The Zoning Board helps clear another hurdle for a controversial new police station in North Philly

Plans to build a new police station in North Philadelphia are moving forward despite concerns from community members that it goes against the legacy of a historic Black neighborhood.

On Jan. 10, the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment unanimously approved the use variances necessary to construct a station for the Philadelphia Police Department on the Diamond Street Historic District corridor.

The $32 million project would replace the current headquarters for the department’s 22nd District, which is nearby at North 17th Street and West Montgomery Avenue. The building is widely acknowledged by the city, police, and community members to be dilapidated and in need of repair or replacement. But the proposed project to build on the historic Diamond Street corridor has faced pushback from some community members.

“I’m really feeling very bad about it. This is so dangerous,” said Judith Robinson, a former committee person for the 32nd Ward registered community organization, who lives just a few hundred feet away from the proposed site at 2100 W. Diamond St. She has led much of the opposition to the new police headquarters, and says she plans to appeal the Zoning Board’s decision to the Court of Common Pleas.

Opponents of the project such as Robinson argue that the police station does not fit in a neighborhood rich with Black history and will detract from that legacy. For instance, the George W. South Memorial Church of the Advocate at 1801 W. Diamond St. is known for its 14 large murals that illustrate the history of African Americans, and also for hosting major events during the Civil Rights movement such as the Black Panther Party Convention in 1970.

Opponents wish, instead, that the city would either renovate the current police headquarters as it did with the 15th District in 2023, or find other vacant land in the neighborhood to build upon that is not on this historic stretch of Diamond Street. Other community members have argued that affordable housing construction would be a better use of the space and the city’s resources.

“This is embarrassing that I would have to be fighting this in 2024,” Robinson said.

» READ MORE: North Philly community group petitions to stop planned police building in Diamond Street Historic District

But not all of those living near the proposed station feel that way. Ruth Birchett, a block captain and founder of the Heritage Community Development Corporation in the 22nd District, believes that a new police station is essential for this community, which experiences repeated gun violence.

“The facility at 17th and Montgomery is inadequate. It has been for a very long time. And our officers deserve to have a workspace that is accommodating and appropriate to their needs,” she said.

Birchett, 71, has lived with her family in this neighborhood all of her life. Preservation of Diamond Street matters to her, she said, but she pointed to the proposed project taking place on vacant land where properties were already destroyed decades ago as evidence that it won’t lead to further historic erasure.

“There was an eraser on the wrecking ball that demolished those properties that rendered these vacant lots [available for construction] over 20 years ago,” she said.

The North Central Public Safety Building plans include a Police Athletic League (PAL) center in addition to the new police station. The PAL center would also have an indoor basketball court, after-school study spaces, and other areas meant for community gathering.

According to the city’s Department of Property, plans to build a new headquarters for the 22nd District have been discussed since 2017. Officials focused on the Diamond Street location because of its centrality within the district and its wide, two-lane street that would allow police cars to move more quickly in and out of the station.

» READ MORE: Art Commission questions community input, and delays approval on planned police HQ on Diamond St. historic corridor

But development has been delayed over the years.

Last month, the city’s Art Commission delayed its vote on whether to approve the new headquarters until February, advising the city to hold more community engagement meetings on the project to get a better understanding of public opposition and support for the project. At its December meeting, Robinson and other opponents argued that because there has been only one such meeting to date, community members had not been given sufficient opportunity to give their opinion on the project.

It was unclear what the immediate next steps for the project would be after the Art Commission’s vote.

Former City Council President Darrell Clarke, whose 5th District covers the Diamond Street corridor, was a proponent of the new headquarters. His successor, Councilmember Jeffrey Young Jr., also supports the project.

“Prior to becoming a councilmember, I attended a community meeting where residents voted in support of [the project]. Based on the community’s approval, I believe the zoning board approved the variances, despite any pushback,” he said in an email to The Inquirer.

“A new police station is sorely needed as it will boost police morale and provide community engagement opportunities through the new PAL center.”

The Diamond Street Historic District, which received its official historic designation in 1986, contains several rowhouses and churches constructed in the late 19th century. The roughly one-mile stretch from Broad to Van Pelt was developed as Philadelphia’s population grew dramatically after the Civil War, and is considered to hold some of Philadelphia’s most exemplary pieces of Victorian architecture.