The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC) has met with the current owners of the Chinese Cultural Center. The owners claimed that they did not know about the demolition permit, and said that there might be misunderstanding between them and the architect. They also expressed a desire to retain the right talent to preserve and protect the building in their process to put the building back into productive use.
The Chinese Cultural Center is a registered Historic Building in Philadelphia. Any alterations to the building are subject to review of Philadelphia Historical Commission (PHC). According to the application, the applicant intended to demolish the whole building structure except for the facade and roof. A diagram of this can be found on page 13 of 18, on the Historic Commission's website: https://www.phila.gov/historical/meetingsandevents/Applications/125-N-10th-St.pdf
The PHC staff recommended denial due to several reasons:
1. The amount of proposed demolition is not acceptable. Even though the rear of the property is not visible from the street, it is the oldest portion of building. “The older portions of the building speak to the history and evolution of the property from its rowhouse past, through its conversion to a mixed-use property along a commercial corridor, and into the development of the Chinatown neighborhood.”
Originally constructed c. 1831 as Federal-style rowhouse, the building received a one-story side addition and three-story rear addition in 1906, and was reclad with a commercial storefront and a second story added to the side addition in 1910. The building’s existing elaborate façade and tile roof were constructed between 1967 and 1971 by the Chinese Cultural and Community Center, but the original gabled-roof building is still extant behind the facade. (PHC)
2. The existing structure is critical for structural stability of the front façade and tile roof.
The application proposes to demolish everything beyond approximately 14 feet from the front façade, but does not provide an explanation to justify this amount of demolition or satisfactorily explain how the floor and roof framing will be supported in order to retain the facade and roof, assuming the amount of proposed demolition is even acceptable. (PHC)
For more details, please read: https://www.phila.gov/historical/meetingsandevents/Applications/125-N-10th-St.pdf
Schedule for the public hearing:
Architectural Committee: March 26th, 2019
Historical Commission: April 12th, 2019