Philly sets record for demolition permits this year – KYW Newsradio 1060

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) Philadelphia has issued a record 940 demolition permits this year. Officials say that's contributed to a large reduction in the number of buildings in the city that are classified as "imminently dangerous," but preservationists worry about what is being lost.

The city has cut the number of imminently dangerous buildings by more than half over the last four years from 240 at the beginning of the Kenney administration to, now, just over 100.

Department of Licenses and Inspections spokesperson Karen Guss says that's made the city safer.

"In a densely populated city like ours, having buildings in our communities that are threatening to come down at any time really is a public safety concern," Guss said.

Related: City Council leans toward funding preservation efforts for Philly's historic neighborhoods

She says the decrease is due to two factors.

One, L&I's budget for demolitions has grown so dangerous buildings can be taken down more quickly. And two, the building boom has increased the number of private demolitions.

"They can use that vacant lot that they create to put up new construction," she said.

But that creates a downside, according to Paul Steinke of the Preservation Alliance.

"In some cases, the buildings that are coming down could very well have been saved and repurposed but are giving way for new construction," Steinke said.

Steinke points to Jeweler's Row, part of which is under demolitiondespite being stable and historic.

The buildings never received the official local historic designation, which would have saved them. In fact, only a small fraction of the city's historic buildings have received official designation.

While Steinke agrees public safety comes first, he'd like to see some demolitions delayed so buildings could be evaluated for historic importance.

"This is a city that has 300 years of American architecture. It's an asset that many other cities don't have and we should not take that lightly," he added.

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Philly sets record for demolition permits this year - KYW Newsradio 1060