Pool hall zoning could expire, PHA makes $4m at auction, Barnes flooring, Croydon conversion

 

If developers don’t start construction on a planned pool hall at 12th and Chestnut within 6 months, they could lose zoning approvals required to convert the former bank. PlanPhilly’s Kellie Patrick Gates reports that City Council enacted a sunset clause to the zoning approvals so that if 1200 Bank stalls out, its zoning changes are not permanent.

The Housing Authority’s made $4 million auctioning 100 vacant, surplus properties on Wednesday. Christine Fisher has been following the auctions for Philadelphia Neighborhoods and PlanPhilly, and found that because this auction focused on individual properties it proved a bit less contentious among neighbors than the prior auction of bundled properties which was more geared at developers. Here’s hoping that new private owners prove more attentive to the properties than PHA.

The new Barnes building brings a piece of Coney Island to Philadelphia. Hidden City Daily explains how the museum’s ipê flooring was salvaged from Coney Island and how it ended up in Philly as part of the Barnes’ new facility aiming for LEED Platinum certification.

Plans to turn around the Croydon, known to squatters as Paradise City, are moving forward. West Philly Local reports that owners Orens Brothers revealed plans to the neighborhood, and are moving through the zoning approval process to redevelop the building at 49th and Locust into a 127-unit apartment building.

 

The Buzz is Eyes on the Street’s morning news digest.

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