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Also this issue: Presidential Pique Peace! Eighth District Councilmanic Mania The Bell Curve |
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February 20-26, 2003
city beat
 Burnt Umbrage: The Naval Home fire has caused lots of ire. Photo By: Michael T. Regan |
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City may have let Toll Brothers off the hook before the Naval Home fire.
Attorneys for the city may have dropped the ball on enforcing code violations at the Naval Home, just days before the main building was devastated by a fire. An e-mail disseminated by the Philadelphia Law Department on Jan. 29 says the city had decided to "work with the developer" rather than pursue enforcement options.
Piles of debris behind the Naval Home's main building, Biddle Hall, were set afire Feb. 3. The flames remained hidden from view while they ravaged the back of the building. A criminal investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, says Cpl. Jim Pauley, spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department.
The Toll Brothers development corporation purchased the 23-acre property -- located at Grays Ferry Avenue and 24th Street -- from the U.S. General Services Administration in 1982 for $1.2 million. Toll Bros., headquartered in Huntingdon Valley, touts itself as the nation's largest developer of luxury homes. It unveiled a blueprint in 1988 to build 1,000 townhouses and high-rise apartment units on the Naval Home property, but repeatedly delayed construction. The company has never done a project in Philadelphia, nor has it ever renovated a historic property.
City officials met with Toll Bros. just two weeks prior to the fire in an attempt to pressure the company into moving forward with development of the Naval Home. Kevin Hanna, the recently named secretary of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation, asked City Council President Anna Verna to organize the meeting. Hanna was to play the role of "the heavy" and pressure Toll Bros. into finally breaking ground, says one city official.
The developer did not return calls by presstime.
Hanna, who began in November, is charged with reorganizing the city's housing agencies, developing housing and preserving neighborhoods.
"My understanding is that Kevin was new to town and wanted to know what was going on with the Naval Home," says Kathleen Murray, special assistant to Verna. "During the meeting, Kevin pointed out that brand-new townhouses across the street are selling for $200,000, and he wanted Toll to do something with the Naval Home."
Zvi Barzilay, president and chief operating officer, represented Toll Bros. at the Jan. 15 meeting in Verna's office. Hanna asked Barzilay what it would take for the company to move forward with plans. Barzilay replied nothing could happen until it is "economically feasible," Murray recalls.
At no point during the meeting did she or Hanna threaten Toll Bros. with legal action, she insists. "Absolutely, positively and unequivocally not," Murray says.
So what explains an e-mail from the Law Department that was sent to various city officials Jan. 29? The e-mail states that, as a result of the Jan. 15 meeting, city attorneys will "work with the developer, rather than pursue enforcement."
Murray acknowledges receiving the e-mail, but says it is a mystery to her. "I have no idea why that was sent out," she says. "No enforcement suits were ever discussed at that meeting."
City attorney Andrew Ross says he is unfamiliar with the Jan. 29 e-mail. When the Department of Licenses and Inspections cited the developer for "demolition by neglect" at the Naval Home in December, the Law Department was prepared to go to court. The case was dropped, however, when the lead inspector (and primary witness) Edward Jackson became ill, Ross says. There is "always a problem" when you take on a case with a new witness, he adds. "They don't know the file that well."
Without Jackson's testimony, there was no point in moving forward, agrees Robert Solvibile, first deputy commissioner for L&I. "We decided to start over with a new inspector," he says.
But in a Feb. 4 Inquirer article, Solvibile is quoted saying that the city postponed taking Toll Bros. to court after the developer informed L&I that it would discuss development plans "with political leaders."
Joyce Wilkerson, Mayor Street's chief of staff, says the city initiated the Jan. 15 meeting because officials have been "frustrated" by the lack of development at the Naval Home "for many years." She says the city was taking a two-pronged approach: reaching out to Toll Bros. and preparing a lawsuit based on L&I code violations.
"We wanted to talk to the developer before going to court," Wilkerson says. "You can engage in protracted litigation and still not get development."
Among Toll Bros.' biggest complaints was the high cost of labor in Philadelphia, Wilkerson notes. "This is something we've worked out with other developers facing the same issue, and it's an example of why we wanted to talk. There was nothing sinister about putting off litigation."
The Law Department filed an equity suit against Toll Bros. on Feb. 11. The suit demands that Toll Bros. correct building code violations, secure the buildings and prevent further deterioration of the buildings. A hearing is scheduled in Common Pleas Court for Feb. 20. L&I has also hired engineering firm Keast & Hood Co. to assess the property, which the city has now sealed.
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