Temple University suffered a setback in City Council on Thursday when City Council President Darrell Clarke recalled a zoning bill that would have enabled the construction of a four-story preschool and dental clinic.
Dubbed the Alpha Center, the building is intended to rise on a surface parking lot that currently occupies the corner of 13th Street and Diamond Street on a block mostly occupied by homes inhabited by long-term residents, not students.
The center contains amenities designed to serve the entire community, not just those affiliated with the university. Even so, many people in the neighborhood fiercely oppose the project, arguing that it is a deceitful peace offering meant to pave the way for a hugely controversial football stadium that Temple plans to build on the other side of Broad Street.
Clarke recalled his zoning bill in the face of this persistent opposition. Neighborhood residents have attended almost every City Council meeting in 2018 to give speeches during the public comment period in opposition to the bill and the Alpha Center.
“They hire lobbyists they have a lot of folks on staff, and they can’t figure out a way to deal with that situation up in that neighborhood,” said Clarke. “Daycare, early education should be a no-brainer. How they couldn’t figure out how to get the support of that local community is beyond me.”
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