Opinion Eyes on the Street

February 11: PATCO breakdowns | LOVE Park agreement | Harrison School reuse | Washington Ave West cleaning | Trenton China Pottery redevelopment | Penn-razed houses

Eyes on the Street

February 11, 2014

Good morning Streeters. Here’s what’s buzzing this Tuesday:

PATCO had two rush hour breakdowns yesterday at the Benjamin Franklin Bridge due to electrical shorts that filled cars with smoke and disabled trains. The Inquirer reports the morning breakdown was on the bridge while the evening failure was on the approach. Some passengers were evacuated to the closed Franklin Square station to board another train.

Mayor Michael Nutter and Council President Darrell Clarke have agreed on a path forward for the sale of LOVE Park’s garage and redesigning the park itself, Jared Brey reports. Beyond the sale of the garage, they agreed to study of how concessions can help provide a steady funding stream for park upkeep, and redesign the plaza as a greener public square with a new water feature and more permeable edges.

Three finalists are vying to redevelop the William Harrison School in Ludlow as a school. The Daily News reports that two finalists are private school developers. The selected buyer for Harrison could be put before the School Reform Commission on March 20 for approval.

For the next year Ready, Willing & Able will clean Washington Avenue West. Flying Kite reports the $100,000 contract between Washington Avenue Property Owners group and RWA was made possible in part thanks to funds from Councilman Kenyatta Johnson’, neighborhood groups, and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation.

The Trenton China Pottery building at 2nd and Arch is at last being renovated. Naked Philly reports that the building changed hands again last year for a cool $3.5 million (after selling for $1.4 million in 2011 to an owner who sat on it). Coming soon are 43 apartments and ground floor retail.

PhillyHistory shares a look at grand houses Penn bulldozed in the 1960s to make way for new additions to the modern campus.

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