The exterior of the Rotunda side of the Germantown Town Hall. (Photo: Rasheed Z. Ajamu)
On Monday, Jan. 12, GIH released an Editor’s Note asking a variety of big questions our newsroom had going into 2026. One of those asked, “Any updates on the Germantown Town Hall?”
Building pursuant, Anthony Fullard, reached out to GIH shortly after and graciously invited GIH inside the historic Germantown Town Hall structure on Jan. 23 to receive an update and hear a direction for the site.
A new place — for everyone
Prior updates about the Town Hall in 2023 included phase one plans for a mixed-use building, which would include some apartments, event space, office space, and even Airbnbs.
Updated plans now reveal an all-commercial space, where community members can gather for a variety of reasons. Under the new direction, the building would be a multi-use community hub that would mix civic, cultural, business, and wellness interests within one setting.
The building’s Community Space Plan presents a public lobby with a cafè and rotating art, various gathering and performance spaces, a business center, a culinary space, and a grand hall for big events. Alongside events, the building would seek to host micro-retail and workspaces for local entrepreneurs.
The core tenets of this space include access, inclusion, and engagement, which the developer says work in cohesion as he wants to ensure the building isn’t just physically accessible, but also actively engaging the community.
The fuller plan features an entire section dedicated to accessibility & inclusion, which seeks to ensure barriers are removed, creating freer entrances, wide pathways, elevators, audio descriptions, assistive listening systems, and more. It also includes quiet, low-stimulation areas and all-gender, family-friendly restrooms.
“In the same spirit of the municipal building, we want it to be for everyone,” the developer-of-interest told GIH, calling back to the most recent, yet quite distant, reuse of the building.
He gave some acknowledgement of why the repurposing of the building into a space with interests for all is important, saying it can break down barriers of unfamiliarity and disconnection that have been brewing between the property and the surrounding neighbors over the decades of vacancy.
The new life of the ‘Germantown Townhall’ will also host an anchor tenant organization that helps lead programming, which Fullard finds particularly important.
“In order for this to happen, financially, you need a strong anchor tenant,” Fullard explained. He noted that without a reliable, established tenant to occupy significant space and generate initial revenue, the development would not pan out economically.
While he cannot reveal who the anchor tenant is until agreements are fulfilled, Fullard says the org is education-focused — an alignment of his vision as “our future is driven by educating our young people.”
What’s next and why the shift?
Following a hopeful future secured agreement with the anchor tenant, Fullard said the next steps are “finalizing some things with PIDC for control of the building.” After that, he plans to “expeditiously” secure, seal, and scaffold the building and get it ready for exterior construction.
“They were very happy with the progress that we’ve been making,” Fullard shared, speaking on a recent chat with PIDC. “And we’re very glad to hear that we have a definitive prospect of making the Townhall happen.”
While there’s no set start date yet, he anticipates that with all the necessary approvals and construction phases, it’ll take about two years to complete. He says the new rendition would cost more like $12-13 million.
While he has applications in for tax credits and grants, there is no confirmation of funds yet. He also explained that delays are normal, with some recipients waiting up to a year and a half.
Fullard also says neighbors can expect a community meeting sometime in late February, which would be put together by our Eighth District Councilmember, Cindy Bass. Councilmember Bass confirmed with GIH, by email, saying neighbors will be able ask questions and receive direct updates.
She said that when dates and logistics are coordinated, more information will be shared publicly.
Ahead of the meeting, neighbors can stay in the loop about updates by visiting germantowntownhall.org.
When asked about the shift from mixed-use to full commercial, he said, “This building with the housing just wouldn’t pencil out.” Combining residential housing with this specific building’s development was just financially unfeasible, the developer said.
Fullard also told GIH that prior community feedback influenced the decision, saying folks felt having residential and commercial mixed-use would be too overwhelming.
Phase two plans included multi-family housing, in the back of the property on Haines St, where the 14th District police station resides, and parks. Fullard says those plans are still in place, but he cannot tackle phase two until they get through the first.
Just as he told WHYY in 2023, he maintains that he will work with the Police District to ensure the best outcome for both parties. When in phase two, Fullard looks to build podium-style parking to try to mitigate any parking struggles that could arise.
