Say it ain’t so: Wendy’s planned for old bank at Broad and Snyder
When the old Beneficial Bank building at Broad and Snyder was sold a few years ago, the future was hopeful for the corner property.
In October 2015 a tenant was obtained, but at the time was not being disclosed. Now we know the future of this commercial space and it’s not nearly as bright as we had hoped. Wendy’s fast food chain is expected to open a location here.
According to sources, a zoning application has been submitted for a Wendy’s restaurant with take-out and signage. This application is expected to be seen by the South Broad Street Neighborhood Association sometime in March.
The building has been vacant since Beneficial Bank’s move to Passyunk and Mifflin in the summer of 2012. The former bank building has 3,800 sq. ft. on the ground floor and a 1,500 sq. ft. mezzanine. With that much space, the possibilities were endless. The property was originally listed for $799,000 and eventually sold for $740,000 at the end of 2012.
Now this is a project I will happily boycott.
I just can’t believe McDonald’s and Wendy’s are going to share a wall and be attached neighbors… How often do you even see anything like that? This is terrible news.
We would all hope that SBSNA summarily rejects this zoning app.
What a major, major disappointment. The juxtaposition of the Passyunk revitalization with the crap on this street is the definition of Philly dysfunction and lack of planning.
Everyone was right. Not one day after the Barcelona Wine Bar post and we have a Wendy’s moving in. Pandora’s box has been opened, none of us will be spared.
Look at that photo, though. I’ll gladly take the Wendy’s (though I would prefer Taco Bell)
If you’re going to sink a quarter mil in … couldn’t we at least get an Olive Grarden?
That picture? I can tell you now that it will look exactly the same.
If residents in this immediate area cared more, had more influence, then a lot of the BS stores in that strip could be replaced with better QOL business. Just complete friggin’ garbage.
Broad & Snyder will continue to be Dante’s 10th Level of Hell filled with shitty stores aligned to suck what little money out of those with less all because disgusting fast food is cheaper than fruits and vegetable.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. That building would have made a pretty swanky wine bar why didnt they consider locating there? Oh, right.
Photo says I all! that whole Broad & Snyder are has become a dump!
Where’s the parking going to be??
lol… They’re going the building and turn it into a garage. The Wendy’s will be on top of the garage.
Well on the plus side, after I get my drugs from people using canes or in the back of shady vans I can stop and get my 6 piece spicy nuggets. Win win you know?
“More influence” is more accurate a statement… “Cared more” is just a lazy insult… We loathe that McDonald’s as it is, let alone a Wendy’s… If its gotta be some big franchise and no one else wants to come there, then I’d take a Wawa.
But the negative attitude about that corner is the very reason why the businesses we’d all prefer won’t come to that corner. Yeah the bums on the street suck. The nothing can be done about this hell hole corner attitude sucks even more. It is the reason why no business is lining up to be captain-save-a-corner.
Houses within 3 blocks have appreciated 25% over the last 3 years and residential taxes have tripled. These results don’t occur because “residents” trash their streets. No one that owns a home in this neighborhood wants another fast food place on this corner. This is purely a money move to take advantage of a transient population.
At the same time, after (assuming the deal goes through) Walgreen’s takes over Rite Aid later this year, the Rite Aid will be closed leaving two vacant store fronts.
Anyone with “more influence” should get involved NOW to save this block.
Exactly! Well said Phil..
Great! Now in addition to all the DD, McDonald’s and Popeye’s wrappers I get to pick up in front of my house, I’ll be able to now clean up Wendy’s wrappers too!
This location would have been great for the “Recovery” Center a few doors north. Until that’s gone this block will never change. Very sad that this is in our back yard.
Lol Do you all really think a wine bar by the most dangerous intersection on Broad was going to happen? This spot is doomed. Wendys is about as good as we could get.
This is the worse decision ever! Once my lease ends, I’m moving to center city. This neighborhood clearly doesn’t want to change. Such losers!
Great. Another fast food chain on Broad and Snyder for the junkies to hang out at. Broad & Snyder has become such a disgrace to the hot spot in South Philly. Starting to look like North Philly day by day.
