Lincoln Tech move
to Byberry is called off

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

The Somerton Civic Association approved of it, but not everybody was sold on the idea of making Lincoln Technical Institute the cornerstone tenant of a new commercial development on the Byberry site.
City Councilman Brian O’Neill, whose 10th district includes the Byberry site, at Roosevelt Boulevard and Southampton Road, says he opposed the Lincoln Tech plan and voiced his opposition to those behind it.
Meanwhile, James J. Cuorato, vice president of urban development for the builder, Brandywine Realty Trust, claims that his company has had second thoughts about Lincoln, too.
So despite the affirmative vote from the community during a Jan. 8 SCA meeting, the idea has been scrapped. Brandywine has named no other prospective tenants for Byberry, a site formerly occupied by a state mental institution that closed in 1990 after decades of alleged patient abuse and neglect and hospital mismanagement.
“It was our decision,” said Cuorato, a former city commerce director. “We really value that site and have from the very beginning. We wanted to make development of the site something everybody would be proud of.”
There were a number of dissenters involving the Lincoln proposal.
Many neighbors spoke against the plan during monthly SCA meetings in December and January when Brandywine and Lincoln officials showed conceptual drawings and answered questions.
Brandywine holds development rights for 50 acres of the site through an agreement with the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation. Brandywine proposed to build a new facility where Lincoln could consolidate activities from its two Northeast Philadelphia campuses.
Among the programs offered by Lincoln would be an extensive auto mechanic curriculum. For that, the school planned to use 17 auto service bays.
During the civic meetings, some neighbors complained that the Lincoln school didn’t fit the profile of a corporate entity that Brandywine officials previously said they planned to attract to the site. Residents also expressed concerns about excessive traffic, unruly students and the facility’s close proximity to new homes also planned for the Byberry site.
Nonetheless, SCA members 24-6 not to oppose a zoning variance application for the project.
O’Neill, meanwhile, maintained other concerns.
“It wasn’t anything against Lincoln,” he said. “It’s just not the right project for that site when you’re talking about high-end corporate occupancy. The hopes and plans when this project was first contemplated and when Brandywine was pitching it was a high-end office park.
“(But) the whole concept of a tech school, I don’t want it to scare any (other tenants) away because they want to be among more offices.”
O’Neill called Cuorato to express his opposition and that of “possibly some neighbors,” the councilman said.
Brandywine was also having second thoughts, Cuorato said. Theirs were related to architecture and costs. Lincoln sought a single-floor building with high ceilings, but Brandywine had planned on a multi-story building with a smaller footprint.
“If you look at planning the whole site, their requirements were fairly large and the cost (to build) was going to rise dramatically,” Cuorato said.
Lincoln officials did not respond to a request for comment.
“They were somewhat disappointed, but understood,” Cuorato said.
Brandywine, which is in the first year of a five-year deadline to design, build and lease the site, has no other confirmed tenants.
If Brandywine fulfills its task, it will be able to purchase the site; if not, PIDC will retain ownership.
“We’re going to move a leasing trailer onto the site to facilitate visits and step up our marketing program,” Cuorato said.
“What we have heard from several companies is that the (city) wage tax is an issue. We try to overcome that by stressing the location advantages and the local work force.”
Brandywine officials are considering various ideas including designing the first building to accommodate a conglomeration of smaller users, perhaps a combination of medical and business offices, rather than one large tenant. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com