SEPTA is set to award long-term leases to local developer Ken Weinstein in a landmark deal that will breathe new life into five historic rail stations in Northwest Philadelphia.

The regional transit agency’s executive committee voted on Thursday to send a resolution on the matter to the full board, which is expected to vote next week.

While the train continues to run, the five local stations — Tulpehocken, in Germantown;  Carpenter, Mt. Airy, and Upsal in Mt. Airy and Gravers Lane in Chestnut Hill — have not been used for ticket services for more than a decade. They have stood vacant and deteriorating, with previous attempts to find tenants stymied by the high costs of historic preservation.

Weinstein's company, Philly Office Retail, plans to invest approximately $1.34 million in their renovation.

"All five of these buildings are in fair to poor condition and need complete restoration,” said Weinstein, who has invested heavily in both Mt. Airy and Germantown. 

Weinstein's company currently operates the Richard Allen Lane station under a 29-year lease agreement. It has a High Point coffee shop on the ground floor and a residential apartment above — a model that has proven to be very successful.

"That way you get 24/7 security – someone living upstairs who is around in the evening hours, and someone on the first floor who's there during the day," Weinstein explained. "That's always been the key to the Allens Lane station. We had several incidents of crime and graffiti at that location before we restored it and got it occupied."

Phil Dawson, executive director of the Mt. Airy Community Development Corporation, said he thinks Weinstein is a good choice and looks forward to the result.

"These rail stations have been vacant for some time, so this would be a very hopeful development,” he said. "If the example of the current station he manages at Allen Lane is any indication, we can look forward to these historic buildings becoming an important addition to the community."

Jo Winter, executive director of the neighborhood civic group West Mt. Airy Neighbors, agreed. 

“We’re thrilled to see Ken leasing these five stations. We’ve been in communication with him about this for well over a year – and hoping that Philly Office Retail would be chosen to improve, preserve and reimagine the stations,” she said. “These buildings have the potential to be real community hubs, and activating them as such holds great potential for Mt. Airy, especially as we continue the fight for improved regional rail service.”

The deal comes amid fiscal woes at the cash-strapped agency, which has announced that without future investment it may be forced to cut services – and potentially close rail lines altogether. 

According to SEPTA spokeswoman Kelly Greene, however, these leases should not be impacted by any future service cuts.

“One of the things that was made clear by Philly Office Retail and Ken Weinstein is that they see these sites as community-facing and a community benefit, not just an asset to the SEPTA rider,” she said. Weinstein’s proposal would develop the stations “for the benefit of the surrounding neighbors, and allow them to become community spaces not just reliant on ridership.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Weinstein's company will pay just $1 per year to lease all five stations. According to SEPTA documents, it would save the agency about $150,000 annually in maintenance costs — an estimated $30,000 per station. Including the nearly $4 million that SEPTA said it would cost the agency to renovate the buildings, it estimates the total savings to be $19 million over the 99-year lease term.

According to Weinstein, four of the stations are well suited for mixed-use, with some sort of commercial tenant on the ground floor and a residential rental unit above.  Upsal Station, which was previously used as a coffee shop, is the most likely candidate for a food service establishment.

“That one is very prominently placed on Greene Street, which gets a lot of drive by traffic, and it also has parking,” Weinstein said. 

The other Mt. Airy stations, he said, seem better suited for professional office space.

"The way they sit in the neighborhood – they could be a coffee shop, but more likely they'll be some sort of professional office," Weinstein said. "I took the Mt. Airy station to Center City for years when I was living in East Mt. Airy. While it would have been nice to have a coffee shop there, you would have needed much more of a customer base than what you'd get just from the immediate community and the commuter traffic. You also need drive-by traffic to make it a destination."

Weinstein said he is open to other ideas, however. 

“Ultimately, how those spaces get used is not up to us, it’s up to the potential tenants,” he said.  

The Gravers Lane station, situated along the Chestnut Hill East line at the intersection of East Gravers Lane and Anderson Street in Chestnut Hill, is the only one not suited for commercial use, Weinstein said. "I think that one will need to be renovated as a single-family for rental."

The deal emerged from a competitive bidding process that began when SEPTA's board authorized a Finding of Special Opportunity in July 2023. The FOSO process, established in 1994, allows SEPTA to negotiate terms directly with developers rather than going through traditional low-bid procurement. Two firms – Philly Office Retail and Mosaic Development Partners – submitted proposals by the March 21, 2024 deadline.

According to SEPTA, a technical evaluation committee rated Philly Office Retail's proposal as "superior" while Mosaic Development Partners – which has offices in North and South Philadelphia and Maryland – received an "acceptable" rating. Philly Office Retail's proposal stood out for offering to take on all five stations, while Mosaic proposed leasing just one.

According to SEPTA, the 99-year lease term is a first for the agency, and is crucial to making the project financially viable, as previous attempts to lease the stations under a 29-year term in 2022 failed to attract any viable bids because the shorter timeline made it “impossible” for developers to recoup their investment. 

All five stations are listed on either the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places or the National Register of Historic Places, which means that renovations must meet preservation requirements – and makes renovation costs "prohibitive," according to SEPTA documents.

Pending board and Federal Transit Administration approval, Weinstein expects to begin work in  2025. "If we can sign a lease in early 2025 we should be able to finish construction by mid-2026 and start leasing the property shortly thereafter," he said.