Premature Burial

LAST RIGHTS: Jim Turner wants to let his funeral home property die a natural death, much to the disappointment of some Roxborough residents. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Roxborough residents fight to save a historic funeral home. There's only one problem: Uh, it's not historic.

by Kate Salute

Jim Turner's hair is turning a whitish-gray. Very likely, many of those gray hairs have sprung up within the past year thanks to the clamor surrounding the sale of his landmark Roxborough funeral home to a development company that plans to raze it. Turner thinks many in the neighborhood consider him a villain.

"I can't make a profit in this area. Where were they a year ago?" says Turner, referring to the Roxborough residents who are trying to keep Turner Funeral Home from being demolished. They've tried to get it on the Philadelphia Historic Register but there was one problem: The building is not that old or historic.

In fact, Turner points out, the neighboring building that houses Interac Adult Day Service Center is older and more historic. It was erected in the late 1800s, while Turner's, which sits on Ridge Avenue, was built in the 1920s and not the 1880s his neighbors claim.

"It was built as a funeral home," says Turner. While the garage resembles a converted stable, he notes, "It was always a funeral home and this was always a garage."

He's even got papers to prove it. They hang on a wall in the front parlor.

The funeral business, which started in East Falls, has been in the Turner family for 125 years. Turner says he's not actually selling the business. Rather, he's "selling the property and moving the business to West Laurel Hill." Still, some neighbors are worried.

Jill Schneider, president of the Central Roxborough Civic Association (CRCA), says she's concerned with "demolition without appreciation for the current buildings and the attractiveness of their landscapes." And Kevin Smith, president of the Manayunk Neighborhood Council, is worried about what could come after Turner's.

"I don't want to see it replaced with ugly buildings," he says. "We don't need more stores."

They needn't worry about that, says Provco Development Group Vice President Jerry Holtz, who refers to his company's plans as "a very classy streetscape design." He hopes that once they close on the property and rebuild from the ground up, national retailers will be attracted to the area.

Despite that, Patti Brennan, president of the Ridge Park Civic Association (RPCA), says she's tired of seeing bulldozers tear down the beautiful buildings on Ridge.

"Turner's has so much character," she says. "It is a part of our history, even if it's not yet on a register."

When asked what the CRCA has done to stop the sale of Turner's to Provco, Schneider had no comment. However, she hopes to be able to work with the developer to come up with something that will "be as nice or reflect the character of Roxborough."

Holtz says the company is looking at the possibility of keeping the office building, but doesn't think a business will move into the building as it stands today.

"Sure, it's beautiful, but what is there to save, what could be put in here?" Turner asks.

Enter Nicos Elias, the director of an Allentown funeral home who has had a lifelong dream to own his own business. He says it was almost realized in Roxborough.

Before Provco came into the picture, Elias had heard about the Turner property through a friend who lives in the neighborhood and is in tune with the funeral-home buzz, as Elias puts it. "It isn't very often that funeral homes are up for sale and when it does happen, it's a relatively undercover thing," says Elias.

With melancholy in his voice, Elias says, "I had a letter of intent and a verbal agreement" to buy Turner's buildings, which Elias claims Turner signed.

"I thought it was a done deal. I gave notice on my job, lost a lot of money on consultations, hired movers. ... But I guess I got trumped by Provco. I didn't even get the chance to counteroffer," he claims.

After he learned that Provco was in negotiations with Turner, Elias approached Holtz and proposed that Holtz lease the funeral home to him but was denied. (Holtz says he thought Elias was joking.)

On the off chance that Turner's is not torn down — if Provco and Turner do not finalize their agreement — residents say they think the buildings could house law or doctor's offices, a veterinary clinic, a restaurant, a bed-and-breakfast or an insurance office.

But as Smith said, "It's easy for me to sit back and say somebody do something."

Until everything is finalized, Turner is going gray just trying to deal with the issues Roxborough residents have raised around the sale of his historically insignificant, aesthetically pleasing funeral home. Meanwhile, Elias waits for another golden opportunity to own and operate a Philadelphia funeral home.