Controversy over a proposed redevelopment plan for the historic Greylock estate at 209 W. Chestnut Hill Ave. has intensified after the Philadelphia City Planning Commission recommended limiting development to the mansion's existing structures, rejecting a developer's proposal to build additional townhomes on the property.

If the Zoning Board of Adjustment accepts the Planning Commission's recommendation, developer Lavi Shenkman would have to consider whether to move forward with the project. As of Tuesday, the ZBA had not yet scheduled a meeting to discuss the matter.

Shenkman is proposing to convert the 18,000-square-foot, 22-room mansion and its carriage house into condos while adding three new buildings on the mansion's west side: a townhouse triplex and two duplexes. Altogether, he's asking for a total of 15 units on property that is currently zoned for single-family use.

At its Oct. 23 hearing, the commission recommended approving multi-family use for the existing structures but said the developer had failed to prove that he needed new construction to make the project economically viable.

It was welcome news for a group of neighbors who have banded together to oppose the project, including two neighborhood groups — Chestnut Hill Landmarks and Responsible Preservation Inc., and The Crefeld School.

"Their position reinforces that of the overwhelming majority of near neighbors, organizations and community members who support preservation easements and oppose the current development's addition of new buildings," said Brad Bank, co-founder of Chestnut Hill Landmarks.

Competing visions

In previous hearings, Bank and Costa Rodriguez, an agent for an agent for developer JBAS Realty, a company suggested by Bank and other neighbors as an alternate developer for the site, have testified that the company had offered to purchase the property — and redevelop just the existing structures.

"In many of our letters, and in our legal brief to the ZBA we demonstrated a buyer who, today, will develop the property within the easements and make a handsome profit," Bank said.

But Shenkman’s proposal does have supporters, including Craig Schelter, a former head of the Planning Commission who now sits on the Chestnut Hill Community Association's Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee.

Schelter said he didn't have confidence in the JBAS Realty proposal.

"These projects are expensive, and there's always expenses that come up and there's always someone offering to do it cheaper, but that doesn't give you confidence that it's done right," he said.

Schelter worries that the current development proposal is the best hope for saving the historic building, which has been sitting vacant for years. Without the new construction, he said, the project "would not be financially viable."

"There's a point where perfect can be the enemy of good, waiting for the miracle solution to come along," Schelter said. "I was surprised that they didn't take into consideration the fact of what it's going to take to make a project like this work if you don't allow those extra units to be built."

Schelter said he expects the ZBA to approve the project, despite the planning commission's recommendation.

"It seems to me, that the case (for financial hardship) is very compelling," he said. He also cited the "formal support that was developed over time within the community, and the fact that at least two of the families, one immediately adjacent to the property and the other across, did not have objections to this."

Easements at stake

The zoning variance is only the project's first hurdle. Strict historic easements protect the mansion and surrounding open space, so the Chestnut Hill Conservancy, which holds the easements, would need to amend the terms of that easement for the project to move forward. The Conservancy has not yet said whether it would take that step.

"Conservation and preservation easements are a critical tool to preserve open space and historic structures in Chestnut Hill. If the easements meant to protect the Greylock estate are eviscerated to allow the construction of new buildings, we believe that preservation and conservation easements will cease to be an effective weapon in the ongoing battle to preserve the essential character of Chestnut Hill," Bank said. "We believe that not only would owners be reluctant to obtain new easements on their properties, but that properties, like the 37 acres at the Philadelphia Cricket Club that have already been 'protected' by easements would be in jeopardy from inappropriate development as the key provisions of their easements are vacated."

It is unclear whether the project would still require amendments to the easements if it moves forward with just the existing structures.

"The Greylock easements protect both historic architecture and also environmentally and culturally important landscape elements. So even if the project moves forward only using the existing buildings, there may still be elements of the proposal that would require an amendment," said Lori Salganicoff, executive director of the Chestnut Hill Conservancy. "We don't know enough to determine that yet."

Meanwhile, Bank and his group say such construction would undermine the conservation easements that protect many of the neighborhood's historic properties – and that the future of Chestnut Hill's historic character is at stake.

"If the easements meant to protect the Greylock estate are eviscerated to allow the construction of new buildings, we believe that preservation and conservation easements will cease to be an effective weapon in the ongoing battle to preserve the essential character of Chestnut Hill," Bank said.

If the ZBA grants variances for new construction, Bank said, his group will likely appeal the decision "in a court of law."