The 5900 block of Germantown Ave. has become a hotspot for development over the past decade, gaining two buildings.
One, right across the street, the Annex at Germantown — formerly Germantown High School. The other, down the street at Rittenhouse St. (5904 Germantown Ave.), is The Marc.
And on the same strip as the Townhall, a 75-unit design was approved by the Civic Design Review Committee in late 2024 for 5932-42 Germantown Avenue.
More about the developer
Uptown native Fullard has been in the construction industry for about 40 years.
He said he started as a union ironworker and a journeyman. The developer then founded his own steel erection company, doing work in Philadelphia and other parts of the East Coast, constructing buildings and bridges.
In his younger years, he found inspiration in the work he was doing and how it transformed things for the better. He calls the experience of being able to change a landscape, adding things that’ll be around for years, “very moving.”
Fullard is the President of West Powelton Development Company, which he said gets its name from the first development he ever worked on. Under his belt, he has worked on or been involved with several development projects, including the redevelopment of the Osage Avenue Homes destroyed in the 1985 M.O.V.E. bombings, and the Mount Airy Mews townhouses on Horter St.
He said that while working on the more local project, the historic building caught his eye, as it’s right across the street from where his brother and one of his daughters graduated from.
He approached the project with the same focus he had related to Osage and Pine.
“When we first looked upon that area, we saw how everything was boarded up and was really being an eyesore to the community,” he said. “And we [were] able to come in there and make something happen that had been an eyesore for 30 plus years over there. So I had the same mindset when I saw this.”
Having been in the area for over 30 years, raising five daughters on Cliveden St., Fullard feels a deep commitment to this project seeking to build a “legacy.” It’s an example he hopes to set, not just for his daughters, but also for his four grandchildren.
“You have to be part of your community,” he told GIH. “There’s so much work to be done, especially in the African American community. We have to be involved… connected… [and] share our voices and our opinions of what goes on in our community.”
When asked, Fullard acknowledged the common perceptions about developers, often noted as feeling extractive and distant from the neighborhoods they occupy. But he makes it clear that “development is not about gentrifying, it’s about revitalization of our neighborhoods.”
He continues: “[It’s] so people who lived here 30, 40, 50, 60 years, that they can see their community, their streets, and the housing being built around them, is making their community better.”
It’s why he aspires to keep the historical and architectural nature of the building, which served as many things, intact. Being “of the community,” Fullard said it’s important to keep that uniformity and symmetry of a neighborhood, even if it costs a bit more sometimes.
Councilmember Bass described her view of the Germantown Townhall within a wider conversation on development and who gets to participate in it.
“Like many of my elected colleagues, I support responsible development in our communities and believe strongly in expanding opportunities for qualified local developers, including African American developers who have historically been excluded from large-scale development opportunities in Philadelphia.”
Being “familiar” with his restorative work, she says, “His past projects demonstrate the ability to manage complex redevelopment work and deliver quality results.”
A timeline of the historic structure
Above: Scenes from within the Germantown Town Hall structure. (Photos: Rasheed Z. Ajamu)
- 1848 — The state legislature authorizes the Germantown Town Hall.
- 1854–1855 — The Old Town Hall is built, as designed by Napoleon Le Brun, at 5928 Germantown Ave.
- Mid-late 1800s — The Old Town Hall is used as a police station and rented/used for entertainment, traveling shows, and political meetings.
- 1860s — The Town Hall was used as a hospital during the Civil War
- 1920 — The Old Town Hall is declared structurally unsound and ultimately demolished.
- 1923-1925 — The Germantown Town Hall, as neighbors currently see it, was built under the direction of John Penn Brock Sinkler.
- 1925-1980s — Used for a variety of municipal/city services and offices. By the 80s, only a few remained.
- 1997-1998 — The final city office moves out. The building becomes vacant.
- 2023 — Fullard presents plans of interest to community members at a Zoom meeting.
This story was produced as part of GIH’s Then & Now series, where we examine historical jawns—good, bad, and everything in between—through storytelling and engagement in relation to Germantown’s present.
Have memories you want to share about the Germantown Town Hall or other historical jawns? Email Rasheed at rasheed@resolvephilly.org.