The mural side of the Germantown YWCA on Germantown Avenue. (Rasheed Z. Ajamu)

The stalled redevelopment of the Germantown YWCA won’t be put into new hands.

After a month and a half since the last and final court hearing, Judge Ann Butchart has ruled against local developer Ken Weinstein in his almost year-long battle for the Germantown YWCA. 

On October 11, 2023, Weinstein petitioned the courts under Act 135 to place the historic building under his care. Also known as Pennsylvania’s Blighted and Abandoned Property Conservatorship Act, it allows courts to appoint a third party to take control of and rehabilitate abandoned, blighted properties when owners fail to maintain them.

Act 135 has been noted as controversial, potentially being a tool harming Black and Brown communities. Before applying for this property, Weinstein had also filed for two vacant factory buildings at 147-53 Berkley Street using the same act.

However, that matter was settled when they purchased the building in August 2020. Those buildings will help the Attic Brewing Company open a cafe and provide space for start-up businesses and organizations in early 2025.

Butchart’s ruling states that Weinstein’s team could not establish that the Y was abandoned or blighted on the date the petition was filed. It is owned by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority.

The Germantown Y, a historical and cultural fixture of racial integration in the city, has been vacant since 2006. It has undergone much damage and decay, including a fire in 2012.

Weinstein released a statement expressing his disappointment with the ruling. He said his team would ask the judge for reconsideration, maintaining their position that blight existed at the time of filing and that it persists.

He also says this ruling contradicts the mayor’s goals and priorities, who has committed to making Philadelphia the “safest, cleanest, and greenest city in the nation.”

He ended the statement by calling on the property owners, the PRA, to “do the right thing by immediately removing the blight at the Germantown YWCA and moving forward with finding a qualified developer who can not only restore this historic structure but can provide the Germantown community with the affordable housing it deserves.”

Many Germantowners turned out in considerable numbers over three hearings to support Weinstein, which Judge Butchart acknowledged in the last hearing. The outcome certainly dispirits a good number of neighbors and stakeholders. 

Center in the Park (CIP) Executive Director Renee Cunningham, who also testified at a few hearings, expressed deep gratitude to Weinstein’s team for filing this lawsuit and to the court for allowing community participation. 

As the lead operator of the CIP, the building directly adjacent to the Y, Cunningham is left with the safety and security concerns of Maple Village residents, other adjacent buildings, the overall community, and the center goers, who she says have double the stake.

“Our ability to operate is greatly jeopardized by the threat of losing access to and use of the Y’s parking lot, which CIP has used and maintained for two decades,” Cunningham shares. 

She says Center in the Park and its supporters will keep advocating until a responsible developer restores this iconic building, collaborates with the community, and preserves CIP’s use of the Y lot.

Friends for the Restoratoration of the Germantown YWCA co-founder Yvonne Haskins has also been invested in seeing the building revived for Germantown’s benefit. She says she was ultimately shocked at the ruling’s decision.

“There’s no way I can understand the judge’s ruling,” Haskins shared. “I think it’s the ultimate example of neglect, blight, [and] abandonment.”

Haskins hopes the judge will give a more elaborate opinion on how she reached judgment, saying the order didn’t provide much context. However, she’s certain this isn’t the last of this battle and is interested in seeing Weinstein appeal, if able.

She feels the PRA’s management of the Germantown Y meets the standards of “constructive abandonment,” which occurs when a property owner neglects their property so badly that it’s treated as abandoned. Even if they still own it, the severe disrepair allows others to step in to fix it or take control to prevent harm to the neighborhood. This could sit within the context of property law, like Act 135.

Haskins, a Black Germantown resident, also gave her two cents on the potential hazard of Act 135 on Black and Brown communities. She says that while she understands people’s concerns, that’s only an issue when a property is privately owned, which the Y is not.

In previous reporting for the Germantown Info Hub, neighbors have shared feelings that the Germantown Y and adjacent areas have become more blighted, as KBK has made no strides to rehab the property. Neighbors cited trash, penetrated fences, and young children trespassing as examples of neglect on behalf of the city and the developers.

At the last hearing, Angel Rodriguez, the Senior Vice President of the Philadelphia Housing and Development Corporation (PHDC), revealed that the current developer, KBK Enterprises, was unsuccessful in obtaining the tax credits that 50% of the project was contingent upon. He did say that while it isn’t impossible to complete, it’d be challenging to proceed.

Ann Doley, co-founder of Friends for the Restoration of the Germantown YWCA, says she was “blindsided” by the judge’s final decision. 

She says the property is still blighted, and “until Ken Weinstein filed the lawsuit a year ago,” it was a sorely unpleasant sight, “clearly having a negative economic impact on the commercial corridor.” 

“All we are asking for is a new developer, one that is local, has experience with repurposing large historic buildings, and who will be engaged with and responsive to the community,” Doley shared with the Germantown Info Hub. “We shouldn’t have to spend all this time, money, and emotional energy to get the City to do its job! It’s exhausting.”  

Councilperson Bass has previously expressed disapproval of Weinstein’s filing. She’s been a vocal supporter of KBK, whom she helped get chosen to redevelop the Y over eight years ago. Neighbors have often used her name and “councilmanic prerogative” interchangeably in conversations about the Y.

The Germantown Info Hub has contacted Bass’ office for comment but has not yet received a response. We will update this story when we do.

***NOTE: This story was updated to reflect that Ken Weinstein enacted Act 135 on 147-53 Berkley Street ahead of this project and where they are with the project.