November 23, 2006 Issue                                       

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©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Lot #4 could close if Bowman terminates $1 lease
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

Holiday patrons of businesses along the east side of the 8400 block of Germantown Avenue will have to find parking alternatives if Lot #4 is closed on Dec. 1.

In a Nov. 9 letter to the Chestnut Hill Parking Foundation, Bowman Properties announced that, as of Dec. 1, it would terminate the lease for the part of the lot that it owns and for which the foundation pays an annual fee of $1. The termination will force the closing of the entire lot because Bowman’s parcel is situated next to the lot’s entrance from Highland Avenue.

In an earlier letter to the Parking Foundation, dated Oct. 30, Richard Snowden, Bowman’s managing partner, threatened to terminate the lease if Paul Roller, president of the Parking Foundation board, was not dismissed from all positions on the foundation. The letter said Bowman considered Roller’s “public discussion of proprietary lease information … improper.”

Roller had discussed the lease from Bowman in a story about the reopening of Lot #4 that appeared in the Oct. 19 Local.

The letter announcing the termination said a fence will be erected around Bowman’s land on Dec. 1. Roller responded with a letter saying that if Bowman removed the lot from the system, the firm would have to secure the area.

Out of respect for the Parking Foundation board, which is attempting to negotiate with Bowman Properties, Roller said he would withhold comment on the situation until after Dec. 1.

In the same Local article that reported Roller’s statements leading to the lease termination, businesses next to the lot had expressed hope that the lot would be opened soon, noting that the pedestrian traffic generated by the lot was sorely missed.

The lot was recently reopened after being closed since February because of the construction of a building by The Hirshorn Company adjacent to the lot’s entrance, which is situated on the firm’s property. The company planned the building to accommodate the driveway to the lot, an effort that could turn out to be fruitless.

“I’m disappointed we couldn’t have used the space another way,” said Marjorie Hirshorn, the firm’s chief financial officer.

“We saved the driveway for last, hoping an annual lease would be signed,” she said.

Hirshorn said that while it is disappointing that the lot will not be open, she noted that Chestnut Hill’s parking situation in general is better and less expensive than in other cities, even than in other parts of Philadelphia, and that people should expect to walk and pay a bit.

But on Friday, business owners and employees were disappointed when they learned that the lot might once again be closed.

“We’ve all just been so happy,” said Ginny Ashenfelter, owner of The Happy Butterfly at 8419 Germantown Ave. “I wish everyone would just forgive and forget.”

Bowman Properties threatened to terminate the lease on its lot property more than a year ago, in August 2005, but retracted the threat months after, citing miscommunication. If the threat holds true, a fence should be installed by Bowman Properties on Dec. 1.

Contact staff writer Kristin Pazulski at 215-248-8819 or Kristin@chestnuthilllocal.com.