The Germantown YWCA, which has sat vacant for almost two decades. (GIH | Rasheed Ajamu)
As we welcome 2025, the Germantown Info Hub is thrilled to provide updates on upcoming events, projects, and news from around our community. This year marks a special milestone — the Quadranscentennial of the 2000s, or simply put, 2025!
Being your trusted source for hyperlocal news in Germantown, we’re dedicated to keeping you informed about all that’s happening in our neighborhood. With this in mind, we’re excited to share a roundup of ongoing matters and topics that residents are eager to see resolved this year.
State Representative Andre Carroll crosses the 100-day mark
The second time was a charm for State Representative Andre Carroll, who found success last year and ascended into the seat of the 201st district. He made history as the second openly Black gay state rep. Next week, Rep. Carroll will reach the 100-day mark after having been sworn in on September 30.
In this short time, Rep Carroll’s office helped provide constituent services through events and workshops, like voter registration and the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program.
In late October, he announced $320,795 in state funds to support two local projects–one at Belfield Community Development Corporation and the other at Awbury Arboretum.
Though State Rep terms are only two years, we look forward to seeing how the Germantown native paves his early political legacy.
SEPTA Changes
It cannot be understated how drastic the adverse effects of COVID-19 were and continue to be. We see remnants of catastrophic events every day, including our transportation system, SEPTA.
As considerable numbers of residents and riders turned to remote work and avoided public transit to reduce transmission, ridership decline, revenue loss, operational changes, staffing challenges, and long-term budget issues all became key effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The SEPTA Bus Revolution launched in September 2021 with the intention of doing a comprehensive redesign of the bus system–which hadn’t been done since the service’s inception. They hoped to enhance service reliability and frequency across rides and modes of transportation.
Routes 75, 18, 26, 53, 65, J, X, XH, and K all faced significant adjustments to their route or were set to be discontinued by the end of 2025. The implementation never happened, as it was officially postponed in November 2024 due to a $240 million budget gap.
This same gap threatened the Chestnut Hill West Line, which was considered for elimination at the top of 2024. Solely because of the advocacy of groups like the Save The Train coalition were funds proposed to help secure a future for the line and others.
Last month, bus riders saw a fare increase of $2 to $2.50. Though residents were originally to see another immediate fare increase this month and service reductions, $153 million in reallocated PennDOT funds averted those.
The halt is, however, temporary. Only July 2025 will reveal what the future of public transportation in Philly will look like.
Happy Hollow Recreation Center
In 1911, along the border of Wayne Avenue, the first municipal playground owned by Philadelphia made its debut — and it was named Happy Hollow. Last year, almost 113 years later, park and recreation goers and community leaders pushed to revamp the site — on various fronts.
On the tail end of COVID-19, Happy Hollow became an official Rebuild Philadelphia project site. Through the program, which has improved parks across the city (including Vernon Park), the site’s playground and recreation center will see new modifications. This includes new playground equipment, improved lighting, an HVAC replacement, a new roof & ceiling repair, ADA accessible bathrooms, asbestos removal, lead remediation, and much more.
According to the project timeline, construction preparation started at the 2024’s end. Construction will begin in the spring, and the playground will reopen by the end of 2025.
In addition to the Rebuild improvements, State Representative Darisha Parker announced this past October she was able to secure a $1 million grant to upgrade the facilities.
This funding will allow the recreation center to become a digital access hub, giving residents without proper access to broadband internet a way to get online. It will also become a heating and cooling center during severe weather conditions. Parker calls the plans “an important tool for the fight against gun violence.”
Aside from the improvements and amenities already in the works, community groups banded together last year to launch a petition calling on the city to buy properties to expand Happy Hollow.
The petition called for acquiring Happy Hollow’s adjacent lots at 4712-16 Wayne Avenue to build a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified building, which would serve as an “annex,” which could move the boxing ring that some neighbors say monopolize the recreation center. Removing the ring would open space for more activities and amenities.
The petition also noted that the Germantown and Nicetown Transit-Oriented Plan, published in 2008, had called for facility and equipment upgrades, but the site has yet to see those improvements.
With ongoing updates at Happy Hollow, GIH will be interested in seeing the finalized product of the many significant modifications to come.
New and ongoing developments
Germantown has become a hotspot for developments, particularly large apartment buildings.
This year, the long-vacant Germantown High School transformed into an apartment building. We also saw the old Comer Paper party supply store on Washington Lane knocked down, making way for the same purpose. These are just two of the more popular Germantown staples we’ve seen undergo transformation.
And while some have made their debuts, others continue to sit vacant, leaving neighbors confused and questioning — notably the Germantown Town Hall and the Germantown YWCA.
Germantown Town Hall
This historic landmark at 5928 Germantown Avenue has sat vacant since 1998. However, in early 2023, there were proposed plans for a mixed-use redevelopment, which would include apartments, event and retail space, and some offices, costing somewhere between $10-12 million.
Developer Anthony Fullard of West Powelton Development Company presented these plans. However, the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation still has not finalized the developer selection, possibly leaving the property in limbo, as the memorandum of understanding expires in late winter.
Right next door, plans are in motion to build another 75-unit apartment building at 5932-42 Germantown Avenue. With the rapid rise of developments around the Town Hall, will we finally see some traction on the building that was utterly silent this year? Only time will tell.
Germantown YWCA
This year, local developer Ken Weinstein made enormous efforts to release the Germantown YWCA from its two-decade-long vacancy. For eight years, developer KBK has been planning to renovate the landmark but has made no strides.
Weinstein tried to use Act 135, also known as the state’s Abandoned and Blighted Conservatorship Act, to convince a court to put the building into others’ hands. Act 135 allows the court to appoint a third party to control and rehabilitate neglected and blighted properties to address public health and safety concerns.
This turned into an almost-year-long legal battle in front of Judge Ann Butchart, where Weinstein had to make the case that the property was indeed blighted. Over the course of three hearings, Germantown neighbors, particularly the older Black women of the neighborhood, turned out in mass numbers to support Weinstein. Even the executive director of Center in the Park, Renee Cunningham, served as a witness to support him.
Early November brought news that Judge Butchart had dismissed Weinstein’s motion, stating the property was not blighted. Since the ruling, neighbors have not heard from developer KBK or the PRA about the future of the building.
GIH hopes that in 2025, for the sake of the community, this building will finally enter a new chapter.