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Greylock

(photo: Bradley Maule)

Greylock History

Greylock was built in 1909 for Henry Laughlin, a pioneer in the steel industry who helped make Pittsburgh a national center of steel production. When Laughlin retired to Philadelphia, he hired Pittsburgh architect William Carpenter to design the Greylock mansion. The 18,000 sq.ft., 22-room residence and four-car garage were built of steel with stone quarried from the estate. The original main entrance was a drive from Crefeld Street that passed a gate lodge at 8838 Crefeld, now a part of the Crefeld School. The façade seen from Chestnut Hill Avenue is actually the mansion’s original rear façade. 

Learn more about the history of the Greylock mansion by clicking HERE to read an article written by George McNeely and published in the Chestnut Hill Local on November 1, 2023. 

Open Letters to the Community

The Conservancy is dedicated to finding a positive and sustainable result for Greylock.

Click HERE to read an open letter to the community by Conservancy President Eileen Javers published in the Chestnut Hill Local on Wednesday, February 15, 2024. Please click HERE to download the article as a PDF.

Click HERE to read an open letter by Executive Director Lori Salganicoff published by Chestnut Hill Local on Wednesday, December 6, 2023. Please click HERE to download the article as a PDF.

Timeline of Ownership and Conservancy Involvement

1909: Built by Henry A. Laughlin (1838-1922)
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1948: The Greylock estate is purchased from the Laughlin family by the Sisters of St. Mary Immaculate and used as facilities to care for the elderly.
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1999: The Sisters of St. Mary Immaculate sold the property at auction to a principal of Vbank (later named NOVA Bank) in November of 1999. The original gatehouse and entrance off of Crefeld Street were subdivided and sold separately at an earlier date.
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2001: The owner donates a conservation easement on the property.
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2004: NOVA Savings Bank sells the property to Greylock Holdings LLC, with the original loan re-executed as an open-end mortgage and security agreement with NOVA, encumbering the mortgaged premises.
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2004: The owner donates a preservation easement and an amendment later that year put additional restrictions on use.
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2022: Greylock Holdings LLC sells the property to Greylock Development Partners LP.

The Easements

Since 2001, with the acceptance of conservation and preservation easements and an amendment, the Chestnut Hill Conservancy and the Friends of the Wissahickon have been committed to preserving 209 West Chestnut Hill Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118.

The objectives of the Conservation Easement are to permanently protect a scenic view of Greylock that has been a valued feature for almost a century. The easement aims to curb density and minimize surface water run-off and soil erosion within the watershed of Wissahickon Creek and foster the growth of healthy, mature native woodlands.

The intent of the Preservation Easement is to protect the substantial stone mansion and four-car garage that remained unchanged since construction, providing an exceptional example of a large turn-of-the-century country estate. The easement protects the views of the sweeping lawn from the public right.

The amendment adds provisions if there is a commercial use of the property. To read the Conservancy’s Easement Amendment Policy, click HERE.

For more information on easements, please click HERE.

The Conservation and Preservation Easement Program of the Chestnut Hill Conservancy in partnership with Friends of the Wissahickon provides property owners with a way to protect the Wissahickon Valleys’ unique landscape for themselves, their neighbors, surrounding communities, and the Philadelphia section of the Wissahickon watershed for future generations. Learn more.

 

Updates


Please visit the Chestnut Hill Community Association (CHCA) page HERE to view the owner’s most recently submitted proposal to the community. 

The Chestnut Hill Conservancy holds conservation and preservation easements and an amendment on the property at 209 West Chestnut Hill Avenue (Greylock). The joint Conservation and Easements Committee (CEC) of the Chestnut Hill Conservancy and Friends of the Wissahickon (FOW) reviewed an early conceptual version of a proposal that is now seeking community feedback through the Registered Community Organization (RCO) variance process. The CEC determined that the initial concepts proposed could be viable IF acceptable and sufficiently balancing conservation measures can be worked out and finalized in an amendment that would then need to pass review by Orphan’s Court and the Chestnut Hill Conservancy’s Board before it could be adopted.

Balancing conservation measures still need to be proposed to the CEC, and the work of that joint easement committee is currently paused to allow this public RCO variance discussion to proceed.

The Chestnut Hill Conservancy has not participated in RCO reviews of the proposal currently under consideration to redevelop at 209 W. Chestnut Hill Avenue, and related variance requests. The organization chose this path on advice of counsel to avoid confusion between the Conservancy’s dual roles as an RCO and as the land trust that holds the conservation easements on the above property.

The organization’s decision not to participate in the RCO process should not be interpreted as an opinion either in support of or in opposition to the project.

If you have any questions about the conservation and preservation easements on this property, please call Executive Director, Lori Salganicoff at 215-247-9329 x 201.

→  Download and print these Greylock FAQs.

→  In this Op-ed in the Chestnut Hill Local, September 8, 2016, Board member Randy Williams explains in simple language the facts about Greylock and easements.

→  In this open letter to the Editor of the Local, Board member Richard Snowden clarifies the causes of the current Greylock situation.

→  Read Philadelphia magazine‘s coverage, August 25, 2016.

→  In this article in the Chestnut Hill Local, on December 14, 2022, Local Editor Carla Robinson discusses a new hope for Greylock.

→  In this article in the Chestnut Hill Local, on October 20, 2023, Local Editor Carla Robinson discusses current development plans.

→  For a history of the Greylock mansion click HERE to read an article by George McNeely (published on November 1, 2023).

Click HERE to read our letter to the community published in the Chestnut Hill Local on Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Click HERE to read an open letter to the community by Conservancy President Eileen Javers published in the Chestnut Hill Local on Wednesday, February 15, 2024. Please click HERE to download the article as a PDF.

In this article in the Chestnut Hill Local, on Thursday, March 21, CHCA President Laura Lucas, and CHCA VP of Physical Division Matt Rutt discuss their vote in support of Greylock.