Photo from One Art Community Center’s Facebook page.

A great community effort is underway on North 52nd Street. An Earthship, a 100 percent sustainable, “green” home, is being built on a vacant lot at 5128-5146 Warren St., from both natural and recycled materials.

The project is spearheaded by the One Art Community Center (formerly Wall Street International), which is planning to create an urban sustainability center and expand its artistic and educational programs for the community. One Art has already been running an educational farm in the area, which includes an orchard and organic learning garden.

This is the second Earthship being built in West Philadelphia. The first project, led by non-profit organization LoveLovingLove Inc., began last year at 675 N. 41st Street.

One Art’s plan is to build a two-story, four-room solar-powered building complete with bathrooms by the end of the year, if they get enough funding and materials, according to CBS Philly.

By the way, this Saturday, One Art is hosting a big community festival, titled A Midsummer Night’s Dream, at their location at 5128-46 Warren Street. The festival, which will feature 15+ musical acts, workshops, a fashion show, art installations, live painting and glassblowing, vending and much more, will be held from 1 p.m. Aug. 22 to 4 a.m. Aug. 23. For more information and tickets ($30), visit the event’s Facebook page.

University of the Sciences officials have some plans they want to share with the community and they are holding a community meeting on Thursday, Aug. 20. University leadership will provide updates on the Campus Master Plan and reveal their plans regarding a celebration of the long history of the Alexander Wilson School.

The meeting will be at the McNeil Science and Technology Center at 45th and Woodland from 7 – 8 p.m.

As a reminder, Alexander Wilson Elementary School was permanently closed in 2013, and USciences purchased the 1.03-acre parcel at 46th and Woodland last fall with the plans to convert it into student housing and student-focused retail.

Former Alexander Wilson School building at 46th and Woodland (Google Street View image).

As you may know, actor Kevin Bacon’s father, Edmund Bacon, was born in West Philadelphia and was a renowned architect and Philadelphia city planner. Kevin and his brother, well-known musician Michael Bacon, are encouraging both students and professionals to be part of the 2016 Better Philadelphia Challenge with a chance to win $5,000. The annual urban design competition was founded in 2006 in memory of Ed Bacon.

The 2016 competition focuses on the Mantua/Belmont section of West Philadelphia, which was designated as a “Promise Zone” by President Obama.

“As part of this neighborhood’s development, what physical design interventions could encourage healthy and active lifestyles, thereby improving public health among residents?” reads the competition announcement.  Continue Reading

New apartment building on S. 45th St. (Photo West Philly Local)

Those who often walk down 45th Street must have noticed new construction between Locust and Spruce streets. The “by right” project – meaning it doesn’t need variances or local approval – started in late spring at 245 S. 45th St. and is progressing quickly. The four-story apartment building has been carefully inserted between old West Philly row homes. It is taller than the adjacent houses. As was reported last fall, the new 15-unit building is owned by Glasberg Properties, which owns other – mostly student housing – projects in the city. We hear that these will be market rate apartments, priced at about $2000/month.

Naked Philly has some more details and photos of the building here.

Former Transition To Independent Living Center building at 4534-36 Spruce St (archived photo).

The new owners of the former Transition To Independent Living Center building at the corner of 46th and Spruce streets will be at the Spruce Hill Community Association’s zoning meeting on Thursday, Aug. 6, to hear what neighborhood residents want to see developed at the site.

The building went up for sale again in June after its owner, Mission First, didn’t receive enough funding for the development of an affordable housing project at the site. The new owners have not been identified yet.

The meeting will take place at SHCA’s office at 257 S. 45th St., beginning at 6:30 p.m., and the 4534-36 site will be discussed first (for approximately 30 minutes).

Other development projects to be discussed at the meeting include:

– Ronald McDonald House expansion plans. (7 p.m.)

– Jubilee School (4211 Chester Avenue) – Erection of a mobile trailer at the rear of the lot for expanded educational activities. (7:15 p.m.)

– 4249 Walnut–Construction of a two-story addition in the rear of an existing three-story structure. (7:30 p.m.)

Replacement of deteriorating 41st Street Bridge, which connects Mantua Avenue and Poplar Street, will begin on Sunday, July 12, the Philadelphia Streets Department has announced. The bridge will be demolished and removed within three months. The new bridge, a two-span continuous structure with architectural concrete parapets and fencing, is expected to be open by December 2016. The proposed roadway will include two travel lanes with wide shoulders and sidewalks, new street lighting, signing, line striping, ADA curb ramps, and enhanced safety features, such as the realignment of the Mantua Avenue and 41st Street intersection.

Demolition and construction activities will be carried during overnight hours – 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. – on Sunday through Thursday.

This work is part of the $10.8M contract with Loftus Construction, and is being funded using 80 percent federal and 20 percent state dollars.