For decades, Powelton stalwarts could blame Drexel University for turning the neighborhood's gracious blocks into a student ghetto. But Drexel has done a complete about-face in recent years. It has committed itself to building enough on-campus dorms to kill the market for rentals, and is providing subsidies for employees to purchase neighborhood homes. The only thing holding Powelton back now, it turns out, is City Hall.
While Drexel and a core of committed homeowners have formed an alliance to revive Powelton's 19th-century elegance, Philadelphia's Zoning Board of Adjustment seems bent on undermining their efforts. The board, whose members are appointed by the mayor, routinely allows Powelton landlords to convert their villas to rooming houses. Now it has gone a step further by approving the construction of a new, 18-bed student rental on Hamilton Street, smack in the middle of Powelton's best-kept and most historic block.
It's hard to fathom the legal logic that informed the Dec. 14 decision granting the developer, University Realty, a stunning package of seven variances. Single-family homes bookend the site, an empty lot at 3506 Hamilton. Since the current zoning permits twins on the block, the developer could have easily built two houses there without resorting to variances.
Looking at the drawings that University Realty submitted to the zoning board, you might indeed mistake the project for a pair of three-story rowhouses. The facade resembles a twin, but actually camouflages six three-bedroom apartments. University Realty is effectively building a small dorm for 18 people. Based on average rental rates, the company could gross $172,800 a year from the property.
