Reversing its initial denial, the city’s Historical Commission approves controversial 22nd Police District construction proposal

There is complete agreement that the 22nd Police District building at 17th Street and Montgomery Avenue is in terrible physical shape.

But that’s where the consensus ends.

Three years after denying the application for a new police station at 21st and Diamond Streets, the Philadelphia Historical Commission reversed its position and unanimously approved the city’s controversial plan to build a $32 million, multipurpose, public-safety facility in the Diamond Street Historic District — bringing the project another step closer to reality.

In 2020, amid the protest surrounding the murder of George Floyd, a plan to construct the police district’s headquarters in the historic district was roundly condemned by community residents and ultimately denied by the commission, citing the city’s failure to engage the community in the process and that the project was a poor fit for a residential community.

» READ MORE: Historical Commission rejects plans for new North Philly police station

At the time, Robert Thomas, commission chair told The Inquirer that they had to think beyond architectural standards. “We are the Historical Commission. We’re living through a very important moment in history.”

Jacqueline Wiggins, retired educator, was one of the leaders of the opposition to the 2020 proposal. She thought her group had won a permanent victory in stopping the building of the police district on Diamond Street.

However, at the May meeting, drawings for the police district were resubmitted. Only a third of the proposed 30,000-square-foot facility will be dedicated to the police department, and it was redubbed the North Philadelphia Public Safety Complex with outdoor public space, a community room and a new Police Athletic League (PAL) center. PAL, which was started in 1947, uses police officers, civilians and volunteers to provide sports, cultural and educational activities for youth ages 6 to 18.

“We fought this two years ago, and the historical commission agreed [then]. Why should folks that live in that area where this police facility is supposed to be built have to be police occupied? Raymond Rosen and Johnson Homes already have the Philadelphia Housing Authority police,” Wiggins said during the commission meeting.

Wiggins said the best use for the land would be to build affordable housing for families and seniors.

Judith Robinson, who represented the 32nd Democratic Ward, also stated her opposition at the comission meeting. “Stop this project. It’s government overtaking. Please just back off,” she said.

Robinson, too, had been part of the coalition fighting the police district in 2020.

» READ MORE: Are historic districts the solution to Philadelphia’s preservation crisis?

However, the opposition was not unanimous.

Several community members spoke on behalf of the facility and the need for more recreation in a community hard hit by crime, especially gun violence. Most notable was outgoing City Council President Darrell Clarke, whose district includes the 22nd Police District. He said that he “enthusiastically supported” the new plan and that the resubmission was better because it provided a better architectural fit with the neighborhood and added community services.

Not in question is the deplorable physical condition of the 22nd Police District, one of the city’s busiest districts, which covers an area from 10th to 33rd streets and Lehigh Avenue to Poplar Street.

“In this particular case, essentially what we would be doing, if we did nothing, is preserving two vacant lots that have been trash-strewn and it’s been problematic over the last 20 years,” Clarke said.