Ori Feibush Gets the Go-Ahead for Townhomes at 20th and Wharton

The ZBA approved the plans from OCF Holdings yesterday. Feibush: "Hallelujah."

The warehouse at 20th and Wharton has since been demolished. | via Google Street View

The warehouse at 20th and Wharton has since been demolished. | via Google Street View

We know all about Ori Feibush’s failed run at Councilman Kenyatta Johnson’s seat on City Council. We know all about the numerous heated meetings about his developments in Point Breeze. Yesterday, it looks like Feibush has received some good news about the long-planned project at 20th and Wharton.

Naked Philly, a real estate blog whose parent company is Feibush’s OCF Realty, announced the project at 2010 Wharton received the necessary approvals to move forward with construction of 22 townhomes.

We’ll leave it to Naked Philly to sum it up:

Last week the project went before the Zoning Board in a marathon two-hour session, and the project was held for discussion. Today, the ZBA voted in support of the project. When reached for comment, developer Ori Feibush simply said “Hallelujah.”

Each home will feature a roof deck and its own parking space. The original plan did not call for any parking to be included, which irked the neighbors, to say the least.

The warehouse was a key topic in a November 2014 interview with Jared Brey of PlanPhilly. Feibush was making a run at City Council and had divested from the properties he owned to avoid any conflicts of interest, except the warehouse. Feibush said he strategically held onto the building, due the property being zoned industrial and not residential.  “It’s a very difficult building to make financial sense for anyone else, and it’s difficult for me to sell a building if, frankly, I’m afraid to sell it, because under the current zoning code, if I sell it to somebody who wants to open a gas station, they could tomorrow. And that goes counter to everything I’ve ever wanted over there.”

Construction at 2010 Wharton Street is expected to kick off in September.