Some fear that the demolition will leave an empty site for years, blighting the neighborhood, while others are concerned with preserving the diminishing number of historic churches in Philadelphia.
Inga Saffron writes that "(D)espite those concerns, the building's owner, the nonprofit Siloam, which provides free services to people with HIV/AIDS, argued that its own survival could be in jeopardy if it were forced to preserve the church and make costly repairs that could require more than $1.5 million."
