EPA issue halts N. Phila. project
There were smiles and words of praise back in December when the Philadelphia School Reform Commission approved the sale of the former John Wanamaker Middle School to a community-development arm of Bright Hope Baptist Church for $10.75 million.
There were smiles and words of praise back in December when the Philadelphia School Reform Commission approved the sale of the former John Wanamaker Middle School to a community-development arm of Bright Hope Baptist Church for $10.75 million.
The church, led by the Rev. Kevin R. Johnson, formed the Brighter Hope L.P. development group and announced plans to build an "empowerment village" including housing, retail and a charter school on the 4.5-acre site not far from the historic church at 12th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue.
But technicalities have put a snag in the deal.
Wanamaker, at 11th and Cecil B. Moore, is still on a list of 12 Philadelphia schools that have elevated levels of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the electric transformers at the school.
PCBs are chemicals that insulate and cool electrical transformers.
And according to 1997 consent decree with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the district must give the EPA 60 days' notice before selling any of those 12 schools.
On July 18, the district asked for a waiver of the 60-day notice requirement, but it was denied, an EPA spokeswoman said.
"EPA has determined that PCBs are toxic and persistent. PCBs can enter the body through the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and skin, can circulate throughout the body, and can be stored in the fatty tissue," according to an EPA Web site.
But the EPA said in a news release about the PCB cleanup that teachers and children were not likely to have been exposed to PCBs because they are not permitted into transformer areas.
The district closed Wanamaker in June 2005, citing declining enrollment and environmental issues. But the building was reopened a few months later to temporarily shelter Hurricane Katrina evacuees.
The Wanamaker property had been the subject of intense competition from at least 10 developers who submitted bids by the deadline in December. Many North Philadelphia residents said they had feared that Temple University would buy the school as it expands into the neighborhood.
Rev. Johnson couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.
School district spokesman Fernando Gallard said the district "cannot comment on real-estate transactions that are not completed."
The 11 other schools where PCBs are present in basement transformers are:
Benjamin Franklin High at Broad and Green; George Washington High at 11000 Bustleton; Girls High at Broad and Olney; Northeast High at Cottman and Algon; Overbrook High at 59th and Lancaster; Randolph Skills Center at Henry and Roberts; Roxborough High at Ridge and Fountain; South Philadelphia High at Broad and Snyder; Strawberry Mansion Middle/High at Ridge and Susquehanna; Central East Middle School at 210 E. Courtland; and Hackett Elementary at York and Trenton. *
