Reservoir compromise in question

'Shocked and awed' by development, Roxborough's community and environmental groups are wary of a developer's interest in an abandoned city reservoir

by MICHAEL J. MISHAK

When Westrum Development Company first expressed interest in developing the abandoned reservoir in upper Roxborough last May, they knew it would be a tough sell.

Seven years earlier, a strong coalition of community groups beat back another proposal from the Philadelphia Eagles to develop the 34-acre site for a practice facility.

The reservoir, two large basins reinforced by 50-foot wide stone bases, has lain dormant for decades, untouched by human development. Though city property abandoned by the Water Department more than 40 years ago, residents have admired the reservoir's towering walls and delicate masonry while bird watching in an environment they say has reverted to its natural state. The site is prized by many as one of the few remaining open spaces in Roxborough.

Despite that history, Westrum, a Fort Washington-based developer, expressed interest in developing housing in one of the site's two basins earlier this year. The company's conceptual plans for the site include about 200 condominium units designed for senior citizens in the basin and an additional 35 single-family homes just outside it along Summit Avenue, according to community members who have met privately with Westrum and elected officials about the reservoir.

Westrum confirmed its interest in developing the reservoir, but declined comment on the specifics of its plan.

Residents and reservoir enthusiasts maintain that the reservoir would better serve the community as a wildlife sanctuary.

Though speaking, both sides do not appear to be close to a compromise deal. Consistent community resistance may, in part, be responsible for the land's continued availability. Westrum has not yet purchased the reservoir.

Since public talks about potential development began last spring, community groups have been generally distrustful of Westrum and the Bucks County-based Heritage Conservancy, a nonprofit conservation group that has acted as mediator in the community meetings since May.

Their distrust for the developer partially stems from the company’s failure to maintain a green space on its Spring Lane Meadows project in the Andorra section. The land that Westrum had promised to designate open was developed as a catching basin for water runoff, said Dolores Volker, president of Roxborough Greenspace Project.

Reached Tuesday for comment, Bob Rosenthal, Westrum's vice-president of business development, said he had no "personal knowledge" of the Spring Lane Meadows green space. "I'm unaware of that," he said of Volker's charge. The development was built according to the plans submitted to the city of Philadelphia, he said.

Also, Westrum employees have attended community meetings without identifying themselves, she said. In one instance, unannounced Westrum employees took part in several group discussions, offering pre-scripted remarks, she said.

Rosenthal denied the charge. A summer intern, who was pursuing an MBA in real estate development, attended a public meeting as part of a learning process, he said. "This student was in no position to act on our behalf," Rosenthal said.

The community groups are also suspicious of Westrum as the sole interested developer in a site they say should be sold through a competitive bidding process.

“Westrum is the company that has shown the desire to develop the reservoir,” Rosenthal said. "I don't know of anybody else interested in developing it." While the company contributes to many political campaigns, he said, “We don’t believe Philadelphia is a pay-to-play environment.”

Westrum would like to break ground before the end of the year, he said.

While confirming that Westrum had approached the city about purchasing the reservoir, he referred any site-specific questions to Heritage Conservancy, citing an agreed upon process of mediation. "Our goal is not to be uncommunicative. We're not trying to mislead. We just want to follow a process."

If purchased, the reservoir would become the fourth Westrum-developed city site in as many years. A 230-unit luxury townhouse development in South Philadelphia opened for sales last February, and construction of another 441 in the Fairmount section commenced last June. Additional construction is planned for both those sites.

"We believe that new housing will keep existing residents in Philadelphia," Rosenthal said. "It would be great if it attracted outsiders, but we're focused on stopping the exodus of people leaving the city."

After three decades of development on Roxborough’s steep slopes and open spaces, Greenspace Project's Volker views the reservoir as a “tipping point” that could signal the loss of Roxborough’s few remaining open spaces.

“I don’t think they’re conservation focused enough,” Volker said of Heritage Conservancy. “They’re more pro-development than conservation.”

Some have said the group is a front for Westrum, attempting to make development more palatable to a resistant community.

Heritage Conservancy president Clifford C. David Jr. denied that charge.

"We are not working for Westrum," David said. "We are working with a variety of community groups, elected officials and interested parties, including Westrum, to craft a large-scale conceptual plan."

The plan, still in draft stages, collects community input from public meetings, presents an overall vision for the reservoir area and lists possible funding sources to accomplish common goals, David said.

"There are a lot of opportunities the community could gain from implementing this plan," he said. "I hope they recognize the opportunities they have in making these things realistic."

David said his group had seen Westrum's conceptual designs, but they were not technically considered in Heritage Conservancy's plan, which will be unveiled at a later date. "[Westrum's plans] wouldn't have too much of an impact on most of the things the community is interested in," David said, citing easier access to the Schuylkill River as an example.

Heritage Conservancy is not advocating for or against the community's ideas, he said, but merely pooling together their interests in one document.

David also rejected claims that Westrum bankrolls his organization. Initially contacted by community members, Heritage Conservancy toured the reservoir and heard residents’ concerns, he said. The group later received a grant from the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to facilitate planning discussions, he said.

But four months of meetings — both public and private — have resolved little, said Volker, of Roxborough Greenspace Project.

“There wasn’t much movement to a center idea,” Volker, 70, said. Though her group, which formed in 1995 to prevent further dense housing development, was willing to negotiate with Westrum, many residents were not, she said. Rapid development has left many in the Roxborough community raw, she said. At a June meeting, an audience of more than 100 expressed overwhelming opposition to any development in the reservoir, she said.

Despite a $1 million offer from Westrum to help the community maintain half the reservoir as open space, at least one group is exploring an alternative funding source to develop the entire site as a bird sanctuary and recreational space.

Roxborough Greenspace Project is studying the feasibility of a Special Services District, which would levy a tax on local residents to help volunteers improve the reservoir, Volker said.

Still, some residents like Kristine Soffa remain hopeful that all interested parties can strike a compromise deal.

"We are the stakeholders," said Soffa, treasurer of Roxborough Greenspace. "We're the ones who pick up the trash. We're the ones who live here."

Soffa has represented the Greenspace Project at a series of meetings with both Westrum and Councilman Michael Nutter. While mum on details, Soffa said those talks are expected to continue at least into September.

Councilman Nutter could not be reached for comment at press time.

"We've been shocked and awed by development," Soffa said. "We can't fight every battle, but [the reservoir] is unique and has the potential to be a beautiful asset to the community."

It remains to be seen if residents like Bob Turino, who led the fight against the Philadelphia Eagles practice facility plan, will accept any compromise on development.

"This is city property and the city residents don't want it," said Turino, president of Upper Roxborough Civic Association.

Turino, whose Lare Street home faces the reservoir, and others believe development in the reservoir will adversely affect their property assessments, bringing them higher taxes while Westrum, a suburban developer, is awarded 10-year tax abatement as an incentive to build.

Also, Turino said he and his neighbors in the surrounding 125 homes have relied on the reservoir to collect rainfall in the absence of storm sewers.

"The entire community is anti-development [in the reservoir]," said Ray Johnston, president of the 21st Ward Community Council, an umbrella group for Roxborough's many civic organizations. "We've had enough."

The civic groups aren't opposed to development in general, Johnston said, but approach any new proposals with caution, especially when they threaten open space. Land in both Roxborough and Manayunk has consistently been rezoned for housing development despite community opposition, he said. He cited the Hunter's Point development on Shawmont Avenue near Umbria Street as one example.

"When the city needs money they run to Roxborough and approve more space for developers," Johnston said.