Inside the University City High School sale

Just two weeks after Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell threatened to stonewall the sale of the vacant University City High School because potential buyer Drexel University hadn't done enough community outreach, the controversial deal is done. Drexel agreed Monday to pay the school district $21.1 million for the massive property, and a zoning bill, introduced by Blackwell, that will pave the way for the university's $1 billion redevelopment project, is expected to sail through Council.

What changed over those two weeks? Blackwell had initially demanded a community-benefits agreement in exchange for allowing the sale, but did that ever happen?

"It sure did, or we would not have moved forward," said Blackwell in a phone interview. "We now have a CBA."

The 26-page zoning bill put forth by the councilwoman outlines a great deal of those "benefits," like an agreement that 50 percent of construction workers and 25 percent of businesses involved in the project will "have addresses" in Blackwell's 3rd Council District and that Drexel will grant five five-year college scholarships to children in the District.

Other, more vague, perks include increased security in the project area, support for nearby athletics programs and community educational programming, paid for by Drexel and its partner Wexford Science and Technology.

How, exactly, these benefits will be meted out (and the form of the future development) will be dictated by an "advisory group," including representatives from Blackwell's office and "every registered community organization (RCO)" that overlaps the project area. RCOs are organizations registered with the Planning Commission that are authorized to weigh in on zoning issues.

In an interview yesterday, Blackwell mentioned RCOs like the Powelton Village Civic Association, West Powelton/Saunders Park Civic, the Mantua Civic Association (MCA), the Mantua Community Improvement Committee (which lost a lucrative funding deal with Drexel last year) and the People's Emergency Center.

However, she neglected to mention the leader of the 24th Democratic Ward, whose political position is technically considered to be an RCO under the city's zoning codes. 24th Ward leader Bernadette Wynche will also sit on the advisory group, along with MCA head De'Wayne Drummond, who is a committeeperson in that ward.

The bill also makes a nod to some of the concerns raised by Inquirer columnist Inga Saffron last week, requiring parking areas to be hidden and commercial space on the side of the property that fronts Lancaster Avenue. It also agrees to restore a stretch of 37th Street that was eliminated when the high school was built.

Asked if the Planning Commission was involved, Blackwell joked, "Everyone was involved in this. [Deputy Mayor for Economic Development] Alan Greenberger was here, every lawyer in Philadelphia was here."

But the zoning bill also appears to include tight height restrictions, with a maximum of 75 feet for most of the property, unless the advisory group votes otherwise. Interestingly, the bill provides a clause that allows Drexel to exceed some of the zoning restrictions by making contributions to nearby public schools Powel and McMichael.

Overall, the zoning bill is rather vague with lots of qualifiers like "recommendation," "if possible" and references to unnamed CBA beneficiaries and non-profits that will be determined by the advisory group. It also includes a clause that allows Blackwell's office to appoint "representatives of other community groups with interest in the site" as they see fit. However, the agreement also doesn't force Drexel to abide by the advisory groups' recommendations. Blackwell said none of the advisory groups will receive cash payments under the deal.

The councilwoman also noted that it was "very difficult" hammering out the deal with Drexel and Wexford, and that she wished that negotiations could have been more private.

"If I have a big project, it's best to work things out behind the scenes," she said. "But this was too big to do everything behind the scenes."

The full text of the bill is available below: