Panel puts off decision on demo of closed church

PHILADELPHIA » The Philadelphia Historical Commission officials say they need more time to decide the fate of a shuttered 19th-century church after the New Jersey developer who bought it earlier this year asked to demolish it, saying the crumbling structure faces imminent collapse.

After hearing Friday from structural engineers who disagreed about the stability of St. Laurentius in Fishtown, which neighbors and former parishioners have been campaigning to save for years, the commission referred the demolition application to its architecture committee for review later this month, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Commissioner David Perri of the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections

said he considered the demolition application an urgent matter and had hoped for a decision Friday.

“We cannot emphasize enough that time is of the essence as this building continues to deteriorate and the latest engineering reports suggest that a failure beyond the loss of facade stone can be expected,” he wrote Thursday in a letter to the commission.

The church was built in 1882 with the donations of Polish immigrants. In 2014, the archdiocese of Philadelphia announced its closure, citing “vertical cracks” and a “heavily deteriorated” facade that threatened collapse without restoration that would cost an estimated $3.5 million. Supporters said their estimates totaled only $700,000. The historical commission added the church to the city’s historic register in 2015.