A number of community meetings regarding current development plans for the Greylock Estate at 209 W. Chestnut Hill Ave. have been scheduled in preparation for a Philadelphia Zoning Board meeting on Dec. 13. 

The proposed project calls for the existing mansion to be developed into four condo units and the carriage to become two condo units, as well as one five-unit building and two two-unit twins to be constructed at the rear of the property.

Developer Greylock Development Partners, headed by preservationist developer Lavi Shenkman, is seeking four variances in order to complete the project. They include permission to build multi-family housing on a single-family residential lot, exceed the rear yard setback requirements for that construction, install a required septic system into a steep slope and take down and replace some trees.

The first community meeting on the matter was scheduled for Oct. 17, when the Chestnut Hill Community Association’s Development Review Committee reviewed the plans.

Two meetings are scheduled for Nov. 2, at two different times, one with the CHCA’s Land Use, Planning and Zoning subcommittee and another with the Chestnut Hill Conservancy’s Historic District Advisory Committee.

Next, the Development Review Committee, which includes all the Registered Community Organizations in Chestnut Hill, is scheduled to meet. Based on the recommendations of the other subcommittees and public input, it will make a recommendation on Nov. 21. 

That recommendation is scheduled to be presented and voted upon at the CHCA’s full board meeting on Nov. 30. The recommendation will be sent to the city’s zoning board in advance of the Dec. 13 hearing regarding the variance requests.

Set on seven acres bordering Wissahickon Valley Park, Greylock Mansion was built in the early 1900s by a steel magnate who used stone quarried from the grounds to construct the eight-bedroom, nearly 19,000-square-foot home.

The property has sat vacant and deteriorating for many years. Assessed at just under $3 million, it was about $1.6 million in debt when it was repossessed by lenders in 2004, by a group known as Greylock Holdings LLC. 

Many developers have proposed various ideas for what to do with the site, ranging from turning it into a wedding venue to tearing it down and filling the lot with new housing. 

However, development easements protect the existing structures and limit what can be done to the grounds. 

Last year, the Crefeld School purchased the Greylock estate’s original gatehouse, located next to the school on Crefeld Street, for $1.2 million – a move that permanently closed off potential secondary access to the larger Greylock property 

For more information or to register for meetings go to chestnuthill.org.