(Left to right) Developer Anthony Fullard & Architect Sam Olshin. (Photo: Rasheed Z. Ajamu)

Around 5:15 p.m., last Thursday, Feb. 26, neighbors began filling the Black Leadership PA office (400 W. Chelten Ave.) ground floor. By 5:45 p.m., the room had already filled to the entrance with about 70 people. Their mission: Hear more plans for the historic former Germantown Town Hall building.

“I’m Anthony Fullard… I’m the President of West Powelton Development,” the prospect developer of the new Germantown Townhall said aloud, kicking off the meeting.

He set the tone and purpose of the gathering: “This is more of an informational session, not an RCO meeting. Really, we are excited to share some good information. But we also want to hear other people’s ideas as it relates to the Townhall.”

Alongside Fullard was his architect, Sam Olshin of AOS Architects. While scheduled to be in attendance, Councilmember Cindy Bass was announced unable to make it due to being at a school closure hearing at the same time.

Olshin called attention to some of the project specs laid out for neighbors ahead of and after the meeting via boards. These included the overview of the project, which Fullard says seeks to restore the building as a multi-use community space while preserving the original architectural details.

Project points to support the multi-use vision

Floor plans and square footage currently look like:

• 1st Floor:
  • Tenant: 6,829 sq. ft.
  • Lobby and services: 2,262 sq. ft.
  • Gross: 9,581 sq. ft.
• 2nd Floor:
  • School: 8,309 sq. ft.
  • Gross: 8,818 sq. ft.
• 3rd Floor:
  • School: 7,139 sq. ft.
  • Gross: 7,648 sq ft.

As reported in January by GIH, Fullard is pursuing both an anchor tenant — a community organization — for the first floor and a charter school to occupy other parts. Alongside these would be both commercial and community-use spaces for civic engagement, workshops, exhibitions, and public meetings.

Fullard also says there are plans for the basement, hoping to bring Chef Tarik Ryant, owner of Chef Reeky’s Cafe & Juice Bar in Woodlyn, to bring a “state of the art commercial kitchen.” He shared that they haven’t figured out how to make that part accessible to the community yet.

On another board included his capital stack, a strategic layering of multiple funding sources (equities and debts) to support the project’s construction. This project would include:

• $3,000,000 — Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP)
• $3,000,000 — New Markets Tax Credits
• $2,600,000 — Historic Tax Credits
• $4,400,000 — Debt financing (local bank listed: First Trust Bank)

The same board also provides a proposed schedule, from 2026 to 2028, laying out the project in order:

• Mar. 2026: Existing conditions assessment
• Apr.–May 2026: Schematic design and cost estimating
• June–mid Aug. 2026: Design development & cost estimating
• Mid-Aug.–mid Nov. 2026: Construction documentation
• Mid-Nov.–Dec 2026: Bidding and permitting
• 2027 and early 2028: Construction period
• Mar.–Apr. 2028: Move-in and opening

Alongside those was also a suggestions board, allowing neighbors to drop ideas and suggestions for the building. Olshin encouraged neighbors to ensure they put some ideas down on paper via the sticky notes provided.

“We have a realistic budget, realistic schedule, realistic plans, and we have a visionary leader,” Olshin ended.

Fullard chimed back in, mentioning that Domus Construction would be the general contractor due to their “expertise in preservation construction.” After a few hopeful sentiments about what the kitchen could be (still up in the air) from Tarik Ryant, Fullard opened the floor up for questions.

Community questions — and some answers

Neighbor accessibilities and benefits

One of the first concerns raised by neighbors was parking,  wanting to know whether there would be dedicated parking for the redeveloped building and the accessibility implications.

In response, the development team explained that most parking needs would be met through existing commercial corridors nearby. “Parking will be utilized for Germantown Avenue, Haines Street, and so on — those commercial corridors there,” Fullard explained.

There is a small parking area behind the building under the team’s control, but that space, they emphasized, “will be geared for staff.”

