Commercial Building

Fire broke out at a commercial building in Downingtown on Monday during the borough's Good Neighbor Day celebration. A firefighter near Kerr Park spotted smoke coming from the building at 10 Wallace Avenue shortly after 2 p.m., Downingtown fire officials said. Significant damage was reported from the two-alarm fire at the one-story brick building. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Chester County Fire Marshal's office.   Contact Inquirer staff writer Susan Snyder at 215-854-4693 or ssnyder@phillynews.com  

Enter Adam Kamens' Old City apartment and you'll gaze up at a two-story display wall, in which his collection of glass art is arranged in a bold wooden grid. The wall, awash in sun from four skylights, is the most dramatic aspect of the conversion of a former commercial building into a ground-floor glass studio with living space above. As striking as the wall is, it's just one fresh approach in a renovation full of them. The apartment, for instance, also includes a bathroom built for easy cleaning, and a home office that, rather than being tucked away, overlooks the two-story open space.

Fire broke out at a commercial building Monday in Downingtown during the borough's Good Neighbor Day celebration. A firefighter near Kerr Park spotted smoke coming from the building at 10 Wallace Ave. shortly after 2 p.m., Downingtown fire officials said. Significant damage was reported from the two-alarm fire at the one-story brick building. State police and the Chester County Fire Marshal's Office were investigating the cause. - Susan Snyder

A late night fire destroyed a commercial building in Gloucester Township, Camden County, but no one was injured. Police say they received a call at 10:52 p.m. Monday about a fire at the Wicked Designs building on the 1200 block of Old Black Horse Pike in the Blackwood section. The company designs and makes graphics and signs for corporate programs, including wraps for vehicles and banners. Units from Chews Landing, Blackwood, Glendora, Runnemede, Hi-Nella and Lindenwold Fire Companies responded, as did crews from the Gloucester Township Emergency Medical Service, Firefighters found heavy fire coming from the one-story building, with all sides ablaze.

The Easttown Planning Commission has approved a lot-averaging plan for 21 acres on Berkeley Road. The design for 15 lots was approved by a 4-1 vote, with George Willman voting no. The development, owned by Henry Belber 2d and O. John Fuchs Jr., has met with neighborhood opposition over several months of public meetings. On Monday night, when developers told the Easttown supervisors they were willing to change their plans to gain township approval for lot-averaging, the supervisors voted unanimously to place the matter on the planning commission's agenda for the next day. One neighbor, Donald Clarke, continued to raise questions at Tuesday's meeting of the commission, mostly about water levels.

Joanna Rhodes called it a "victory for the community" when she prevented a business from opening next door to her home on South Barber Avenue. And now, other commercial sites in residential neighborhoods that want to expand or change uses will be scrutinized more closely, local zoning officials say. The idea is to protect the aesthetics of the city's neighborhoods. "They will be handled on a case-by-case basis," said Jack Paterson, chairman of the zoning board. About 30 feet separates Rhodes' house in the 200 block of South Barber Avenue from a small, green, one-story commercial building.

The Uwchlan Township Planning Commission has agreed that the supervisors should consider allowing neighboring East Caln Township to annex less than half an acre of Uwchlan. The annexation would accommodate a proposed commercial building that otherwise would be located partly in Uwchlan. The land in question is part of a six-acre parcel located on the south side of Route 113, just west of the Keystone Credit Union building. Owner Fred Shubert of Downingtown has proposed building 25 townhouses and 11,000 square feet of commercial condominiums on the property.

The Horsham Township Planning Commission has approved the preliminary plans of developers William Merino and Phillip Guidi for a subdivision of single- family houses off Welsh Road, adjacent to the Squire Estates. At Tuesday night's commission meeting, Robert Blue, representing the developers, outlined their plans for a subdivision of lots ranging from 35,000 square feet to 58,000 square feet. Plans call for custom houses covering 3,000 square feet each. They would go for a base price of more than $200,000.

Life in the area around Old York Road and Park Avenue in Elkins Park has been relatively peaceful since the Ripplewood Bar closed two years ago, according to Ellen Steinberg. No more drunks fighting on her front lawn. No more broken bottles to clean up. No more football games at 5 in the morning. "You can't believe how nice it's been without all the mess," Steinberg said Tuesday night at a meeting of the Cheltenham Township public affairs committee that she attended to protest plans to reopen the bar. "I used to have to go out every morning and clean up from the night before.

The historic Victory Building has just gotten one step closer to destruction. After weeks of postponing a decision, the Board of Licenses and Inspections Review yesterday gave the go-ahead to real estate magnate Sam Rappaport to tear down the architectural treasure at 10th and Chestnut streets. The demolition permit had been denied months ago by the city's Historical Commission. All four of the six board members who attended the hearing voted to grant Rappaport the permit, according to the board secretary.

