Locals oppose U.'s use of house

The University's plan to convert a historic residential home into an academic facility has raised eyebrows among long-term community members struggling to maintain a sense of neighborhood. Zoned as a single-family space, local residents were upset to hear that the house -- owned by the widow of Criminology and Law Professor Marvin Wolfgang -- was sold to the University and set aside to house two new School of Arts and Sciences programs. Penn paid $500,000 to purchase the property at 4106 Locust Street and officials say it will likely be used for the Fox Leadership Program and the Center for Research and Urban Civil Society under the aegis of newly hired Political Science Professor John DiIulio. The Spruce Hill Community Association and the University City Historical Society oppose a zoning change for the site, saying that it would open the door for more properties being occupied by multiple tenants and commercial users. "Communities in University City are systematically under the gun in the struggle of maintaining a residential balance," Spruce Hill Community Association President Barry Grossbach said. Tom Lussenhop, the University's top real estate official, offered a counterpoint in a letter to Grossbach that suggested academic use would in fact pre-empt the large house being broken up into multi-tenant units. Lussenhop, who would not comment other than providing a copy of the letter, also requested a community meeting so DiIulio could show how the programming would deeply involve itself with the community and enrich the area. After buying the property, Penn officials said it was unlikely a single buyer would have been found for the three-story stone mansion, forcing the house to be "carved up" into multi-tenant housing units. The Wolfgang home was custom designed in 1907 and the Jacobian-style residence has seen its share of changes in the neighborhood. Over the years the area has become home to an increasing number of students who have pushed the influence of campus farther and farther west. Some local residents, however, said they resented the presence of an actual academic building near their homes in the Beige Block area. "The University has a lot of other places it can go in terms of looking for new facilities," said College junior Darren Lowe, who lives across the street from the site. "The neighborhood around here, especially Beige Block, has a unique student-run and student-led neighborhood." Lowe said he would prefer having a professor or official live in the house. Of the homes neighboring the Wolfgang house, only one is inhabited by its owner, while most of the houses on the 4100 block of Locust Street are rented by students. "The University is like an octopus -- it has simply expanded with all its tentacles and is taking over," long-time resident Michael Kuncevich said. However, the artist and retired high school art teacher said that he had no complaints about "quiet, academic research study." Kuncevich, who lived next to the Wolfgangs for 30 years, also noted that the number of families has steadily declined, taking with it the neighbor-to-neighbor rituals that take more than an undergraduate's four years to build. And University City Historical Society President Kathy Dowdell said an academic use for the building would go against the intention of its architect and alter the property -- especially its perfectly preserved interior. "Even somebody who's going to do a very careful conversion is going to have to address issues for commercial use that are going to destroy or severely compromise aspects of the house," Dowdell said.