Family Court quagmire is built to last

By Joanne Aitken

It's hard to believe that there could be yet another reason the new Family Court is a study in how not to procure a public building. But the new year brought more evidence of its special status.

To those who know anything about the way countless public projects are successfully planned, designed, and constructed in this country, the story is astounding.

First, officials decided to abandon the well maintained, fully functional, and historically significant court building on Logan Circle, possibly leaving it vacant for years, even though the only court building in need of replacement may be the one at 11th and Market Streets.

Next, the state's judicial branch ignored the normal methods of procuring public projects in favor of managing the job itself.

Then a site was chosen, on 15th and Arch Streets, that is too small for the project's requirements - even after City Council spot-zoned the property so that the building could legally disregard size limits.

And all of the above was done without the knowledge, review, or input of the public or adjacent property owners - despite the fact that this building will likely be among the largest and most prominently situated new civic buildings in Philadelphia for a long time to come.

As the Design Advocacy Group has pointed out before, this has been a botched process from the start, lacking in both professional guidance and public scrutiny. And it has resulted in a design that fails in terms of both urban fit and architectural aspiration.

Now, after construction has begun, we learn that the estimated cost - which was previously cited to explain why the building would not be constructed with materials and character befitting an important civic building - was wrong. Now we're told that there is enough money to increase the building's bulk even further, though not enough to improve its quality or design.

We already pay the people at the Pennsylvania Department of General Services to build public buildings. We have a talented, qualified group of professionals at the City Planning Commission to guide the planning and design of projects like this one to the benefit of the city. We have zoning regulations that, despite their deficiencies, are designed to create a city that looks the way we want it to. And, finally, we have several commissions and agencies, including the Zoning Board of Adjustment and the Art Commission, that can ensure the public gets a chance to see what's proposed and to comment on it.

We need to use the system that we have and demand that it functions as intended. That way, this city can expand its architectural legacy and increase its vitality as we Philadelphians want and deserve.

It may be too late to do anything about the Family Court building, other than remember it as a cautionary tale. But at the next meeting of the Art Commission, scheduled for Feb. 1, this project is expected to be on the agenda again. So there is at least one more chance to try to make the system work.