(The Philadelphia Inquirer) The abandoned, 2,700-square-foot building sits in the center of Powelton Village's main drag. Its windows are boarded up. Paint on the trim is peeling. Crumpled paper and trash are scattered just inside the entryway, as if someone tossed the debris into the air, let it fall — and permanently locked the door.
In a city where money from real estate investors seems to flow onto new blocks every week, a corner building on Lancaster Avenue, a main commercial corridor in gentrifying West Philadelphia, should have no problem attracting a developer to buy and flip it.
But what about a building tainted by imprisoned abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell?
It's a question that developers could grapple with soon. Earlier this year, the city initiated sheriff's sale proceedings against Gosnell's former "House of Horrors" abortion clinic at 3801-3805 Lancaster Ave., hoping to collect nearly $50,000 of delinquent real estate taxes, plus gas and water debts, that have accumulated since his building was raided in 2010. A court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 27, during which anyone with "ownership interest" in the property — meaning Gosnell himself or someone affiliated with him — can petition the court to pause the sheriff's sale process. If no one appears, Gosnell's clinic will be sold at public auction in early 2019. Read More