Building on the past

It once housed the U.S. Naval Academy and served as the nation’s first retirement home for sailors and Marines.

Now, after a long period of dormancy and decay, the Naval Home at 23rd and Bainbridge streets is again a center of activity.

Fatefully located in the burgeoning South of South neighborhood, the Naval Home property is suddenly prime real estate. Toll Brothers Inc., the property’s owner for 22 years, is busy converting the historic site into Naval Square, Philadelphia’s first gated community.

Finally ready to show off progress at work, on Nov. 17, Toll Brothers representatives guided Mayor John Street, Council President Anna Verna and other city officials through Biddle Hall, one of the Naval Home’s historic centerpieces.

Donning hard hats, the group witnessed the transformation taking place inside the building that soon will house 66 condominium units.

Phase I of the project will bring a total of 345 units to the 20-acre site.

Other renovations will include the Biddle Hall annex (renamed Strickland Court), which will accommodate 108 condos. Two more historic buildings — the Surgeon General’s Residence and the Governor’s Residence — will be altered to include another 12 units.

Also part of the blueprint is City View, a four-story, 24-unit condominium building.

Buyers looking for a more spacious setting can snag one of the 135 townhomes now under construction.

The units and homes will sell from the mid-$200,000 to the $700,000 range beginning this winter. Construction of Phase I will conclude next summer.

Aside from the advantage of on-site parking, Toll Brothers is marketing a host of amenities, such as Naval Square’s aesthetically pleasing landscape, which includes 100-year-old London Plain trees, a park and a jogging trail.

Zvi Barzilay, the developer’s president and chief operating officer, talked up the site’s central location and its accessibility to University City and 30th Street Station.

"I’d like to describe it as the hole in the doughnut," he said.

Street commended Toll Brothers’ efforts while attempting to explain bureaucratic delays incurred as the developer awaited approvals from the city, state and federal historical commissions.

"These approvals were necessary to make sure that the development is consistent with the architectural standards that are so important to us," he said.

Biddle Hall, the Surgeon General’s Residence and the Governor’s Residence are classified as National Historic Landmarks.

"When I think of this facility, it would have been just a tragedy … if we had leveled this place, came through with bulldozers and put up some new construction," the mayor said.

Verna thanked the community for its patience as development remained in limbo.

"They are the ones that have lived through the blight of the Naval Home since it closed … and will be affected by this project," she said.

While the site has the capacity to hold 1,000 units, Phase II of the project has yet to be designed, said Barzilay.

Since its inception as a military facility, the Naval Home has enjoyed proud moments and endured turbulent times.

Originally constructed in 1830 with the help of architect William Strickland, the Biddle Home was a prime example of Greek Revival architecture.

For a brief time, the structure was the first home of the U.S. Naval Academy before it moved to its present location in Annapolis, Md., in 1845.

The Naval Home served as a residence for retired Naval and Marine Corps personnel until the Navy moved out in 1976. Toll Brothers purchased the property from the federal government in 1982.

By 1987, the site was vacant and had become a neighborhood eyesore. Trash, graffiti and rodents plagued the property. The community angrily lobbied the city and Toll Brothers to provide better security.

There was promise again in 1998, when Toll Brothers announced plans to finally build. In the meantime, the site remained in poor condition and Licenses and Inspections issued the developer a citation in 2002. The city backed off when Toll Brothers promised to take action to rehabilitate the Naval Home buildings.

The developer continued to await clearance from various historical agencies. Then, in February 2003, it seemed the project was dealt a fatal blow.

An arson fire damaged Biddle Hall, and L&I; said the site would be declared "imminently dangerous." However, residents formed a grassroots initiative to salvage the property. The hope — now realized — was that Toll Brothers could go ahead with redevelopment plans while preserving the buildings’ history.

The neighborhood’s climate is now perfect for the rehabilitation of the Naval Home, commented Kevin Hanna, secretary of the city’s Office of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation.

"This development is a very good example of the successes of the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative," he said of the city’s effort to demolish vacant homes and restore neighborhoods.

Hanna added that the developer "would have sat on" the property for another 20 years if it were not marketable. "They saw the value of the property once the neighborhood turned around."

Directing a crowd of onlookers, Paul Commito, director of acquisitions and development for Toll Brothers, said the benefits will extend beyond Naval Square’s residents.

"It’s so important to the neighborhood and it’s so important to us," he said.

One of the community members on the tour marveled at the project’s attention to historic details.

"You can really see the vision," said Lisa Parsley, a member of the South of South Street Neighborhood Association and resident of the 2300 block of St. Albans Street. "It’s going to live for the next 200 years or more."