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Fri
Feb 3
2012

Late Night Club May or May Not Be Coming to Chestnut St.

Back in September, we told you about the vacant commercial space at 1318 Chestnut St., which was at that time getting a new store front. The new windows have been installed and the first floor space is still tenant-less, but there has been some interest in the retail space in the basement. From an after-hours night club.

The vacant space

As the “Midtown Village” corridor continues to evolve with a veritable vault of culinary delights for foodies, the Washington Square West Civic Association (WSWCA) wants to support nearby businesses that will contribute to this scene. Apparently, a late night club open from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. in the basement of the former Mitchell and Ness space does not fit the bill.

That’s why its board voted to oppose an application for a nightclub to include live entertainment, DJ, music, dancing by patrons and preparation and serving of cold beverages. This, after the club received a vote of non-opposition from the zoning committee, according to a member of said body.

WSWCA had concerns that the location would remain dark during the daytime while other businesses along the block were open. As the area is (hopefully) growing in its commercial viability, they think a better fit would be a business that could participate in that development. On the other hand, from what we can gather, the application is only for the basement space and doesn’t include the first floor retail space. So it wouldn’t have an impact on the commercial viability of the block either way. Or do we have it all wrong?

The zoning hearing for the space is next Wednesday. We’ll see what happens…

–Lou Mancinelli

10
COMMENTS
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Posted in Washington Square West | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments
  • Eldondre

    seems like a good use of a basement. go for it

  • 3rd&Brown

    Agreed. What else are you going to put in a basement?  And if anything, it can bring more foot traffic during the late dinner hours when that scene is just beginning. Patrons going to a club at 11 or 12 walking by a bustling restaurant where patrons are still finishing up their dinner at the same time could provide a good synergy, and, potential new customers.

  • Wharf Rat

    Hip-hop and gangstaz – perfect for 13th & Chestnut.

  • Datkatvic

    Is that what the application said?  i doubt…….. i listen to hip-hop….and know no gangstaz or criminals………   Go to upscale clubs lounges in the world…london, nyc, sao paulo, amsterdam, frankfurt…tokyo, hong kong………you know what…they play hip hop….you know who the clientele generally is….lawyers, bankers, corporate types..generally high income  people with real jobs…….  ……

  • http://centercitylocal.com/2012/02/03/late-night-club-may-or-may-not-be-coming-to-chestnut-st-nakedphilly/ Late Night Club May or May Not Be Coming to Chestnut St. | NakedPhilly :: Center City Local

    [...] Late Night Club May or May Not Be Coming to Chestnut St. | NakedPhilly. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed! Categories : [...]

  • Guest

    You’re so hood, dude!

    This is what NIMBYism looks like, when some stupid people who probably aren’t even from the place they represent try to block something because they don’t like it.  This isn’t a community trying to keep itself strong and block outsiders or gentrification.  This is a bunch of people who are power-hungry blocking something on a major street.

  • Wharf Rat

     Unfortunately, Philly isn’t London or Amsterdam.  Let the shootings begin!

  • Anonymous

    I love the racist comments that goes on on these Philly blogs I swear.

    Anywhoo  I don’t go to clubs at this point in my life however there are clubs that don’t fit a stereotype so unless that was the issue I don’t see where the problem would be. And the last business that was in that basement was back when I was in high school I think and I graduated in the early 90′s!

  • Mood

    If anything, if they did put a club there it would probably be something like g lounge and I don’t really know of any shootings there as of late …….. Hey maybe they could have day and night time clubbing too ? Come on some good bump n grind at noon ;-) that’ll keep the area active. Also not to get all righteous but ignorance is very unbecoming be open minded and try not to generalize too much people are people .

  • http://nakedphilly.com/uncategorized/new-energy-coming-to-the-1300-block-of-chestnut/ New Energy Coming to the 1300 Block of Chestnut | NakedPhilly

    [...] ago, we told you about the possibility of an after-hours club coming into the basement of 1318-20 Chestnut St., the former home of the excellent Mitchell and Ness. From what we’re hearing, that plan [...]

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