Duplexes are now planned at West Philly site dubbed the ‘poop building’ by social media

It looks as if Cedar Park will be getting 22 single-family homes with no affordable component instead of a 76-unit apartment building, where a fifth of the units were earmarked for below-market rents.

The owner of the lot at 48th Street and Chester Avenue — home to the project that became known as the “poop building” due to the unusual tactics of one opponent — pulled zoning permits last week that outline a new plan after the apartment proposal’s defeat last year.

The permits are for 11 duplexes with roof decks and 22 parking spaces on a shared driveway.

“Duplex dwellings with driveways was not our second or fifth or eighth or ninth option,” said Brett Feldman, the zoning lawyer for property owner Meir Gelley. “But ultimately, that was what was possible at the property. At some point, you have to move on.”

After negotiations with the area group Cedar Park Neighbors, Gelley proposed a four-story apartment building across Chester Avenue from an older four-story apartment building. The plan was mostly remarkable for the ferocity of the opposition to it.

It gained public attention when Ang Sun of West Philly United Neighbors called for neighbors to submit stool samples of “a fingernail size” to his group for a supposedly official study of “the bad germs associated with irresponsible development in West Philly.” Temple University disavowed the unauthorized study, and the National Cancer Institute showed no record of funding.

Under the banner of Protect Squirrel Hill, other apartment foes had more success by building a campaign to combat the developer’s push for a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The land is zoned for duplexes.

The zoning board granted the variance, but Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Anne Marie Coyle — known for her controversial land use and criminal justice rulings — overturned it.

Facing determined opposition from Protect Squirrel Hill and without support from Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, Gelley gave up and turned to single-family development.

“We just couldn’t make much progress with the opponents of the project and really never were able to receive a reasonable settlement option or any other suggestions on how to move forward,” Feldman said.

Protect Squirrel Hill declined to comment on the duplex proposal outlined in the permits last week. In a 2021 commentary in The Inquirer, the group argued that the 76-unit building would inflate the rents of surrounding buildings whereas for-sale duplexes would not.

The proposed rents for the apartment building were originally between $1,320 and $1,560, with a fifth of them going for $725 to $870 a month.

The census tract reports over 37% of households without a vehicle available. The lot in question is directly on the SEPTA’s Trolley Route 13 and a few blocks from Route 34, which is why Feldman says Gelley preferred transit-oriented development for the site.

Given the present sluggish development environment, Feldman said construction was not imminent.