GSFS considers next steps after demolition at School House Lane and Greene Street

 This early 20th century house and mid-century addition used for doctors' offices have been razed by GSFS. (Image courtesy of Google Maps)

This early 20th century house and mid-century addition used for doctors' offices have been razed by GSFS. (Image courtesy of Google Maps)

A flat, fenced-in swath of land has appeared at the northwest corner of School House Lane and Greene Street, that busy nexus of three educational institutions: the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, Germantown Friends School and Greene Street Friends School.

The lot belongs to the last, and GSFS is still working on exactly what will happen at the site. So far, the work has been a “deconstruction project,” said school business manager Teri Buda.

An early 20th century house and its mid-century addition used for doctors’ offices have been razed. The older building was in deteriorated condition, Buda said, and there was no objection from the community to its demolition.

“We do have historic buildings on our campus that we’ve restored,” she said. “This was not one of them.”

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While plans are “in flux” for the site, which was purchased in December with the help of an anonymous donor, Buda said there will be limited parking, similar to what existed for the doctors’ offices. There will also be green space that “to some extent will be used by the school and the community.”

“It is not our plan to build” on the site, she said.

There are zoning issues that need to be addressed in coming months, and “hopefully we’ll be poised by early Spring to put the plan into effect,” Buda said.

NewsWorks has partnered with independent news gatherer PlanPhilly to provide regular, in-depth, timely coverage of planning, zoning and development news. Contact Alan Jaffe at alanjaffe@mac.com.

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