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 Lawncrest Recreation Center and the Lawncrest Library. 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 Lawncrest projects. 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, Councilwoman Cherelle Parker, facility staff, community groups and the community to determine the scope, design, programming and implementation of these improvements.
The consultants are on the community engagement and design teams include:
The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation (FLPF) who is leading the community engagement process for both the recreation center and the library.
The Design Team will be led by SITIO architecture + urbanism (MBE) as the architect and Meliora Design (WBE) as the civil engineer. They will be assisted by:
Hunt Engineering (WBE) – Structural Engineer
J+M Engineering1 – Mechanical Engineer
SALT Design Studio (WBE) – Landscape Architect
Re:Vision Architecture – Sustainability Consulting
Promatech (WBE) – Cost Estimating
Rebuild, Community Ventures and the rest of the project team have evaluated the existing conditions at both facilities, had initial discussions with staff members at both locations and some community members. From the information gathered so far, we have determined the following items should be included the Rebuild improvements.
Scope elements which require engagement for community:
Lawncrest Library
Building signage and windows
entryway and landscape
bathrooms
furniture and sections
doorway and front desk
Lawncrest Recreation Center:
new building addition
gymnasium interior
auditorium interior
playground (future phase)
basketball courts (future phase)
playing fields (future phase)
bathrooms
Scope elements which require general repair and maintenance:
inside and outside of the buildings
heating and cooling, plumbing and lighting
green spaces
boxing/ pool building (future phase)
pool area
Library
The library is temporarily closed for renovations. Please visit the Bushrod Library (6304 Castor Ave)​ or the Northeast Regional Library (2228 Cottman Ave) until the Lawncrest Library reopens in the fall of 2024.
Recreation Center
Most of the grounds and fields will remain open through Summer 2024. There will be future updates on closures to other parts of the site as construction progresses.
One of the main priorities of the Rebuild program is to promote diversity and economic inclusion. Rebuild and Community Ventures will support minorities and women who work (or want to work) in the design and construction industries. CV already has a diverse team including minority, women, and locally-owned firms and CV has committed to furthering Rebuild’s goals throughout design, community engagement and construction.
The design and community engagement consultants listed above were selected using Rebuild’s Vendor Selection requirements. These requirements state that most opportunities to work on Rebuild projects include a Requests for Proposals or Qualifications (RFPs/RFQs) that’s posted on the Rebuild Contract Opportunity Portal for a minimum of 14 days. All selected consultants were among the respondents to the posted RFPs/RFQs and CV selected them based on their experience and qualifications, with special consideration for MBE/WBE owned companies to meet CV’s and Rebuild’s participation goals.
Additional opportunities, including the project general contractor and all subcontractors, will be posted on the Rebuild Contract Opportunity Portal for the Lawncrest project and all other Rebuild projects managed by CV and others. The Rebuild Contractor Opportunity Portal is located at this link: rebuildphila.wpengine.com.
Individuals with construction experience and especially individuals interested in gaining construction experience should check out Rebuild’s workforce development programs which are designed to help more minorities and women gain access to careers in construction. Information about these programs is available at www.phila.gov/programs/rebuild/careers.
Additionally, Community Ventures plans to select a general contractor early in the design process per the Selection Process described above. CV will work with the selected general contractor on a series of community subcontractor and workforce interest meetings to identify local MBE & WBE subcontractors as well as interested individuals looking for employment during the Lawncrest renovation. If you are specifically interested in working on the Lawncrest renovation, email lawncrest@community-ventures.org with your contact information and experience and we will add you to our list and notify you of future construction opportunities for the Lawncrest Rebuild project.
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 Lawncrest.
Anyone who is interested in being part of the engagement and design process is encouraged to sign up on our interest form [link to form], speak with one of the Lawncrest Ambassadors [link to Ambassadors info] or email Community Ventures at lawncrest@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 Patrick Isaac from Community Ventures via email at lawncrest@community-ventures.org with any questions. Patrick or another member of the Lawncrest Rebuild team will respond to your question as soon as we are able to gather the correct answer. Email is preferred, but Patrick can also be reached at 215-564-6004 x104.
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/rebuildlawncrest, by following us on:
Facebook- @lawncrestambassadors, @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 lawncrest@community-ventures.org.