I love stories like this one from the Holmesburg section of the city. Apparently, an Atlanta-based firm is having a hard time convincing the neighbors that their idea for a 20-acre tract of land, that at one time was a raging, 10-alarm tire fire, would be good for the neighborhood:
For almost a decade Steve Levetan has been trying to convince people that his do-it-yourself used auto-parts sites - what folks usually call junkyards - can be neighborly and environmentally friendly.
Though Atlanta-based Pull-A-Part boasts of a "perfect environmental record nationwide" and surrounds its sites with eight-foot-high solid fence, trees and landscaping, Levetan is the first to admit it isn't always an easy sell.
And Philadelphia, which Levetan would like as his first Pull-A-Part in the Northeastern United States, is reaffirming his experience.
The part that really caught my eye was this:
Levetan said the company had offered to pay travel expenses for Holmesburg residents who want to see firsthand its operations in Atlanta; Birmingham, Ala.; Nashville; Charlotte, N.C.; Louisville, Ky.; and Augusta, Ga.
So far the company has had no takers and the neighbors remain cool.
A free trip to Nashville? or Augusta? And all I have to do is look at a junkyard? Why hasn't anyone from the neighborhood taken him up on the offer?
Anyone have any thoughts on this story? I have to admit, with only this story to go on, which I think presented both sides pretty well, I'd be inclined to let this Levetan guy give the idea a try. While I really like the civic association's idea to turn the site into a "green energy field" and "use environmentally friendly methods to produce electricity, sell power to local utilities, and use the money to build a community center," there's no mention in this story about whether any company has stepped up to do that.
Regardless, either option seems more environmentally and neighborhood-friendly than the site's current use - parking scores of tractor-trailers. Twenty or twenty-five new jobs and a $5 million investment in the site - seems like a good deal. If this is just going to be another junkyard, though, you can keep that in Atlanta.