Germantown High School Owners Propose $50 Million Redevelopment, Completion 2022
Germantown High School developers presented their current plans to the Germantown community at a community meeting this Monday at the Janes United Methodist Church. The proposed plan would keep all original buildings footprints with 236 housing units taking up 68% of the square footage. Leaving space for a school, business incubation space, office space, and retail space. Community space open to the public would include 2 auditoriums, community garden, gymnasium, farmers market, and community fabrication space.
The front lawn and heritage trees would be preserved with no new parking space created with existing paved space used to create 159 parking spaces. The community gardens would be in the space surrounding most of Fulton elementary grounds.
When one person asked if having 159 parking spaces and having 236 housing units the development team responded that the demographic for these type of units only have 50% car ownership and this would leave space for visitor parking.
The old gym would be preserved and open to the community, but the newer gym space would be chopped up into housing units.
The community school space would be housed in the newer addition to GHS on the south corner facing Germantown Ave with space for a cafe facing the lawn area. Very little was said to what this school would actually be. “We will work with the community,” Said Darwin Beauvais, an attorney representing the developer. “We will not necessarily take the lead.”
In the proposed plan 24 of the 236 units were marked for 30% of market rate. Many in attendance were concerned about the affordability of housing for current Germantown residents. “That’s all we could budget,” said Beauvais. Germantown High School graduate Andre Carroll asked the developer to commit to increasing this number. Beauvais responded, “we will consider raising that number.”
After the meeting, I asked Carroll his thoughts on how many affordable units he would like to see. “We’re living in a city with a 26% poverty rate. There’s no way I can see a new apartment building come into a community where the median income for a household is $29,500 annual income, there’s no way I can see accept anything less than 40% of reasonable low-income units and in this apartment building out of 236 units. I think 40% is fair.” Carrol also added that the numbers need to work for the developer and he understands that there are a lot of factors that go into setting the rate. “I want to be fair to the developers and the community… I do not want Germantown to experience what the rest of Philadelphia is going through when it comes to gentrification and having people move out of their homes. I live on a block with a lot of seniors. And the last thing I want to see the women and men that watched me grow up be forced out of their homes.”
