By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

Redevelopment of the former Philadelphia State Hospital at Byberry may be one step closer to reality after a meeting last week of the Somerton Civic Association.
On Nov. 12, the SCA voted overwhelmingly to support a conceptual redevelopment plan presented by leaders of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation during the meeting, held at Walker Lodge 306.
The plan calls for roughly a 50/50 split of land that can be developed into commercial and residential uses, excluding 25.6 acres earmarked for preservation as an open space buffer zone between the new development and existing homes.
In all, the PIDC proposal accounts for 131.2 acres of ground on the northwest corner of Roosevelt Boulevard and Southampton Road.
Another 22.3 acres on the south side of Southampton Road would be left for what has been described as community recreational use.
The state still owns the entire Byberry tract but has entered into an agreement of sale with PIDC, providing the quasi-city agency can successfully redevelop the ground within an allotted time. The ground would be transferred to PIDC for $1.
“They’re not going to leave it as a park. We have to be realistic,” SCA president Mary Jane Hazell said prior to the affirmative vote.
Hazell has long advocated a combination of commercial and residential uses on the site.
Specifically, she has supported the concept of corporate office development on a portion of the property, along with single and twin homes for a 55-and-over community on another portion.
Peter Longstreth, president of PIDC — a city economic development arm — showed the residents a plan calling for about 50 acres of office space and 55 acres of residential.
PIDC expects the commercial buildings to accommodate more than 3,000 employees (and have 3,000 parking spaces). The offices shouldn’t be higher than three or four stories. Meanwhile, the residential portion could include 200 or more new homes.
“It’s a balance between office and residential development and maintaining (community) buffers,” said Longstreth, the son of longtime City Councilman W. Thacher Longstreth (R-at large).
The PIDC president outlined a series of preparatory steps that would lead to a January 2004 start for the construction phase.
The steps include the passage of enabling state legislation, the selection of a developer, rezoning, fund-raising activities by PIDC, a traffic study and the demolition of existing buildings.
The state legislation is required to confirm the agreement of sale. State Rep. George Kenney (R-170th dist.) and Sen. Mike Stack (D-5th dist.) control passage of the necessary bill as Byberry is located in their respective districts.
Kenney cautioned the residents not to offer their support for any project until certain it won’t be detrimental to the neighborhood. He reminded them that as long as the old psychiatric buildings remain on the site, new construction will not occur.
“To me, nothing else is more important than protecting the future of this site,” Kenney said. “Doing nothing is probably the best alternative in terms of (traffic) impact, but we have to come to the realization that something is going to be done.”
The hospital dates to the early 20th century and remained in operation until 1990, when the facility was closed by order of then-Gov. Robert P. Casey amid allegations of patient abuse and hospital mismanagement.
Although some of the 30-some hospital buildings have been demolished (particularly those that were on the south side of Southampton Road, as well as those closest to Carter Road), more than two dozen remain.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has declared the site contaminated with asbestos, among other hazardous agents.
But that hasn’t stopped a litany of metal scavengers, vandals, homeless people and thrill-seekers from trespassing and, in many cases, contributing to the natural decay of the buildings over the years.
Current estimates are that it will cost $15 million to $20 million to clean up the site. The agreement of sale makes no pledge of state funding for such activity. In the coming months, PIDC will look to generate funding for the cleanup.
“We’re doubtful that the land has a market value of fifteen to twenty million, so we’re looking for some sort of public subsidy for that, and we would hope the developer would come up with the remainder,” said Longstreth, who added he’s “hoping (the contributions) could be something close to fifty/fifty.”
Another issue at hand for PIDC and the state is how they will go about declassifying a portion of the tract as a Keystone Opportunity Zone.
Byberry was flagged as a KOZ in 1999. As such, companies moving into Byberry would benefit from property and business tax exemptions through 2011.
But PIDC and the state are uncertain about residential development on KOZ land, particularly how land can be removed from the KOZ pool. Under a city tax incentive, new-home buyers would be exempt from property taxes for 10 years, anyway.
“The state is trying to deal with that now,” Longstreth said. “It’s being dealt with administratively.”
During his presentation, the PIDC president assured residents that dealing with the issue of excessive traffic is a top priority with the project. All business traffic would enter and exit the site via Roosevelt Boulevard, he said. A new traffic light would be installed on the Boulevard at the entrance to the complex.
Meanwhile, new residential traffic would enter and exit via Southampton Road.
That concept didn’t sit too well with some in attendance, who cited existing traffic problems on primary Somerton streets, including Southampton Road and Byberry Road.
“This puts traffic on Southampton Road, which is something I’m not comfortable with,” Kenney said.
“I think it’s our responsibility to make sure that traffic engineering is brought into place,” Longstreth said, “and that the work will be done prior to the commencement of any development on the site.” ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com