PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia is selling its Center City health clinic, a landmark building on Broad Street between Lombard and South streets. A City Council committee approved the transfer Tuesday, and the buyer promises to turn the site into a vibrant extension of the arts district.
Health Center No. 1 has occupied valuable real estate on South Broad for some 60 years.
City officials say that three years ago, in reviewing city property for "best and highest use," it determined that the clinic and lab would be better situated further south so the blue-tiled marvel of mid-century architecture could make a bigger contribution to expanding the Avenue of the Arts.
The city began the process of selling the clinic two years ago, and it's likely to take another 1.5 years to close the deal, but the winning bidder, the Goldenberg Group, already has big plans.
Seth Shapiro, the group's chief operating officer, said the firm jumped at the chance to bid on it.
"The intersection of the Avenue of the Arts and South Street is such a critical junction for the city and we feel an enormous responsibility and an enormous opportunity," he said.
Shapiro said the center will be incorporated into a glass residential tower, which will also have retail and entertainment.
He says Goldenberg and its partners own most of the rest of the block, and there will be a phase two with more dining and entertainment and possibly a hotel.
The purchase price is $16 million. Goldenberg plans to put another $150 million into the development and expects it to be ready for occupancy in 2023.
The committee also advanced a bill to revamp the way city-owned property and vacant lots are transferred to new owners, even though the bill is still a work in progress.
The 13-page bill attempts to unify disparate systems for disposing of property. Because of its complexity, amendments are expected, but the committee decided not to wait to see the final bill before passing it.
Co-sponsor Maria Quinones Sanchez supported the move.
"We can't let the good be the enemy of the perfect. There are always going to be nuances," she said.
Sanchez says the reforms in the bill, such as uniform criteria for who gets the property and increased public access to information about property transfers, are important to advance.