Great. Another fast food chain on Broad and Snyder for the junkies to hang out at. Broad & Snyder has become such a disgrace to the “what was once the hot spot” in South Philly. Starting to look like North Philly day by day.
I will gladly volunteer to help if anyone is organizing some sort of public display in protest of this glaringly poor use this building. Please post contact info if you are organizing the protest and I will also try and get others to join the cause.
The hipster bike nerds were hoping for the space to become a vegan bike repair shop, but that would be a bad business move since the hipster bike nerds don’t stop on broad and snyder because they’re afraid of getting beaten up by a high school girl
HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA
Unite and fight this plan. Other neighborhoods fight . Do so also.
The two immediate things we can do is attend the community zoning meeting as well as the ZBA hearing. Taylor, please post when you find out when these meetings are scheduled. Given the attention this intersection was given in the PCPC South District Plan, let’s pray the ZBA will not approve this.
To ProvWit and your point, Jess, I would certainly be interested in meeting to review how to deal with this issue.
SBSNA has their meeting listed on the website:
Join us at 7pm!
Constitution Health Plaza
1930 South Broad Street (NWC of McKean Street / Passyunk Avenue)
Conference Center — 1st Floor
7 pm, but what day?
March 15th.
Thanks!
Yeah, I reached out to SBSNA & they said that most likely the applicant will be at their March meeting and to check sbsna.org for confirmation.
I am concerned it’s the same guys that ran over Roxborough at Roxborough and Ridge. They actually tore down a historic mansion to build the restaurant; possibly the same play here.
Excellent
Not the tear down.. Excellent that we have a date to oppose this.
thats an absolute disgrace, blows my mind PARC would even allow that in such an historical and beautiful building. the junkies and animals have already ruined that block for the past 20 years… so hey why not give them another business to ruin. what a waste, just when i thought it would get a tad better they build another incubator to house the people on that stretch of broad street
PARC has nothing to do with this in any way.
Does anyone know if the bank building has any original features left on the inside?
I don’t understand the opposition.
Yes, a Wendy’s is not sexy or exciting, but it’s 4000 sq ft. What did you think was going in there?
Also, a lot of the commenters on this site sound horrible. Just because this isn’t a hip & trendy local shop it’s instantly garbage for garbage people.
Holy cow, you are some judgmental people.
The opposition to a Wendy’s is about a lack of long term development and severe underutilization of the busiest corner on the Broad Street Line in Philadelphia besides City Hall. 31,000 people use that subway stop every day. You’re telling me you can’t do better than a Wendy’s when there is already a McDonald’s right next door and a DD 2 stores over? What a waste.
The neighbors (tell me if I’m reading this wrong neighbors) don’t need something hip, trendy and local. We want a business with good paying jobs that supports the neighborhood, keeps external waste and litter to a minimum (see McDonald’s and DD wrappers), and keeps employees hired with low turnover.
None of those requirements require sexy or exciting. The problem is that ANY fast food chain at that corner does not meet any of those requirements.
Let me know if you disagree…
Phil,
I am a far-away neighbor, had planned to move to Philly, slowly changing my mind.
Your comments are “right on”
“The neighbors (tell me if I’m reading this wrong neighbors) don’t need something hip, trendy and local. We want a business with good paying jobs that supports the neighborhood, keeps external waste and litter to a minimum (see McDonald’s and DD wrappers), and keeps employees hired with low turnover.” –
And what is within a few blocks of the City Hall stop? A DD, a McDonalds, and a Wendy’s. And, in the suburban station attached to it, there’s a churches, 2 more DnD, and a Burger king. High traffic areas are prone to attracting fast food places. oh well. It’s a terrible area that has way more to worry about than a damn wendy’s. If you want them to be able to attract more favorable tenants, work on helping to fix the neighborhood around it first. Businesses aren’t going to want to come just because you believe they should want to be there.
You are correct, there is a higher concentration of fast food places by City Hall.
However, all of the fast food spaces are in high-rises or already surrounded by anchor retail stores (or commercial businesses) driving traffic. The fast food places are not the anchor’s themselves and came after the establishment of the viability of the neighborhood.