A late night fire destroyed a commercial building in Gloucester Township, Camden County, but no one was injured. Police say they received a call at 10:52 p.m. Monday about a fire at the Wicked Designs building on the 1200 block of Old Black Horse Pike in the Blackwood section. The company designs and makes graphics and signs for corporate programs, including wraps for vehicles and banners. Units from Chews Landing, Blackwood, Glendora, Runnemede, Hi-Nella and Lindenwold Fire Companies responded, as did crews from the Gloucester Township Emergency Medical Service, Firefighters found heavy fire coming from the one-story building, with all sides ablaze.

Fire broke out at a commercial building Monday in Downingtown during the borough's Good Neighbor Day celebration. A firefighter near Kerr Park spotted smoke coming from the building at 10 Wallace Ave. shortly after 2 p.m., Downingtown fire officials said. Significant damage was reported from the two-alarm fire at the one-story brick building. State police and the Chester County Fire Marshal's Office were investigating the cause. - Susan Snyder

Fire broke out at a commercial building in Downingtown on Monday during the borough's Good Neighbor Day celebration. A firefighter near Kerr Park spotted smoke coming from the building at 10 Wallace Avenue shortly after 2 p.m., Downingtown fire officials said. Significant damage was reported from the two-alarm fire at the one-story brick building. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Chester County Fire Marshal's office.   Contact Inquirer staff writer Susan Snyder at 215-854-4693 or ssnyder@phillynews.com  

The Township Council last night was considering a major step to curb commercial development by adopting two ordinances that would amend its master plan and rezone the Route 70 corridor. The ordinances would prohibit construction of commercial buildings larger than 35,000 square feet - which would include big-box stores such as a proposed 146,267-square-foot Home Depot in the Hartford Square Shopping Center on Route 70 near Hartford Road. They would permit smaller businesses that generate less traffic, including continuing-care retirement communities, age-restricted housing, child-care centers, car washes, and fast-food restaurants.

E. Crosby Willet was six years old when he first set foot in his family's stained-glass business in Philadelphia in 1935. Like any child, he wanted to "help. " A studio artisan found a job for him, rubbing excess paint off a piece of glass to let light shine through. In his enthusiasm to do a good job, he rubbed off too much, erasing an entire day's work. "I got a very thorough spanking, but I was only trying to help," Willet recalled. Despite that inauspicious beginning, Willet became the third generation to preside over Willet Stained Glass Studios, now one of the largest businesses of its kind.

After 25 years, Margot McConnel left Bryn Mawr behind. Her children were grown and gone. A lot of her friends had already moved. Even her garden she can live without. "I'm glad somebody else is taking care of it," McConnel said. She and her husband, Bruce, a partner in a Center City law firm, have gone downtown. In April they rented a $2,000-a-month, two-bedroom apartment in a slick, converted factory building with exposed brick and wraparound views of the city lights.

Enter Adam Kamens' Old City apartment and you'll gaze up at a two-story display wall, in which his collection of glass art is arranged in a bold wooden grid. The wall, awash in sun from four skylights, is the most dramatic aspect of the conversion of a former commercial building into a ground-floor glass studio with living space above. As striking as the wall is, it's just one fresh approach in a renovation full of them. The apartment, for instance, also includes a bathroom built for easy cleaning, and a home office that, rather than being tucked away, overlooks the two-story open space.

1600 Walnut Street, Center City, Philadelphia Residential housing metamorphosing into commercial space is commonplace these days, with commercial centers encroaching on residential areas. But, in Center City, where residential space is at a premium, the phenomenon is taking a turn. A case in point is 1600 Walnut Street. Built in the 1920s as a commercial building and occupied by the Philadelphia Family Court until about six years ago, when most of the building was vacated, 1600 Walnut Street has opened its doors to residential tenants.

Mudslinging and name-calling are commonplace in political campaigns. But the current contest between U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Foglietta and former Common Pleas Judge John L. Braxton for the April 23 Democratic nomination in the city's First Congressional District could be the first to result in a business deal between the candidates. On Thursday Foglietta was stung when Braxton called him a "slumlord" because a vacant Center City commercial building in which he has a 20 percent stake owes the city about $34,000 in back real estate taxes and sewer and water bills.

A fire in a sprawling commercial building in the Glendora section last night sent out thick, billowing black smoke and flames that were visible from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and forced the evacuation of at least a two-block area. A nursing supervisor at West Jersey Hospital in Voorhees reported that they were expecting to admit one firefighter who was being administered oxygen at the scene. Flames were reported shooting as high as 150 feet into the air. Officials said the fire broke out at 8:05 p.m. in a building that is home to at least three businesses - Shea's Welding Co., Advanced Automotive, and John's Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning - at 11th Avenue and the Black Horse Pike.