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Vol. 67 NO. 21 n may 22, 2014
@southphillyreview
Schools for sale
Rising sTARs
n Help the South Philly Review to pick its first crop of Rising Stars by visiting southphillyreview.com/ news/briefs. See page 8.
BeACH BounD
One of the Smith School’s selling features is a rooftop play space enclosed by cages that don’t hinder views of Center City.
n Check out SPR’s shore vacation planner starting on See page 35.
Photo by CoRey CaRteR
Three vacant South Philadelphia school buildings are for sale and their futures are in question.
sPoRTs
n By Bill Chenevert Review Staff wRiteR
O
ver the past few years, the School District of Philadelphia has shuttered a large number of school buildings leaving empty and often crumbling buildings vacant. But this week started a long series of open houses that allows developers, educators and even curious neighbors n A senior star and the chance to investigate the state of their interiors. his zealous mates The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corpopowered a Girard Estate baseball team to a big playoff win. See page 47.
ration (PIDC) is facilitating both the open houses and the sale of 20 properties with three in South Philadelphia: Edward Bok, 1901 S. Ninth St., Abigail Vare, 1619 E. Moyamensing Ave., and Walter Smith, 1300 S. 19th St., which all closed in June. All told, the asking prices for the 20 schools adds up to $54.9 million, money that the district could be putting to good use in the near future. The tours started Monday morning with the biggest and most expensive of the bunch, William Penn at 1301 N. Broad St. At 554,000 square feet
When strikeouts inspire
with an asking price of $15 million, it bests the second and third most expensive (Old Samuel Fels in Oxford Circle and M. Hall Stanton in Kensington) by more than $10 million and the third largest, East Passyunk Crossing’s Bok, by 200,000 square feet. Smith and Vare were available to explore this week, and SPR toured the two facilities to get a sense of what may come of them. Bok’s open See SCHOOLS SALE page 10 >>
Celebrating a 30-year partnership with the ALS Assoctiation, the Phillies Phestival raised its best total yet.
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