We need to think about how to improve this block… We need an anchor, a
destination. Wendy’s does not improve the block.
If you walked down South St towards Grays Ferry Ave. 10 years ago you would see the same scene as you do now at Broad and Snyder. But people came together and transformed the area into a nice little neighborhood.
There is enormous potential at Broad and Snyder for this to happen as well! That’s the point of all the pushback. We have to see the forest through the trees and not shrug our shoulders and say, “All is lost.”
I will say it a thousand times — the surrounding neighborhood is fine and stable. You walk one block south and you have 300k homes. East, West, North — same thing. (Check out zillow, redfin, etc.) If there is anything dragging down the neighborhood, it’s the lack of development at Broad and Snyder!
This block needs redemption. Wendy’s does not help.
Simply put, Broad St is the Broadway of Philadelphia, and rarely reflects the neighborhood around it.
In Phil’s world, what goes in there?
Off the top of my head…
A bank?
Professinal Services?
Job Training Site?
Condos?
Food Co-Op?
An Old Nelson?
A New Nelson?
Something commercial – (not fast food…)
I have not been inside – but I can tell you that there are better options.
The best options that we could get through are probably fresh food and/or increased housing density. These options are some of the TOP priorities at Broad and Snyder straight from the Philadelphia Planning Commission report.
as someone who , sadly, has to use this subway stop/smoking den, regularly, i would love to be able to pick up food/fruit/decent fast food on my way home. i am a 15-20 minute walk (in the opposite direction) away from a supermarket & this place is a total food desert. the lung cancer corridor seems devoted to people who have no point in life other than to smoke. i’m assuming they’ll hire people to smoke in front of wendy’s the way they do at rite aid to lure in customers with the promise of lung cancer…
Dude, way too many people smoke in Philly, regardless of neighborhood.
I thought the second busiest station on the Broad Street Line was its original northern terminus, Olney Avenue. It’s certainly the busiest transfer point on the line, with 10 bus routes feeding it.
Seen what the area around it looks like?
Even the McDonald’s, which was from hunger, closed. There are fried-chicken and Chinese takeouts, a steak shop or two or three, a couple of small markets, a Philly Pretzel Factory and a 24-hour Dunkin’ Donuts in which everyone waits for the 18 or 26 westbound when it’s cold.
Granted, Olney’s not surrounded by gentrifying neighborhoods, but: Maybe it’s just a Broad Street thing.
To all interested in meeting before March 15 and start getting organized to fight this matter: our house (10th and Mifflin) is open for a pre-meeting. Any evening next week works for us. Let’s get organized and fight this plan!
Oh, how sad, pitiful–effin corporate America wins again–what an ugly city Philadelphia is becoming !! Is this “gentrification”?? If so, I don’t want it. One of the great cities in America is turning to “ka ka”. Heartbreaking news. Another place for the “down & out”, sorry for them, there are other solutions ! Who is permitting this nonsense , F K corporate America. Another place for the welfare crowd to feed their children–do they ever cook breakfast for their kids?? I live in the “hood” in North Jersey, and McD’s and such chains have taken over and they are booming.
With all the great architects in Philadelphia, could this building be converted into several condo units. People have $$$ to invest in condos and as you all know–Philly is “hot” at this time. Hell, difficult for me to afford a hotel room these days when I, several years ago, used to visit 3 x monthly.
I, for one, have always wanted a premium condo sandwiched between a McDonalds, a high school, a subway station and a check cashing store.
A McDonald’s, Subway Station, (middle) School, and Check Cashing Store are all at 10th and Chestnut. A 1 BR across the St is going for 289k (list).
If there were greater residential density, we would be having a much different conversation – but, yes, this block sucks as-is.
With a little improvement, though, employees of the hospital two blocks down making $400k+ a year, two blocks away, might — just might — want to live in Condos cheap enough there. Also you’ve got a brand new health center opening up less than 2 blocks away. Instead, they go no further than the Starbucks at Jackson St.
We are really, really missing an opportunity here if the zoning board approves this.