why there would be anymore opposition since you are listening and complying with the community!  

  • Guest

     I feel like we are all missing how zoning works.

  • hubba1

     Sorry, Yes, Fox… I was being sarcastic, and by no means actually mean that! It was, like you said, a comment based on some of the absurd things that are said at the SPHINC meetings.

  • Hank

    ”
    I feel like we are all missing how zoning works.” so do I!  It should be how should this directly impact in a negative way the close surrounding areas, zoning is not about what the community wants or needs  Example-A Business Building a Waste Plant next to your home.

  • Rocky

    Will the pharmacy also contain a foot doctor?  Will it ban Mexicans from entering?  Will Whitey get service there to?  Will the bros get a discount for being a bro?

  • Guest

    I’ve heard that the “official” number of Point Breeze residents that voted “Yes” for this project was absurdly low.  I’ve also heard accustaions that Tiffany Green was seen holding onto, passing around, and stealing voting sheets.

    If this is true, I’m wondering if SPHINC is purposely withholding the vote results because they know that releasing the incorrect results would force all that voted “Yes” to come out and protest the fake results…and possibly motivate people to take some type of legal action.

    I was at the meeting and voted “Yes”.  Now I’m left to wonder if my vote even counted.

    I’ve also heard that SPHINC acknowledged the Tiffany Green stealing issue, due to the unbelievable “Yes” count, and stated they were going to contact people who they believe were on the stolen voting sheets.

    I would guess, since I was never contacted by anyone at SPHINC, that my vote did indeed count.  But I really have no clue.

    SERENITY NOW SERENITY NOW!!!!!!

  • http://blog.philadelphiarealestate.com/will-bending-over-backwards-be-good-enough-for-the-opponents/ Will bending over backwards be good enough for the opponents? | Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

    [...] A Feb. 8 post on the Naked Philly blog – owned by Feibish’s real estate firm, OCF Realty – both answers a demand made at the meeting and makes plain Feibish’s case for pressing on. Simply put, it is this: Point Breeze Avenue can stand some sprucing up. The post takes us on a tour of “The Breeze,” pointing out the blighted properties, shuttered stores and vacant lots along the strip. [...]

  • http://planphilly.com/eyesonthestreet/2012/02/10/sphinc-has-no-vote-tally-for-ocf-realtys-point-breeze-ave-development/ SPHINC has no vote tally for OCF Realty’s Point Breeze Ave development

    [...] has identified a possible pharmacy tenant for the commercial space in the development in question. PharmDirect Rx is interested in the space. I sense an olive branch being [...]

  • http://www.facebook.com/TheDegraders Dee Gradee

    when are zoning meetings held for point breeze?

  • Guest

    Some people just want to continue to live off government subsidies and do nothing yet complain when others try to make improvements to the neighborhood.  These are vacant lots filled with trash.  How is building on those lots going to take housing away from local residents? It can only improve the area.  The more taxpayers living in this area will help keep real estate taxes lower for everyone in the area.  As the area regentrifies, residents home values will also increase, therefore increasing that equity nest egg (retirement fund?) when they decide to sell their properties.

    It was quite clear that there were serious racial tensions at the meeting.  It should not be a race issue, it should be a quality of life issue for all area residents.  Development on vacant lots can only do good for the area.  THEY ARE VACANT LOTS, trash dumps that can be something nice for the Avenue.  Why would any SANE person object?

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

    There’s a lot of misinformation out there about taxes going up and pricing homeowners out the neighborhood.  This comes up during gentrification battles over and over again and simply isn’t true.  Property taxes went up city wide last year to contribute to the dire budget situation, but many people here believed it was the result of all of the development.  Community groups like SPHINC should really be working on educating people about this but that’s unlikely to happen.

    On the other hand the other 40% of people are renters, and they’re all but guaranteed to be priced out of the neighborhood as development progresses and rents increase.  Landlords have the right to rent at market rates and many will choose to raise their rents to take advantage of the improving neighborhood.  Stopping progress isn’t the way to deal with displacement of long term renters, but that seems to be the easy answer for people opposed to gentrification.  

    From my experience, neighbors are overwhelmingly supportive of all the development I’ve done.  People frequently thank me and compliment the work because major sources of blight on their block are gone and they can feel better about walking down the street or letting their kids outside to play.  Putting a face to the development and having friendly and respectful contractors also goes a long way.

    The racial tensions are boiling up because there are instigators on both sides of the issue who frame the debate in those terms even though most people are able to move past that.

  • http://pointbreezephilly.org/zoning-board-tells-ocf-to-wait-on-coffee-shop-pharmacy/ Zoning Board Tells OCF To Wait On Coffee Shop, Pharmacy | Point Breeze Philadelphia

    [...] OCF says PharmDirect Pharmacy, currently located at Osun Village on the 2300 block of Grays Ferry A…. The fate of both projects appears to be in Johnson’s hands. OCF rendering of the proposed coffee shop OFC rendering of the proposed pharmacy/apartment building [...]

  • http://nakedphilly.com/point-breeze/action-picking-up-on-titan-street-in-point-breeze/ Action Picking Up on Titan Street in Point Breeze | NakedPhilly

    [...] you can see in the photo above, OCF Holdings’ Point Breeze & Titan lot sits at the end of this block. We would imagine that the people who ultimately move into these [...]

  • Guest

    You’re really just not even worth it.  You dehumanize people who were enslaved at one point and who lived in poverty or near poverty for decades.  Does that make you feel like a big man, kid?  We all know you’re going to win “the battle for point breeze” because anybody with common sense knows that a neighborhood that close to Center City will inevitably be gentrified as the core expands, so show some f*cking class about it.

    And you wonder why they have a problem with you.  Amazing.

  • Guest 4/19/12

    I agree with Rocky point on!  I do care about the community but fact is that zoning should be about zoning, and not community requests and demands on developers.  I can understand about making compromises but I disagree with the process that seems to be happening here.

    What can the community do to ensure that the zoning process is actually democratic? 

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