Cheltenham’s libraries, pools, and community centers are getting old. Should they be renovated or replaced?

Proposals to dramatically rearrange the town’s public buildings and services have residents worried about preserving the character of its neighborhoods.

Many older suburbs close to Philadelphia are wrangling with builders eager to build and residents determined to protect the architecture, history, and ambience that make their communities so attractive to developers.

Ardmore, Narberth, and Swarthmore have sought to balance the demand for new housing with concerns about proposed building heights, density, and parking.

But in Cheltenham, proposals to dramatically rearrange a well-established landscape of public buildings and services have residents worrying whether doing so will not only disrupt but also diminish quality of life for the township’s 38,500 residents.

Four options outlined in a study prepared by KCBA architects and presented to Cheltenham’s Board of Commissioners last fall include renovating or relocating much-loved facilities such as the La Mott Community Center and the Cheltenham Center for the Arts; demolishing the popular Glenside and Conklin swimming pools in favor of building a single, larger, centrally located pool; and constructing a central library in place of the freestanding branches in Elkins Park and Glenside.

Consolidating municipal facilities and services at one or two new centrally located “campuses,” or renovating and replacing some existing structures, could cost $66.2 million to $92.9 million, according to the study — which, itself, cost Cheltenham $60,000.

“We need to find the best or at least a better balance between the efficiencies of centralized [operations] while continuing to recognize the neighborhood character of our township,” said Matthew Areman, president of Cheltenham’s seven-member board of commissioners.

The study focused mostly on bricks and mortar has raised concerns about potential impact on an important way Cheltenham has long seen itself: as an urbane suburb with a small-town vibe.

Much like its neighbors — Northeast and Northwest Philly — Cheltenham is a densely populated collection of distinct neighborhoods. Well before “walkability” became a thing, Glenside, Elkins Park, La Mott, and Wyncote have been prized for the ease with which kids could ride bikes and adults could walk to their destinations.

“One central pool makes me think of a mob scene,” said Melissa Monserrat, a registered nurse who grew up spending summers at Glenside pool and watched her two children learn to swim there.

“It can’t possibly be more cost-effective to build a monstrosity than it would be to improve upon what we have at Glenside and Conklin, so we can keep the fabric of the communities as they are,” she said.

Monserrat and other Cheltenham residents have weighed in at public meetings with more than 300 email comments solicited by the township and through 359 responses to a survey conducted by the Cheltenham Chamber of Citizens.

“Most of those who responded are against centralization and against demolition of historic buildings,” said Edie Cerebi, who moved to Cheltenham in 1978 and lives in Wyncote. She founded the chamber in 2009 during a battle over a proposed 700-slot parking garage at SEPTA’s Wyncote-Jenkintown station.

“No one is denying we do need to do something about our fail,” Cerebi said. “The question is what and how.”

History as essential to character

Inhabited by the Lenape and other native peoples and settled by Europeans in 1682, Cheltenham by the late 19th century was fast becoming one of Philadelphia’s most significant suburbs.

The rolling landscape, proximity to the city, and abundant rail service inspired titans of industry to build great estates in the township. The upper-middle-class area of Wyncote, now on the National Register of Historic Places, also featured grand houses designed by eminent architects.

Other parts of Cheltenham have an abundance of history.

Camp William Penn, where 11,000 Black soldiers were trained to fight with the Union Army during the Civil War, is a block from the La Mott Community Center. The library branch that once operated inside the center is closed, and for several years, the center itself has been periodically shut down and only partially functional — despite being part of the Camptown Historic District on the National Register.

“We need that community center to open again,” said Joyce Werkman, a 40-year resident of Cheltenham and for nearly two decades the director of the Camp William Penn Museum at 1618 Willow Ave. She also is a founder of Citizens for Restoration of Historical La Mott.

“The center always was a safe space for children,” she said. “And that’s a precious thing.”.

Like the neighborhood, the center is named in honor of the abolitionist Lucretia Mott. Longtime neighborhood resident Geraldine Brown founded La Mott Citizens United to lobby for improvements to the facility.

Public buildings in the township “have been deteriorating for years, and it’s like somebody just put a Band-Aid on them despite how bad they are,” Brown said. “This building needs to come back to life.”

Like the Mott Center, the Cheltenham Center for the Arts operates in a former public school building. Since 1953, it has offered exhibits, classes, and cultural events at the Ashbourne Road facility it rents from the township for $1 annually. The old Joseph Heller School has a 100-seat theater, light-filled studios, and 2,000 square feet of galleries. It’s also on the National Register of Historic Places.

People who have been part of the arts center for decades are worried about the facilities proposals, said executive director Margaret Griffen.

“We came through the pandemic and have continued to thrive. I’m worried this kind of disruption could really affect our ability to serve our community,” she said. “But we are hoping to continue to find ways forward.”

The Cheltenham Township Library System, which describes itself as a “place maker” in the community, did strategic planning in 2021. Although separate from the township’s facilities study, the library’s effort largely came to a similar conclusion.

“The CTLS and the board recommend a modern, central library facility” as well as “at least two, small, satellite libraries [to be] located in township facilities,” library director Mary Kay Moran wrote in a letter to the community posted on the system’s website.

“Where the satellites will be located is completely up to the township,” she said in an interview.

Pros and cons

Township resident Rhonda Genzink Isser, whose Cheltenham Infrastructure Solutions page on Facebook has 1,700 followers, said residents are skeptical of the facilities plan because they’re skeptical of the board of commissioners and believe the big decisions already have been made.

“They seem to want a central campus, but there’s been no discussion about how they’re going to pay for the maintenance,” she said. “Shutting down the neighborhood facilities would be a mistake. Those buildings are important to our community and our history.”

Members of the township’s Republican Party organization — which has no representation on the all-Democratic board of commissioners — said they, too, have concerns about the proposal.

“I don’t believe any of the numbers in the proposal, except the 5% annual increase in the tax rate they’re projecting,” said Thom Estilow, chairman of the Cheltenham Township Republican Organization.

John Raisch, a walking and biking advocate, said he hoped the public discussion would renew efforts to connect the Tookany Creek Trail and other trails in the township into the emerging regional system.

“We’ve had a lot of studies and community support but only a small amount of build, and lots of people asking how do we move these ideas forward,” Raisch said.

Areman said he and fellow commissioners “are retooling the proposals in light of all the feedback” from the public. “I anticipate [KCBA] will put out a revised recommendation, which will receive more feedback, in the next few weeks.”

Commissioner Mitchell Zygmund-Felt said board members “are being prudent and diligent” in their deliberation. “We’re still not ready to make any decisions,” he said.