West Philly apartments known for proposed fecal-sample study may become duplexes

The owner of a property at 48th Street and Chester Avenue in West Philadelphia’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood withdrew an application for a 76-unit apartment building last week, after more than two years of heated opposition.

The debate over the development of this site gained national attention in March 2021 when one opponent, Ang Sun of West Philly United Neighbors, sought to collect fecal samples from neighbors to prove a link between gentrification and cancer. That proposal, which did not come to fruition, spawned the nickname “poop building” for the project.

» READ MORE: ‘Fecal samples’: The next frontier in fighting West Philly gentrification?

In April of this year, a preliminary approval was granted for 13 duplexes on the site, with one parking spot available for each residence. The owner of the site, Meir Gelley also owns a neighboring nursing home. The land, which is lined by apartments to the north, had functioned as a dog park until 2021.

Most foes of the apartment proposal centered their opposition on less unusual talking points than a fecal study, including concerns that new construction would further increase housing costs in an already pricey neighborhood.

“There was no doubt that it was just going to become slum housing,” said Nosta Glaser, a neighbor who signed on to a lawsuit contesting the property owner’s zoning permits. “Traffic congestion, parking, a blight to the skyline, blockage of sun to residential flora, noise pollution. The list just goes on and on.”

In a prior agreement with Cedar Park Neighbors, a neighborhood group that supported the proposal, Gelley said he would reduce the height of the apartment building and restrict rents in 15 of the homes so they would be affordable to households making 40% of the area median income for 50 years. The units were to be rented for $725 to $870 a month.

But a group of project opponents known as Protect Squirrel Hill called the offer of 15 rent-restricted apartments “crumbs.” In an Inquirer op-ed, they argued that for-sale duplexes would be less likely to spur gentrification because they believed such dwellings would not affect neighborhood rents.

In addition to Glaser, others signed on to the lawsuit to contest the project’s permits. Other signers included Thomas Ewing another neighbor; Catherine Blunt, a member of the community organization 46th Ward; Mike Ross, president of Southwest Philadelphia District Services; and Valerie Ross of West Philadelphians for Progressive Planning and Preservation.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment originally granted exceptions to zoning rules that would have allowed the apartment development, but the opponents appealed the decision.

In responding to that appeal last May, Common Pleas Court judge Anne Marie B. Coyle ruled that the zoning board had failed to provide evidence to justify granting zoning exceptions. She ordered the board to reexamine the development proposal.

The new hearing before the zoning board started last year but was never completed. It was scheduled to continue July 18 of this year.

Instead, on July 6 a lawyer representing Gelley told the zoning board that the property owner would no longer be pursuing his application to allow the construction of the 72 apartments.

Klehr Harrison lawyer Brett D. Feldman, who represents Gelley, declined to comment or provide a reason for the withdrawal.

» READ MORE: West Philly residents who tried to fight gentrification with fecal samples celebrate neighbors’ court win

“There was a real missed opportunity for something that would have benefited the neighborhood in very positive ways,” said Kathy Dowdell, co-chair of the zoning committee for Cedar Park Neighbors, the community group that supported the developer.

Although preliminary approvals from the city were granted for an alternative duplex plan, they note that the rear yards of the homes in the new proposal are too small under the zoning. The current approvals expire on Oct 27, 2023.

Councilmember Jamie Gauthier issued a qualified critique of the plan in 2021 after the vociferous opposition became clear. This week, she said that she still wants to work with both sides to reach a compromise.

“We desperately need more affordable housing in communities like Squirrel Hill, but we also have a responsibility to make sure new developments work alongside our neighborhood and the people who live here,” said Gauthier in a statement. “It’s time to put aside mistrust and come together to create a development our community deserves.”

Meanwhile, the eye-catching request that brought notoriety to the building is no longer top of mind for neighbors embroiled in the conflict.

West Philly United Neighbors later removed references to the fecal study from its website. Protect Squirrel Hill said the group was not part of the larger neighborhood organizing to stop the development. But social media users continued to refer to the project as the “poop building” and the name stuck.

In a statement published online Monday, Protect Squirrel Hill said, “This is not the first or last time that greedy developers will try to prey on our community, but we have power when we stand together.”

Contacted later in the week, Glaser said she personally was skeptical of a duplex proposal, too.

“You’d be lucky if you could put two duplexes there without it being invasive,” said Glaser.