SEPTA agreed in December to lease five vacant Regional Rail Stations to Ken Weinstein’s local property development company Philly Office Retail, but the project still awaited approval from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). With approval now granted and a lease signed, the project can move forward.

Weinstein told the Local he’s sent requests for proposals to “architectural firms that have extensive experience with adaptive reuse of buildings.”

Under what SEPTA described as a “first-of-its-kind agreement,” Philly Office Retail will pay SEPTA $1 per year for up to 99 years to lease Regional Rail stations Gravers Lane in Chestnut Hill; Carpenter, Mt. Airy and Upsal in Mt. Airy; and Tulpehocken in Germantown.

For the cash-strapped transit agency, the agreement will save SEPTA approximately $150,000 in annual maintenance costs, in addition to $4 million in one-time renovation costs. The developer will assume all costs associated with renovating the buildings.

Weinstein explained, “Our game plan, which is subject to change, is to have commercial on the first floor, residential above for four out of the five stations. The fifth station is Gravers, which will most likely be a single-family residence. The Upsal station will most likely be a food use on the first floor, because it sits so nicely on Greene Street and is very visible.”

The Upsal station was previously home to Point of Destination Cafe, which is now closed.

“After initial publicity last December, we were contacted by dozens of potential tenants,” Weinstein said. “So, as a result, we are going to host open houses at all five stations for potential tenants and the community. But we haven’t yet set that date. It’ll be this fall.” He aims to have designs in place by the end of the year for SEPTA to approve.

Under a prior agreement with SEPTA, Philly Office Retail leased and currently maintains the Richard Allen Lane station.

“The way we divide the stations will be similar to what we did at the Richard Allen station, where we have High Point Cafe on the first floor and a two-bedroom apartment above,” Weinstein said. “All of these stations are similar in size and will have that general layout, but historically, these stations had a ticket office and a waiting room on the first floor and a small apartment for the caretaker upstairs. So in some ways, we are restoring them back to the original setup.”

Meg Hagele, the founder of High Point Cafe, told the Local, “Ken Weinstein has been an excellent partner in the vitality of the Richard Allen Lane Station. It is a unique location that lends itself particularly well to serving our community by being on-level with the surrounding homes and having wonderful park-like grounds for neighbors to enjoy. We feel so lucky to occupy the station and serve our community in such an idyllic setting.”

All five stations in the lease are listed on either the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places or the National Register of Historic Places.

In a December press release, SEPTA wrote, “Philly Office Retail has a proven track record of renovating historic buildings.”

In the press release, SEPTA General Manager Scott A. Sauer said, “This is a win-win situation for SEPTA and the Northwest Philadelphia community. … These five historic buildings have the potential to become community hubs, benefiting SEPTA riders and people in the surrounding neighborhoods. It is also another example of how we continue to do our part to control costs and be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”

Weinstein plans to start construction by late spring on all five stations, aiming to complete the project in 12 months.

“We’re really excited to get started, “he said. “This has been a long time coming, and the sooner we can get these done and bring productive uses to the neighborhood, the better.”

Tommy Tucker can be reached at Tommy@Chestnuthilllocal.com.