June 23-29, 2005

city beat

Holy War

sacred ground: The Rev. Dr. Ken Staley would like to move Christian Stronghold Baptist Church to an undeveloped industrial-park site near 49th and Parkside. Photo By: Mike Mergen

A vacant West Philly lot pits church against commerce.

by Jenna Portnoy

When City Councilman Michael Nutter and the Rev. Dr. Ken Staley look at 15 acres of vacant land at 49th and Parkside in West Philadelphia, they see more than overgrown weeds and litter.

The pastor envisions a 105,000-square-foot megachurch where thousands would worship in the grace of God. Nutter imagines a commercial business bustling with activity, employing hundreds and boosting the tax base. Neither of the men is willing to budge, so this summer Staley is organizing his flock and garnering support from other clergy to lobby for their vision. Their efforts are aimed at getting Nutter to flinch; before the church can buy the $825,000 parcel outright, it needs a variance to build on land zoned for industrial use and in an industrial park. As the Fourth District councilman, Nutter would have to introduce a measure permitting the change.

"We're not frustrated. We're not angry. We're not going to be vindictive. We know first we have to honor God," Staley says, standing in the lobby of the Christian Stronghold Baptist Church on Lancaster Avenue near 47th Street. "We know ultimately we're going to achieve that property."

In hopes of changing Nutter's mind, Staley has tried nonviolent protest. He deployed more than 100 church members to the June 9 City Council meeting with signs that read: "Why is Councilman Nutter against the black church?" It's a tactic they tried at council meetings last fall with little success. Nutter gives no impression of being swayed.

"It's a painful situation," he says. "It's very unfortunate that things have gotten to this point and as much as I would like to be helpful, the main responsibility here is to work with the neighborhood civic associations and business associations on our primary goal, which is job-producing, taxpaying businesses in that neighborhood."

While the battle seems to be between two men, each represents compelling interests.

Sharon Davis still remembers the name of the sermon that would change her life: "God's Grace is Sufficient." It was a Sunday morning in August 1992, and Davis was a single parent looking to provide a foundation for her 6-year-old son Christopher Mouzon.

She was "totally out of the walk," but the church put her in step with God's teachings and she began to have hope. About six years later, Davis developed multiple sclerosis, a disease associated with partial or complete paralysis and muscle tremors. She landed in the hospital due to complications from MS, but maintained her faith. The Rev. Dr. Willie Richardson, the church's senior pastor, and his wife sent her flowers and plants, and the church arranged for her to take communion every week.

"You think of that in a small church, but even in a large church like this they just really were there for me. They really were," she says.

The 39-year-old church has 4,000 members and is in its fifth location. Thirteen hundred members live in Nutter's district. Staley says the church will rally against Nutter should he enter the 2007 mayor's race. The church may also offer up a challenge to Nutter's council seat come re-election time, Staley says.

Davis, 55, suffers from occasional health setbacks and rubs her wrist while listening to a Wednesday evening Bible study. Her son, now 19, attends culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in North Miami. He has the word "faith" tattooed on his left arm and "patience" on his right.

Davis says God is leading the church down a path full of obstacles for a reason and someday the land will be theirs. "You have to struggle so you appreciate it," she says. "He is in control of this. Wait. It will happen."

George Dunbar is also convinced about the future of the place where he has run a variety of businesses over the last 40 years, including the current Miracles Hair Salon II.

"I remember when I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world than West Philadelphia. It has a lot of sentimental value. I've had some good times here," says Dunbar, president of the Lancaster Avenue Business Association. "My commitment now is to try and support whomever the powers are to make that happen again. It doesn't matter how it happens or who does it as long as I can see some semblance of what used to be."

That means supporting economic development before the church. Foremost on his list of wishes for the community is a supermarket. Goldenberg Group, based in Blue Bell, has looked into developing a shopping center at 52nd and Jefferson and Kaolin Mushroom Farm owner Michael Pia is considering expanding his Kennett Square operation with a factory in the industrial park.

Dunbar says the business corridor has potential, but not everyone will like the changes. "I know it's going to happen because of the location and all the things we have here that are beneficial to the future," he says. "Once certain things have been dealt with, you will see this neighborhood soar and come back."

According to Staley, the church first expressed interest in the land in 1993, when Ed Rendell occupied the mayor's office. When Mayor John Street took over, he asked the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation to do a second search for properties that might fit the church's need, Staley says. Staley and Richardson, both professional engineers, could only make the industrial-park site work, Staley says. The church had a land reservation, which is like an agreement of sale, with the PIDC, but it has expired and Staley has not renewed it on account of the impasse.

It's no secret that Street and Nutter aren't allies, and with Nutter considered a 2007 mayoral contender, onlookers have suggested the church's plight is being used to cast a shadow over him. Staley says the church has no political motives. "The reality in Philadelphia is if a councilman is fighting you, you will not get it," he says.

The West Parkside Industrial Park is an empowerment zone, which means the city can offer companies tax incentives in exchange for job creation and other criteria. PIDC has owned the land for more than 15 years, says PIDC senior vice president Sam Rhoads. "When a typical industrial user is looking for land, they're looking for great highway access. This doesn't offer that as much as some others on outside or edges of the city," he says.

Nutter says other entities besides the church, such as SEPTA, have shown interest in the land. "It's not like it is a vast wasteland or something," Nutter says. He's waiting for an appropriate fit. Other businesses in the 60-acre park near the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, including a Verizon work center, Urban CableWorks and Keystone Quality Transport take up less than a quarter of the space, says James Burnett, executive director of the West Philadelphia Financial Services Institution, an organization that provides loans to businesses referred by the PIDC.

In the meantime, Nutter has offered to help the church find another site. "It is impossible for me to believe there is no other more appropriate site for this great church anywhere else in the city," he says.