Pieces of the Painted Bride mural could be incorporated into a plan to build short-term rentals in Old City

The developer who wants to build a new 85-unit short-term rental building in Old City at the former site of the Painted Bride Art Center plans to incorporate elements of the center’s signature mosaic, which has been under threat for years and will be demolished.

How much of the 7,000-square-foot mural by iconic Philadelphia artist Isaiah Zagar will appear on the façade of the finished project’s ground floor will depend on how successfully mosaic tiles can be removed before the demolition of the Painted Bride building.

The fate of the building and its mural had been uncertain during years of legal battles between the developer and neighbors who opposed the zoning code exceptions he wanted in exchange for preserving the mural.

» READ MORE: New plans for a short-term rental building would demolish the Painted Bride’s signature mural in Old City

The design of the proposed building’s ground floor on the 200 block of Vine Street is in flux.

If large sections of the mural can be preserved, they could be incorporated into the exterior, said developer and architect Shimi Zakin of Atrium Design Group in Philadelphia.

If large sections can’t be preserved, elements of the mural could appear on a concrete façade, he said.

“We’re facing a lot of unknown elements,” Zakin said.

Emily Smith, executive director of the nonprofit arts group Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, which preserves and provides access to Zagar mosaics, said that because of the way the Painted Bride mosaic was made in the 1990s, workers “can’t safely move the original mosaic without destroying it.”

Magic Gardens is trying to save as much as it can, but the mosaic is still very much intact, she said, so removing pieces is difficult.

“You can save tiles from it if you’re lucky, if you do it in a certain way,” Smith said. “It won’t look like what the Painted Bride is. That will be destroyed fully. ... That masterpiece.”

» READ MORE: An Isaiah Zagar mosaic’s unexpected demolition prompted a frantic neighborhood response in Bella Vista

Zakin and Smith said they are working closely with Zagar to honor the Painted Bride mural in the new building.

Regardless of how much of the mosaic makes it onto the outer face of the building, Zakin plans to incorporate Zagar’s art into the inner courtyard and convey the story of the Painted Bride mosaic somehow.

Zakin had planned to preserve the full mural and build apartments above. But neighbors successfully appealed the city zoning board’s decision to allow the developer to construct a building larger than the zoning code permitted. Smith and Zakin called the rejection of that proposal “devastating.”

“I put a lot of love and a lot of thought [into the proposal]. And it could have been the best, the most important creation of my career. And it’s very unfortunate,” Zakin said.

But he said he has faith “that we’ll be able to create something really amazing.”

The new proposal for the six-story, 65-foot-tall building — with a 30-space underground parking garage, 4,800 square feet of restaurant space, and 1,000 square feet of café space — is allowed under the city’s zoning code.

Zakin reduced the number of residential units from 110 to 85.

This month, the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment approved zoning exceptions to allow for two roof decks — one for the restaurant and one for residents.

» READ MORE: Painted Bride mosaics saved with Philly’s approval of a new apartment building

The advisory Architectural Committee of the Philadelphia Historical Commission plans to discuss Zakin’s proposed building, which would be in the Old City Historic District, at its meeting on Tuesday.

Neighbors who opposed previous plans for the property had said they would like the mosaic to be preserved, but wanted any new building on the site to stick to what was allowed under the zoning code.

Robert Gurmankin, president of the local registered community organization Franklin Bridge North Neighbors, said he likes the planned incorporation of the mosaic on the first floor in this latest proposal.

» READ MORE: A Philly judge reversed a zoning board decision to allow apartments atop the Painted Bride mosaic

He said that residents could use a restaurant in the neighborhood, but neighbors are concerned about noise from its roof deck.

And neighbors would rather have apartments than short-term rentals, Gurmankin said, because of problems with noise, parties, and police activity at these types of units in the neighborhood.

But, he said, the project’s parking spaces could allow for easier conversion of the property into residences in the future.

“Overall, I think people will be OK with it,” he said in an email.

» READ MORE: The Painted Bride Art Center has been sold with its signature mosaic intact

Zakin is in talks with the San Francisco-based hospitality company Sonder to operate the short-term rentals, but Zakin said the property will be designed as a multifamily building and could potentially be converted into apartments.

He said he hopes to break ground on the new building next year.

Smith, at Magic Gardens, said it was a shame that even though the arts community, the city, and the developer wanted the apartment design that would have preserved the mosaic, a few neighbors shut it down.

She described years of alternating hope and dashed dreams as “a roller coaster.”

The black netting that covered the mosaic for the last five years was removed in early June, and Magic Gardens has been working to document the work in its entirety before its demolition.

“It is Isaiah at his pinnacle,” Smith said. “There’s no façade in Philadelphia or anywhere that is as incredible as that façade.”

This story has been updated to clarify the status of the Painted Bride Art Center.