LoMo submitted its letter of support for the redevelopment of the Brush Factory at 12th and Jackson Streets on September 7. Click below to read it.
LoMo submitted its letter of support for the redevelopment of the Brush Factory at 12th and Jackson Streets on September 7. Click below to read it.
Lower Moyamensing Civic Association 
I am very dismayed at how this project is progressing. I feel so bad for the people that live around the corner from me on Iseminger Street the most. But everyone who lives around this building is going to have to contend with BOX WINDOW UNIT AIR CONDITIONERS!!! Aside from being an eye sore, they generate more noise than putting in central air. I’m sure central air is costly for a building with this many units. But come on! We were sold a “luxury apartment complex”! If they’re going to visibly go cheap by not even being bashful about the ugly box air conditioners hanging out of all the windows, perhaps they’re going cheap in other places… I hope I’m wrong.
The parking that they are taking away from a little street like Iseminger Street is also going to hurt. Yeah “officially” they say they’re creating more parking. But for over 21 years (more like over 50 years to be more accurate) parking on this little street has been on one side of the street opposite the houses on the factory side. Yes, over the years, the neighbors began to park with the passenger side tires up on the curb in an effort to avoid being swiped by the large trucks that used to need to access the side street garages. I think everyone was prepared to have to get off the curb. But the new curb design looks like it is going to almost certainly eliminate more than a third of the existing parking. I hate hearing people complain about parking in a growing city like this. But this particular case just terrible. There are not enough parking spots to accommodate the new influx to the building. Already houses are being listed across the street. Its a shame to see people selling because they’re crowded out.
What should have occurred was what they did at Mount Sinai Hospital. They demolished most of it and made wonderful looking homes that fit better into the neighborhood that also feature parking in the design. This development is the work of a bully. No other way to describe it. They will sell out and fill the place no doubt. It will be billed as a success. But was it the best possible development? That remains to be seen. This development, along with the development of the old Superior Plumbing Supply building, combine to make a very intimidating heavy influx seem imminent. We’ve sacrificed a lot over the years living with these buildings both while in operation and while sitting dormant. New inconveniences come with a fully active residential complex. Property value boost and all that is nice… But as neighbors, I’d like to know that the owner and the eventual tenants of such a property respect our concerns more than what has been seen thus far.