After 2 centuries, this historic Mt. Airy home may be demolished

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Around 1808, decades before Mount Airy became part of Philadelphia, a prominent bookbinder finished building a stone mansion along Germantown Avenue near Gorgas Lane.

The L-shaped property would remain in William Leibert’s family for nearly a century. It was then sold to the Evangelical Lutheran Church and used as an orphanage and home for the “aged and infirm.”

These days, though, the historic building is vacant and falling apart, alarming preservationists who worry the home’s next chapter could involve a wrecking ball.

“My fear is that they will just demolish the whole building,” said Oscar Beisert, director of the Keeping Society of Philadelphia.

For now, the property’s future is murky.

In May, the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections deemed the building “imminently dangerous,” meaning it could collapse. The determination is rooted in a handful of violations, including issues related to the home’s interior, load bearing walls and main roof, according to public records.

There are no immediate plans to demolish the Federal-style building, however.

“The department will continue to monitor the situation and if conditions warrant emergency action to protect public health or safety, it will take the appropriate measures in accordance with its authority,” a L&I spokesperson said in a statement.

Next steps for preservation

Repairing the property would fall to NewCourtland. The nonprofit operates nearly 600 units of affordable housing, primarily for older adults. The portfolio includes a 180-bed nursing and rehabilitation facility, which sits on the same grassy campus where the Leibert House is located.

NewCourtland has expressed interest in tearing down the building to expand its facility on the campus, but it’s unclear if that remains the case. The house is now historically designated at the city level, meaning NewCourtland would need approval from the Philadelphia Historical Commission to do any demolition.

NewCourtland President Joe Duffey said the organization is taking a “thoughtful, informed approach” to evaluating the future of the Leibert House.

“To inform our decision-making, we are in discussions with the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, engineering experts, and government officials to better understand the opportunities, challenges, and responsibilities with the site as we determine the most appropriate next steps,” Duffey said in a statement.

A spokesperson for NewCourtland called the decision a “priority” but could not provide a timeline for the process.

The city has ordered the nonprofit to hire a licensed engineer to assess the property to “determine the extent of the structural defects,” according to public documents. The company must also install “temporary protections of the public way and adjacent properties” and pay for a detailed remediation plan before making any repairs, among other requirements.

L&I cannot force a private owner to make repairs, however, even if the building is historically designated. The department can only impose fines and place liens on a property to enforce the building code.

The historical commission also lacks that authority.

“There’s no preservation jail, we often say,” said Paul Steinke, executive director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.

Tearing down a historic property that’s been neglected is not unheard of in Philadelphia, but it is uncommon. The most recent example, said Steinke, was 19th Street Baptist Church in South Philadelphia. Designed by famed architect Frank Furness, the 19th century building was demolished last year after a protracted, and ultimately unsuccessful, effort to save it.

The front porch of the Leibert House was previously removed, but Beisert, who nominated the building for historic designation, is cautiously optimistic that the rest of the property can be preserved if it’s repaired.

As Philadelphia prepares to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary, he said it would send the wrong message if it wasn’t.

“The 250 priorities to me are just totally out of whack,” Beisert said. “We’re restoring meaningless commercial buildings on Market Street and these buildings are rotting.”