We met with Jonathan Farnham of the Philadelphia Historical Commission on Monday, October 20th, to discuss the potential implementation of a conservation district in Tacony.
Conservation Districts
- little infrastructure in place to regulate, PHC would have little authority
- little or no authority to intervene when changes proposed, more for regulation of demolition
and new construction
Industrial Heritage
- what are the goals of preservation in an industrial area?
- how do you regulate preservation of buildings when used for much different new purpose?
- can the economy support ways in which industrial properties can be adaptively reused?
- few industrial buildings in Philadelphia on local register (usually listed as contributing resources
in a district, or listed after they have been adaptively reused)
- marketability of current space and size of industrial properties (PIDC study underway)
Threats
- wholesale demolition and big box development
- protection of Disston Park from future development
Possible Approaches
- streetscape designation in relatively intact portion of industrial area
- threshold levels of conservation district, neighborhood-based guidelines
- "preservation lite" scheme involving setbacks, materials, etc.
Comparables
- Frankford Arsenal, locally listed with PHC, about 100 industrial buildings on site but only a few
designated
- Point Breeze exampled of workshops on how to perform repairs and take care of your
property, very popular and successful
Like with Society Hill in the 1950s, the involvement of the PHC over a similar period could have a tremensously significant impact on Tacony.
The full meeting notes have been posted to the server in the 'Meeting Notes' folder.
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