FCDC hopes sale revitalizes
Frankford Avenue

By Diane Villano-Prokop
Times Staff Writer

The Frankford Community Development Corp. has sold a building it owns at 4625 Frankford Ave. to a development company for $275,000.
The structure, which houses a Third Federal Bank branch and once was the FCDC headquarters, was sold last week to Frankford Associates Limited. According to Jim McCarthy, who has revitalized several Frankford properties, including the jazz restaurant mozaic at 4524 Frankford Ave., he and three other investors came together to purchase the building as a way of helping to revitalize the avenue.
Catherine Bowers, an FCDC board member who also is executive director of the Frankford Group Ministry, is pleased with the sale.
"We know it’s in the best interest of the community," she said.
The sale of the building is the latest step taken by FCDC to revitalize its own fiscal health.
"It was a huge burden for us," Bowers said. "The building always had needs we couldn’t afford to take care of. The plan had always been to rent out other parts of the building, but the cost (of needed repairs) was always much more than the CDC could afford. It’s just been really a strain."
FCDC purchased the 12,200-square-foot property for $300,000 in 2003, during Steve Culbertson’s tenure as executive director of the organization. Some within the group have said the building acquisition soon proved to be a catalyst for FCDC’s financial problems.
The building also served as the organization’s headquarters for more than three years. It has since relocated to 4900 Griscom St.
Bowers said the building was put on the market in December 2005.
"We had a lot of people look at it. Usually when they saw the needs it had, they went away," she said, adding that other prospects were deterred when they realized that the bank would remain in the building as a tenant.
An agreement of sale with Frankford Associates Limited was signed last November. Bowers said some title issues had to be resolved before the organization could go to settlement on the transaction.
"It’s a huge relief and a victory. We’re so pleased that this is behind us," Bowers said. "Now the board can concentrate on other things, other debts."
According to McCarthy, there is wonderful commercial space available in the building. He’ll replace the heating and air-conditioning systems, clean up the exterior and undertake some interior cosmetic work on the property, though the scope of that would depend on tenants, he said. ••
Reporter Diane Villano-Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dvillano@phillynews.com