bidding wars

What If Philadelphia Got A Better Offer For The Boy Scouts Building? Mel Heifetz Just Made One

What would the City of Philadelphia do if it got a better offer for the 13,000-square-foot Logan Square building it’s about to sell to the Boy Scouts of America for $500K? Entrepreneur and philanthropist Mel Heifetz, a veteran gay rights advocate, would like to find out. He’s making the city an even better offer. The Philadelphia Daily News reports:

Heifetz, who sent the offer to Mayor Nutter and the public property commissioner yesterday, said that if he successfully bought the 13,000-square-foot building at 22nd and Winter streets, he would donate it to a charitable organization that does not discriminate. “I thought maybe we can right a wrong. It would be very nice if the building were in the hands of some gay group,” said Heifetz, who several years ago paid off the mortgage for the William Way Community Center, which serves the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. A spokesman for Nutter declined to comment last night, saying the city had not seen the offer. Nutter has defended the proposed settlement, saying it would end an expensive legal fight and the risk that city taxpayers would eventually have to pay the Scouts’ legal bills.

Of course Heifetz’s offer would have to be for more than $500K for it to be in the city’s fiscal interests — since selling the the building to the Scouts comes with a promise the group will drop the $900,000 legal bill the city is also on the hook for.

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