President of the 7G’s and 70-year Germantown OG Neil Blunt also pressed for details about how residents and businesses would be included in the project’s construction and other long-term opportunities.

“Will you be doing a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with any of our neighbors?” he asked, plainly.

Fullard stated that they are committed to minority contractor inclusion and local job opportunities. He emphasized his own track record, saying,  “I have been at the forefront of ensuring Black contractors get jobs.”

As it pertains to a CBA, the developer said his team would look at anything put in front of them.

Why a charter school?

Architect Sam Olshin explained that the former Townhall’s existing layout strongly suggested a school use. The team walked through the building and found that the existing partitions and room sizes could comfortably accommodate classrooms of about 22–25 students.

“I’ve never seen [a building] that was better laid out than to be a school,” Olshin said.

The development team shared that most students of the charter school would likely come from ZIP codes 19144 and 19119,  reflecting Germantown and neighboring Mt. Airy.

Neighbors pressed for more of the school’s specifics, as the educational use proposed for much of the building became a major point of tension. 

“You haven’t named the school, which I think is strange… We don’t know where the school is,” said Dennis Barnaby, expressing dissent of the concept.

”Just explain what we’re talking about here, the age level,  who they are, and what you’re really expecting being there.”

While the team said the school’s identity could not yet be fully disclosed for contractual reasons, they promised to share more about the charter school’s identity when able. Fullard did note that the school would support high school students, from 17 to 20, and offer a mix of vocational and work development programs.

Neighbors primarily noted the worries of increased foot traffic at the intersection and corridors, and still had concerns about the school and students.

“It sounds like you have a great program and stuff for them to do,” said neighbor Sandra Wharton. “But when it’s time for them to leave and go home, I want them to even go home and not hang around and get into some mischief.”

And questions still remained about access for neighborhood youth and how complicated enrollment might be. The team reiterated that many young people from the surrounding community already attend the school in its current form, though full enrollment details were not yet available.

Neighbors also sought clarity on the project’s underlying structure.

More on project boundaries, funding, etc.

Although the property is currently owned by the City of Philadelphia, Fullard explained that his team has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) that lays out a path toward eventual ownership. 

“Through that MOU, we have deliverables that we had to do for fact-finding and also due diligence,” he said. “As we began to check off all those line items, it moved to an opportunity for us to do a transaction in ownership of the building.”

The developer said subdivision of the land is already under discussion, with boundaries mapped out by the city. As a result, there will be multiple tax ID numbers associated with different parts of the property.

On the funding side, neighbors questioned how the project could secure money without current ownership. The development team pointed to the MOU framework and the detailed capital stack shared on project boards.

Fullard also cited support from State Senator Art Haywood, State Representative Andre D. Carroll, and Councilperson Cindy Bass for the contract and funding efforts.

State Rep. Carroll clarified his role to GIH after the event: “I have a relationship with Anthony Fullard. I haven’t been presented with a proposal nor a plan for the site. There’s no way I can commit support to a plan when I haven’t been presented with it.”

Fullard also issued a correction statement to GIH, saying he misspoke about the State Rep’s position and that Carroll does not support the project or charter schools.

Friends of Vernon Park steward Angela Miles was interested in how the rear parcel and the surrounding land would be used in relation to possible green space. Olshin said plans include outdoor gathering areas and sustainability measures, such as solar panels, window restoration with storm panels, and pursuing Energy Star certification.

Fullard closed out the meeting by thanking neighbors for their time and questions, and told them to be on the lookout for the next meeting, where they hope to reveal more.

A date has not yet been set for the meeting. Neighbors can subscribe to updates at the Germantown Townhall‘s website.

This article was updated on March 3, 2026, to include Rep. Carroll and Fullard’s clarifications.

Rasheed Z. Ajamu is Germantown Info Hub‘s engagement reporter. Their work blends service journalism with a place-based lens, tracking how local policy, development, arts + culture, and neighborhood institutions shape neighbors’ everyday lives. They’re also invested in community archiving and public media projects that help neighbors preserve and share Germantown stories.