Current Advocacy Issues
Hillman Medical Center
The Pennsylvania
Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) has declared the Sidney Hillman
Medical Center eligible for individual listing on the National Register
of Historic Places, triggering a review if, as expected, federal funds
are applied to the proposed redevelopment at the site. PHMC also said
that the proposed high-rise development is incompatible with the
surrounding historic properties. Both these points have also been
previously argued by the Preservation Alliance at hearings before the
Philadelphia Historical and Planning Commissions over the last several
months.
In a letter dated July 23, PHMC concludes that the
demolition of the Hillman Center in order to build the new high-rise
project will adversely affect both the property itself and the
Rittenhouse Historic District in which it lies and that, therefore, the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – which is the
hoped-for funding source for the new project – must “notify the Advisory
Council [on Historic Preservation] of the effect finding and continue
to consult with [PHMC] to seek way to avoid or reduce the effects on
historic properties … The next step in the consultation process is to
discuss mitigation. This must involve the federal agency [HUD] and
identify consulting parties that want to participate in the process.”
The Preservation Alliance has already informally indicated to PHMC that
it wishes to be a consulting party.
Although the Hillman Center was originally listed as a
“non-contributing” property in the Rittenhouse Square National Register
Historic District because it was not yet 50 years old at the time of the
district designation, PHMC now considers the property to be
individually eligible under Criteria A [properties associated with
events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns
of our history] because the Center represents a collaborative effort
between the unions and the employers to offer medical service to workers
in the clothing industry in the post-war period. PHMC also considers
the Hillman Center to be “a good example of the modernist design [which]
provides an innovative solution to the limitation of the site.”
Image courtesy of R. Bradley Maule,
www.phillyskyline.com
Earlier
in July, the Philadelphia Historical Commission approved the design of a
mixed-use development on the site. Meanwhile, the Preservation Alliance
has appealed the Commission's earlier action to accept the property
owner's claim of financial hardship and allow demolition of the
mid-century structure.
At its meeting of July 21, the
Philadelphia City Planning Commission recommended approval of zoning
variances for the proposed apartment development. Prior to the meeting,
Commission Executive Director Alan Greenberger and representatives of
the developer met with concerned residents along 22nd Street. As a
result of those meetings, several changes were made in the project,
notably the high rise tower was set back farther from Sansom Street to
increase light to the rear of the properties on 22nd Street and the
height of the tower was increased from 30 stories to 33 stories.
At
the July 21 meeting, the Preservation Alliance expressed concern about
two aspects of the project. First, that no evidence had been presented
that demonstrated a hardship inherent in the site that prevented its
development under the existing zoning. This is the legal standard for
approval of zoning variances. Second, from a planning perspective, the
development of a 330-foot-high, glass-and-aluminum tower is
inappropriate in a section of Center City where such high rise projects
do not exist.
The Planning Commission's recommendation will be
presented to the Zoning Board of Adjustment when it reviews the requests
for zoning variances at its meeting on July 29.
The Alliance's
appeal of the Historical Commission's demolition approval contends that
the applicant failed to make a sufficient case of financial hardship as
required by the city's historic preservation ordinance. Alliance
Executive Director John Andrew Gallery testified to the Commission that
the property was not thoroughly marketed for sale and that unreasonable
conditions for sale indicated that the owner was not making a
sufficiently good-faith effort to sell and preserve the property, as
required by law.
The Preservation Alliance has maintained that
the project fails to comply with the historic preservation guidelines
set by the Secretary of the Interior's Standards because it is
incompatible in height and character with the historic district. In
addition, Gallery has suggested that the proposal may be in conflict
with zoning law as indicated by the Commonwealth Court decision in 2005
regarding One Meridian Partners. In that case, the Court ruled that
substantive changes in FAR require a rezoning of the site, not a
variance. The Court also ruled that substantial evidence of hardship in
the development of the property had to be demonstrated.
The
building, designed by the firm of Magaziner & Polss and built in
1950 to provide free medical care to members of the Male Apparel
Industry Union, is listed as a "contributing" building in the city's
Rittenhouse Fitler Historic District. The building owner and joint
venture partner, The John Buck Company, a Chicago developer, propose a
mixed-use development on the site, including an apartment tower, retail
space and a cafe along Chestnut Street and a parking garage, with
dedicated office facilities for the Medical Center fronting on Sansom
Street.
University of Pennsylvania architectural historian David
Brownlee has praised the Hillman Center's design, history and
innovation, placing it on a short list of Philadelphia’s significant
mid-century modern architecture.
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