Rebuilding Community Infrastructure (Rebuild) is an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in neighborhood parks, recreation centers and libraries across Philadelphia.  Proposed in Mayor Jim Kenney’s first budget as a part of his vision for a more equitable Philadelphia, Rebuild seeks to improve pivotal community spaces, empower and engage communities, and promote economic opportunity through diversity and inclusion.  Rebuild is a public private partnership made possible by the Philadelphia Beverage Tax. For more information about Rebuild visit rebuild.phila.gov.

Community Ventures is a non-profit developer with a mission to work in partnership with neighborhood-based organizations to improve communities and to increase the supply of affordable housing. Community Ventures (CV) was selected by Rebuild as one of the 20 pre-qualified non-profit organizations approved to lead Rebuild projects and was selected to manage the Rebuild project at the Cohocksink Recreation Center. CV will lead the community engagement team (detailed below) to ensure that community voices are heard, manage the design team (detailed below) and construction team (to be selected at a later date) to carry out the Rebuild improvements. For more information about CV visit www.community-ventures.org and follow @CVbuilds on Facebook or @community_ventures on Instagram.

Community Ventures has selected a diverse and experienced team of consultants to work on the Cohocksink project. The team includes minority-owned businesses (MBE) women-owned businesses (WBE) and other non-profit organizations. In addition to these businesses, CV will be working with various City agencies, Councilman Mark Squilla, facility staff, community groups and the community to determine the scope, design, programming and implementation of these improvements.

Recreation Center Building

This project will add an accessible ramp into the building off of Cambria Street; however, due to rising costs and inflation, the other building interior upgrades are postponed and will be considered as part of a potential future phase.

Playground and Fields

Improvements include:

• Basketball court relocation

• Playground expansion

• New safety surface for the playground

• New seating

• New trees

• Baseball and football field upgrades

• Site lighting and security improvements

• Improved ADA Accessibility.

How were these improvements determined?

An initial site assessment evaluated the need for general maintenance updates, site security, improved ADA accessibility, and playground/field improvements. Community and stakeholder input was gathered during each design phase and included 1 virtual and 2 public meetings, multiple stakeholder touchpoints, and public surveys.

The project schedule will continue to evolve but currently Community Ventures anticipates the following milestones:

• Fall 2023 to Early 2024 - Design finalized with community and stakeholder engagement.

• Spring 2024 - Preparation for Construction & Community Updates

• May 2024 - Playground / core area closes for construction. Groundbreaking ceremony

• July 2024 - Site / Field area closes for construction.

• Summer 2025 - Anticipated playground and sports courts completion*

• Spring 2026 - Anticipated fields reopening

*The playground and sports court are reopened in July 2025!

Playground

The playground and courts reopened in July 2025. Please visit and enjoy!

Ball Fields

The refreshed fields are anticipated to reopen by Spring 2026.

Building

The building will remain open and active for programming during construction.

Individuals with construction experience and especially individuals interested in gaining construction experience should check out Rebuild’s workforce development programs. Information about these programs is available at www.phila.gov/programs/rebuild/careers.

Community input is critical to making this project a success and is a priority for all major Rebuild projects. Rebuild and CV encourages all residents to participate in community engagement activities, so their voice can be heard and inform the changes that are made at Cohocksink.

Anyone who is interested in being part of the engagement and design process is encouraged to sign up on this website or email Community Ventures at cohocksink@community-ventures.org. We will let you know about all community meetings, focus groups, and other opportunities to get involved and become a partner in the project.

Please contact Community Ventures via email at cohocksink@community-ventures.org or rebuild@community-ventures.org or call our office at 215-564-6004.

You can get all current information about the project from multiple sources. You can check out our progress on the project website community-ventures.org/rebuildcohocksink, by following us on:

• Facebook- @CVbuilds

• Instagram - @community_ventures

We also run a periodic e-newsletter which we can send out directly to you in your email. Please provide us with your information either on the website or by emailing us at cohocksink@community-ventures.org.