CHELTENHAM, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — The run-down Cheltenham house that was once the childhood home of Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson is being demolished later this month to make way for a parking lot.
149 Greenwood Avenue in Wyncote is where Jackson grew up in the 1950s and 60s. Jackson's father ran a tailor shop on the first floor, and in the 1970s, the building was renovated to house an insurance agency. But it's been abandoned for 40 years.
Jackson, 78, apparently isn't shedding any tears at the prospect of his former home being torn down.
“I would say any thoughts we had about keeping it went by the wayside after speaking with Reggie,” said Matt Sigel, managing partner of Greenwood Avenue LLC, the entity that owns the property. “There is no history left of Reggie’s childhood in the home."
“I’ve spoken to him probably a dozen times over the last few years," Sigel told KYW Newsradio. "He didn’t have any attachment to that house, understanding what the condition was,” Sigel said.
"He enjoyed growing up in Cheltenham and Wyncote, and he has a lot of fond memories of those times. But as far as that house, he didn’t have any emotional attachment to the house, certainly in its condition today.”
Sigel says demolition is set to begin April 28. The parking lot, Sigel said, would serve the neighboring iThrive coworking office and a gym. Sigel said he's coordinating with the historical commission in Cheltenham to erect a marker in front of the parking lot so people can remember the one-time home of one of baseball's greats.