Saint Laurentius Church, the oldest Polish Catholic church in Philadelphia, will be the subject of a community meeting over the future of the shuttered institution.
Closed in 2013 by the local Archdiocese to consolidate its membership, Saint Laurentius was determined structurally unsound in 2014 by the City of Philadelphia and slated for demolition in 2015 before a local group successfully lobbied to have the building designated a historic place.
With demolition appearing off the table, the Archdiocese has a framework of a sale to developer Leo Voloshin in place, with a plan to reuse the church for 23 apartments. Since the church is zoned as single family use, a community meeting has been called for Sept. 20 to review Voloshin's plan for rezoning, according to Naked Philly.
Located on Berks Street just a couple of blocks away from the busy Frankford Avenue corridor in Fishtown, the church's site has an appealing location for potential tenants, but a lack of parking could be a stumbling block for committee approval. [Naked]
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