Development News

Over the next ten months, approximately 120 Youthbuild Philadelphia students will transform two vacant homes in Nicetown into models of sustainable living. The homes, located at 2006 and 2008 West Wingohocking Street, are the latest projects in a neighborhood experiencing a swell of investment.
 
The homes sit directly across the street from Wayne Junction Station, where SEPTA is investing $18 million in intermodal improvements. Down the street is Nicetown Court I, a mixed-use mixed-income project completed in 2011; Nicetown Court II, a 50-unit mixed-use development, is currently under construction.

Youthbuild Philadelphia, an offshoot of YouthBuild USA, is a charter school that gives students the opportunity to earn high school diplomas or GEDs while exposing them to real world trades such as construction.
 
For these homes, Youthbuild has partnered with the Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation, an arm of the world’s largest building materials company (their North American operations are based in Valley Forge), to ensure the structures are built with a sustainable, energy-efficient ethos.
 
"This project gives us the chance to pair young adults side-by-side with top-notch building scientists and experts," says Carmen Ferrigno, Saint-Gobain's vice president of communications. "It is a great opportunity for the kids to see people with careers in this field and see what it is like to have this type of job."
 
The Nicetown project will be the second completed by YouthBuild and Saint-Gobain as part of a three-year partnership. Accoding to Ferrigno, the first project -- located on Greene Street in Germantown -- "really surprised" his company with the impact it had on the young adults.
 
"We saw it was a very important experience for them to learn a new trade," says Ferrigno. "One student latched on to welding and has now earned an apprenticeship with a local union."
 
And ultimately, those stories are what the partnership is all about.

"These students go through a transformation," adds Ferrigno. "Using top-of-the-line building materials, we're pairing kids with experts to learn not just a new trade but the latest innovations in our industry."

Source:  Carmen Ferrigno, VP of communications, Saint-Gobain Corporation Foundation
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Last September, a Delaware County-based grocery chain signed a letter of intent to open a new supermarket in Camden's Haddon Avenue Transit Village, signaling progress on the long-delayed project. Unfortunately, they've since backed out of the deal. Undeterred -- and with a potential $50 million in state tax credits in their pocket -- civic leaders and project boosters are moving forward.

The Transit Village is a passion project for its advocates, Grapevine Development, Cooper's Ferry Partnership, the City of Camden, Camden County, Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center and the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA). The development's first phase calls for 30-to-40,000 square feet of office space (mostly for Our Lady of Lourdes),100 housing units, a 50,000-square-foot grocery and a parking garage.

"Once we get a grocery store committed -- and the retail plan largely complete -- we can move forward," says David Foster, president of the Cooper's Ferry Partnership. "We envision breaking ground later this year or early next year."

The site's 15 acres are in a prime location right between Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center and the Ferry Avenue PATCO rail station, which connects directly to Center City. The plans include streetscape and pedestrian improvements to Haddon Avenue.

According to Foster, the roadway improvements will eventually tie into the area's trail system, including the Camden Greenway, making the Transit Village a focal point in the regional trails network.

Source:  David Foster; President, Cooper's Ferry Partnership
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

On May 22 from 4 to 6 p.m., the Philadelphia skating community will converge on brand new Paine's Park for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The park, which incorporates sustainable design elements while accommodating both pedestrians and skaters, is already garnering national attention as the first -- and largest -- open space in the country designed specifically for skateboarders.

Franklin’s Paine Skatepark Fund Executive Director Claire Laver says the ceremony is particularly significant considering the project's long history.

"It's a memontous occasion," she says. "After nearly a decade of planning and fundraising, we’re finally opening the park."
 
The park cost $4.5 million to build; the money was raised through a variety of funding sources. To help with the finishing touches, the Fund launched a Kickstarter campaign earlier this year, earning over $10,000.

The design also accommodates pedestrians and other uses; it features pedestrian seating areas, a 360-degree observation deck, an amphitheater for outdoor events, and connections to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Schuylkill Banks. In a nod to other public spaces popular among skateboarders, the design incorporated reclaimed granite slabs from LOVE Park and eight benches from Dilworth Plaza.

A number of events are already lined up for the space. On Go Skateboarding Day (June 21), the Zumiez Couch Tour will swing through Paine’s Park as part of their nine-city tour; in October, the park will host the finale of the second annual Philly Cup Skateboard Series.

Source:  Claire Laver, Executive Director, Franklin’s Paine Skatepark Fund
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

A large-scale condominium project is set to break ground early next year in Ardmore on the Main Line. The $20 million development is being built by Cornerstone Communities and the Provco Group, and will replace the existing Main Line YMCA on St. George's Road, a facility that's been there for 57 years.
 
Once complete, the project will feature 32 condos in a four-story development. The site is across from shopping mecca Suburban Square and adjacent to a SEPTA rail station, a carrot for this sort of high-density transit-oriented development.
 
The Y will vacate their current digs at the beginning of October for greener pastures in Haverford. With that move in the works, the parent organization, the Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA, approached SSH Real Estate to find a suitable buyer.

"Immediately, we had a lot of interest," explains SSH's Adam Gillespie. "It's right at the doorstep of one of the Main Line’s best retail complexes and transit is close by."

In all, the firm received 13 offers -- some for residential projects, others from those looking to reuse the Y as a community center and health complex.

"After the property was on the market for two months, we decided to go with the offer that had the best terms and best chance of coming to fruition," explains Gillespie.

The Lower Merion Planning Commission agrees with Gillespie, and recently gave their stamp of approval for the project. While some zoning hurdles still remain, the development team is looking to break ground early next year. 

Source:  Adam Gillespie, SSH Real Estate
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

On the heels of South Philadelphia High School's crowdsourced fundraising campaign for its Greening Master Plan and rooftop farm, Lauren Mandel, one of the project’s landscape designers, has released EAT UP.

The first full-length book about rooftop food production, EAT UP was published internationally by New Society Publishers, a carbon-neutral publishing house.

Mandel divides the book into three sections: one for small-scale rooftop gardeners, one for large-scale farmers, and one for urban planners and designers interested in implementing rooftop farming on a neighborhood scale.

The book is the culmination of three-and-a-half years of research for Mandel, who works as a project manager and rooftop agriculture specialist at the local green roof firm Roofmeadow. She started the book while still studying landscape architecture at Penn.

"EAT UP started as an academic exercise, asking 'Is rooftop agriculture viable?'" explains Mandel. "After quickly learning it was, I realized that what people need is an accessible, comprehensive resource on the matter."

In an increasingly urban America, more and more people are turning to their roofs as platforms for growing local, sustainable food. Places like New York, Portland and Chicago all have burgeoning rooftop agriculture communities. In Philly, the movement is just taking off.

"Small-scale home gardens are popular here," says Mandel. "For large-scale projects, we’re not quite there -- but we're on the cusp.”
  
EAT UP is available in print and ebook from New Society Publishers, Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com and local book stores.
 
Source:  Lauren Mandel, project manager and rooftop agriculture specialist, Roofmeadow
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

When Respond Bakery opened its doors at 9th and Pearl Streets in North Camden, it was the first full-service bakery in the neighborhood in nearly 50 years. After three months -- and enough bread and pastries to serve a small army -- it's clear the new business is a big hit.

The bakery is an extension of the nonprofit Respond Inc., an organization that, among other services, provides a 16-week Culinary Arts Job Training Program. Overseen by Chef Kendall Elliott, the course is free for all students, who typically range in age from 17 to 25.

"Many of these kids dropped out of high school or were recently incarcerated," explains Wilbert Mitchell, executive director of Respond Inc.. "This program gives them marketable skills to take into the marketplace."

In addition to employing seven local people, the bakery, which officially opened February 14 of this year, is an opportunity for students to put their skills to use in a real world setting. 

"The purpose of the bakery is to sell the students' goods made in the program," says Mitchell. "Plus, the bakery serves the neighborhood. It’s hard to get fresh bread in North Camden."

The bakery also serves various pastries, muffins, cakes, healthy snacks and the Camden Cookie, a signature item that has already become synonymous with the bakery. In addition to participating in local farmers' markets, the bakery also caters large events, makes custom cakes and bakes enough bread to feed 800 kids per day at Respond Inc.'s childcare facility. Flying Kite served their delicious sourcream pound cake at our recent Camden kick-off meeting.

Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Saturday, 7 a.m. - 3 p.m., closed Sunday. 

Source:  Wilbert Mitchell, Executive Director, Respond, Inc. 
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

With two new projects -- one in Fishtown and one in South Philly -- the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC) is taking big (and small) steps towards making the waterfront more functional, accessible and pedestrian-friendly.
 
In Fishtown, DRWC's board recently approved a $290,000 contract with artist Donald Lipski to install a piece honoring the legendary treaty between William Penn and the Lenni Lenape Native American Tribe at Penn Treaty Park. Sculptures of five bronze turtles, a lit-up fiberglass turkey and a wolf will be installed along Columbia Avenue east of I-95. Evoking the symbols of the three Lenni Lenape clans, the project has also received a $60,000 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Art Works grant.

When complete, the public art installation will join a streetscaping design by landscape architect Bryan Haynes in a coordinated effort to connect the waterfront to Fishtown via Columbia Avenue. The streetscaping plan includes new street trees, rain gardens for stormwater management and underpass lighting, among other elements.

Further south, DRWC is turning Pier 53 at Washington Avenue into the next Race Street Pier, with an ecologically-minded twist. The land at the foot of the historic pier is already a park -- the recently completed Washington Avenue Green. The Pier's new design (just unveiled by DRWC and lead designer Applied Ecological Services) is Washington Avenue Green's Phase II.

"The design was influenced by four goals," says DRWC's Lizzie Woods, restoring the health of the river through ecological uplift, historical sensitivity, providing public access and providing a place where people can touch the water."

Pier 53 served as an immigration station for Philadelphia between 1873 and 1915. In addition to elements reflecting this unique history, other aspects of the $1.5 million project include native gardens, floating wetlands, rain gardens, gathering areas and rubble meadows.

According to Woods, three elements of the park's design are currently unfunded: the boardwalk, a "welcome spire" at the Washington Avenue Green entrance and a "Land Buoy" sculpture at the water's end of the pier. DRWC is currently conducting a cost analysis for these improvements and hopes to identify funding soon.

The goal is to start construction on Pier 53 within six months. Currently, DRWC is seeking a slew of permits from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to move forward. The open space should be ready for public enjoyment in early summer 2014. 

Source:  Karen Thompson and Lizzie Woods, Delaware River Waterfront Corporation
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

The stretch of North 5th Street that runs through Olney is brimming with over 200 businesses and situated in the heart of one of the city's most diverse neighborhoods. For business owners there, it's imperative to stand out in the crowd. Now, help is on the way -- during the month of May, the North Fifth Street Revitalization Project (N5SRP) is partnering with Drexel's Design and Merchandising Program to completely revamp storefront windows.
 
Since its inception in 2005, N5SRP has been dedicated to improving the physical environment and increasing economic activity along North 5th Street. The Drexel partnership -- now in its second iteration -- is an exciting tool, offering fresh ideas to help beautify the corridor and directly assist merchants in the process.
 
One of the college’s longest-running community engagement programs, the visual merchandising studio has provided students the opportunity to design window displays for more than a decade.

"In the recent past, similar projects took place in Old City and Northern Liberties," explains Philip Green, interim director of N5SRP. "It's exciting to once again bring the project up north."   

Olney's initiative will officially kick-off on May 14 with a background presentation to the participating Drexel students on the corridor and businesses. "From there, student groups are responsible for contacting their assigned businesses and setting up a meeting to discuss the window concepts," explains Green.
 
The four participating businesses -- T-House (a t-shirt shop), 5th Street Furniture Outlet, Advanced Family Dentistry and Gibson School of Music and Arts -- are a varied bunch. "We're very excited to see what the students come up with," says Green. "We're hopeful the ideas are as diverse as the businesses participating."

After the students have developed sketches and identified the materials necessary to make their designs a reality, installation will begin on May 28. Students, businesses owners, N5SRP staff and community members will then meet on-site to give a final critique.

Source:  Philip Green, Interim Director, North Fifth Street Revitalization Project
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

If you’re a Northwest Philly resident looking to be a bit more green in your daily life, you're in luck. On Wednesday, May 8, the Germantown United Community Development Corporation (GUCDC) is hosting a community forum -- entitled "It IS Easy Being Green" -- focused on how residents and businesses can have a positive environmental and economic impact on their community.

The event is the second annual community forum sponsored by GUCDC, a relatively new organization dedicated to the well-being of Germantown.

"We planned the first forum specifically to introduce GUCDC to the community," explains GUCDC's Garlen Capita. "We wanted to answer the question, 'What does a CDC do?'"
 
According to Capita, that event was so successful that they decided to use the same format this year while shifting the focus to sustainability. Like last year's forum, this gathering is all about educating and disseminating information to the community.

"We want everyone who lives and works in Germantown to know that they have the power and the tools to improve the quality of life in their community," says Capita. "Hence the title, ‘It IS Easy Being Green.'"

The forum will begin at 6 p.m. with a "trade show" of organizations involved in sustainability and community issues. Participants include Awbury Arboretum, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Friends of Vernon Park, Kelly Green, PhilaNOMA, Rebuilding Together Philadelphia, the Sustainable Business Network, Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed, and Wyck Historic House and Garden.
 
At 7 p.m., a panel will foster a community discussion on the sustainability issues confronting Germantown. The moderator will be Robert Fleming, associate professor of sustainable design at Philadelphia University. Other panel members include Dwayne Wharton, director of external affairs at the Food Trust, representatives from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and Christine Knapp from the Philadelphia Water Department.

Also on the panel will be Aine and Emaleigh Doley, sisters and co-organizers of the West Rockland Street Project. They are working with neighbors to revitalize their block using nothing but dedication, plants and trees, and some serious elbow grease.

"We want people to know that if Aine and Emaleigh can do it, they too can turn their neighborhood around," says Capita.

The event is free and open to all. It will be held at the Flying Horse Center (312-316 W. Chelten Avenue). Please RSVP to info@germantownunitedcdc.org.

Source:  Garlen Capita, GUCDC
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Tacony, a planned community in Northeast Philadelphia, has a lot to offer -- great access to Center City, historic building stock and a traditional "main street" along Torresdale Avenue. Planners and community advocates are pinning the neighborhood's hopes on that commercial corridor. Thanks to the hard work of Alex Balloon, commercial corridor manager for the Tacony CDC, years of vacancy and neglect are giving way to rebirth.
 
Balloon has helped spearhead a number of initiatives in the past year, including tree plantings and a marketing campaign highlighting the great things Tacony and Torresdale Avenue have to offer.
 
The most ambitious effort is a Facade Grant Program, unveiled last year. The program operates in coordination with the Commerce Department's Storefront Improvement Program, providing business and property owners captial for exterior improvement projects. Many local communities take advantage of this program, but Tacony has a leg up.
 
"We are lucky enough to offer a grant that covers 85 percent of a project's cost," explains Balloon. "Typically, the Commerce Department's program offers 50 percent. The response has been encouraging. Over 20 businesses expressed interest. Since then, some folks have dropped out, leaving us with 17 storefronts that are part of our program."
 
The Tacony CDC worked with the business owners and the Community Design Collaborative to put together designs for the storefronts. The partners held a Design Day late last year to bring the two parties together.

Of those 17 projects, one is complete -- Sannutti Funeral Home on the corner of Torresdale and Princeton Avenues -- and another is under construction: DeNofa's Deli, one of the corridor's anchor businesses. So far, improvements have included removing aluminum, improving signage and windows, and working to reveal the historic character of the corridor's commercial buildings.
 
"There’s been a universally positive response," says Balloon. "DeNofa's owners say customers are already praising the improvements."
 
Fifteen more storefront improvement projects will begin in June of this year; those contracts are currently out for bid.
 
Ultimately, Balloon sees the storefront program as one piece in a larger effort to revitalize Torresdale Avenue. He hopes to leverage the relationships fostered with local businesses, assisting them with visual merchandising and improving product offerings.
 
"It takes more than design to revitalize a commercial corridor," says Balloon. "We need to do a better job marketing ourselves and the assets we have."

Source:  Alex Balloon, Commercial Corridor Manager, Tacony CDC
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

For Tim Patton, owner and founder of local nano-brewery Saint Benjamin's Brewing Company, it only took a year to find the perfect warehouse space in which to expand his small-scale operation. He ended up with a historic gem on North 5th Street -- the former Theo Finkenauer Brewing Company, built in the late 1800s.
 
"I was specifically looking in South Kensington for the brewery's permanent home," says Patton, explaining that the neighborhood's price points fit his budget. "[The site's] history combined with its location -- north of Northern Liberties and west of Fishtown -- drew me to the building. It was everything I wanted."
 
Kensington has a rich history as a center for brewing not just in Philly, but on a national scale. The neighborhood has changed since then, and so too has its brewing tradition: In the 1900s, many breweries left or closed for good.
 
In recent years, a resurgence in local beer culture combined with a plethora of vacant warehouse facilities has reignited the brewing tradition in a major way. Patton hopes his move is part of that movement. Once complete, the brewery will use organic and sustainable ingredients as much as possible. There will also be a 30-to-35 seat pub selling locally sourced foods on-site.

"I'm hoping to start construction this year and complete the brewery by fall," says Patton. "The pub will open shortly after that."
 
To get there, Patton is crowdfunding the restoration of the building's historic facade. He is using Lucky Ant and hoping to raise $20,000 in 21 days (the campaign ends May 8).
 
Lucky Ant offers specific rewards and deals to the local community in exchange for donations. In Patton's case, contributors will receive free merchandise, free food, major discounts and other perks.
 
Visit luckyant.com/saintbenjamins to donate.
 
Source: Tim Patton, Saint Benjamin's Brewing Company
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

When The Philadelphia School (TPS) opened its brand new Ellen Schwartz and Jeremy Siegel Early Childhood Education Center at 2501 South Street last September, the project received praise for transforming a neighborhood eyesore into a multipurpose space for students and community gatherings. The hype was channeled mostly towards the building's concept -- a country classroom in the city -- but now, after earning a LEED Silver rating, the project has solidified its sustainability bonafides.
 
TPS, a K-8 educational institution, was founded in 1976 in an old pie factory at 2501 Lombard Street. Local parents were concerned about families fleeing the city for better education opportunities elsewhere. Since then, the school has grown in leaps and bounds, expanding into the entire pie factory.
 
In the late 2000s, still in need of space, TPS looked to an adjacent South Street property with aspirations of creating an education campus for up to 450 students. Now complete, the Schwartz Siegel Building houses four ground-floor classrooms, two for preschool and two for kindergarten.
 
"The new campus is a physical translation of the school's progressive education philosophies," explains Tom Purdy of Purdy O’Gwynn Architects, the firm behind the design.
 
The campus features a 3,100-square-foot eco-friendly school garden, outdoor play spaces that are easily accessible from the classrooms, flexible-use L-shaped classrooms, working gardens, porches to bridge the gap between inside and out, a shared art room and lots of natural light.
 
"We feel we produced a really nice building," says Purdy. "We wanted to be a good neighbor, but still create something clearly different and modern."
 
Construction managers Wolfe Scott & Associates didn’t stop there with smart design principles. The school's sustainable strategies include a large stormwater retention basin under the parking lot, geothermal wells beneath the gardens that heat and cool the building, recycled and regional material usage and stringent waste management practices.
  
Source: Tom Purdy, Purdy O'Gwynn Architects
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

When Farmer’s Road Drive Thru celebrated its grand opening this past Sunday in Chadds Ford, it was the culmination of one of the region’s most ironic adaptive reuse projects. Housed in a former KFC, the new restaurant will feature familiar comfort foods but with a non-fast food twist: healthy, local and sustainably-sourced ingredients.

Courtney Rozsas, owner of Lotus Farm to Table in Media, is the woman behind the concept. She’s had the idea for a healthy fast casual drive-thru for quite some time.

"I've been looking for the perfect location for three years," explains Rozsas, calling the restaurant's site at the intersection of Routes 1 and 202 in Delaware County "the perfect fit."

Inside, a large mounted chalkboard proclaims, "Know where your food is from" and includes a list of the restaurant's purveyors. More than eighty percent of the produce used will be sourced locally, along with 100 percent of the meat and poultry.
 
Ryan Sulikowski, executive chef of Lotus Farm to Table, is overseeing the kitchen.

"I wanted to create a family-friendly restaurant focusing on familiar comfort foods presented in 'better for you' ways," explains Rozsas. "[Sulikowski] was brought on because he likes to take familiar flavors and add a twist."

Sulikowski's menu will feature upgraded takes on classics such as a Stadium Dog -- an all-natural grassfed beef hotdog, sodium-free sauerkraut and low-sodium yellow mustard on a rye pretzel hotdog bun. More out-of-the-box items include the Apple Sandwich, made with local cheddar, local organic American cheese, Granny Smith apple, raw honey and maple sourdough bread.
 
Other touches include an oatmeal bar at breakfast -- it does double duty as a homemade pickle bar at lunch and dinner -- and a build-your-own healthy bento box for kids. Sulikowski and Rozsas are also offering gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options.

"We're catering to individuals who are conscious of what they put in their body," says Rozsas. "We hope that's everyone!"
 
210 Painters Crossing, Chadds Ford, PA
Monday - Saturday 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.; Sundays 7 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Source:  Courtney Rozsas, Owner, Farmer's Road Drive Thru
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

William Penn's vision for a gridded five-square city may have laid the original groundwork for Philadelphia, but it was Edmund Bacon, another urban planner, who shaped much of the city as we know it today.

On May 16, writer Greg Heller will discuss Bacon at the Philadelphia Center for Architecture -- he is author of the first biography on this beloved yet controversial figure.

To people outside planning, architecture and urban enthusiast circles, the name "Edmund Bacon" might not ring a bell. And that's a shame -- as director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission from 1949 through 1970, he oversaw the planning and implementation of dozens of redesigned urban spaces, included the restored Society Hill, Penn Center and the shopping center at Market East.

Following his public office tenure, he became well known as an outspoken urban advocate. In 2002, at the age of 92, he skateboarded across LOVE Park to protest the city's ban on boarding in the park. 

In 2005, Bacon passed away at the age of 95, leaving behind a legacy that extended beyond his professional accomplishments.

"When he passed away, there were a lot of interesting articles that came out about his life," says Heller. "It was clear people perceived him as something more than just a governmental figure. He was a local legend."

Heller didn’t want the biography to be "totally academic," acknowledging that despite his iconic status to some, there are many potential readers who are not familiar with Bacon. The biography begins with exploration of Bacon's significance to modern day Philadelphia. Heller then delves into his two-decade tenure as city planning director, a period of great change in urban areas and significant federal investment.

Heller also paints a personal portrait of a man determined to transform planning ideas into reality in Philadelphia. Heller spent a lot of time with Bacon, and saw his dedication firsthand.

When Heller was in college working on his thesis, he wrote Bacon a letter, hoping to gain insight into his research topic. After interviewing Bacon a few times, Heller was invited to take a year off from college to help the retired planner write his memoirs. Heller agreed.

"After he passed away in 2005, I was approached by a publisher to write this biography," adds Heller. That was in 2007. Six years later, the book is finished and the legend of Ed Bacon lives on.

6 - 7 p.m. May 16 at the Center for Architecture (1218 Arch Street); free but registration is required. The new book will be available for sale at the event and Heller will sign books after his talk.

Source:  Greg Heller
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

When it comes to stormwater management strategies, there's "smart" and then there's Camden SMART. The city's progressive strategy -- the acronym stands for "Stormwater Management and Resource Training" -- is a public-private partnership created to grapple with the area's severe flooding issues.

This week, SMART is partnering with the City of Camden to sponsor a series of events in honor of Earth Day 2013. Throughout the week (which runs through April 27), activities will enlist the community to help clean up, rebuild and strategize plans for a more sustainable Camden. Monday, the kick-off took place at Camden City Hall, where Mayor Dana L. Redd led a tree planting in honor of late Camden School Board President Aletha R. Wright.

Then, on Wednesday, April 24 at 10 a.m., folks from SMART are partnering with the Camden Board of Education to plant a rain garden at Pyne Poynt School, located in the heart of North Camden.

Other activities include a clean-up of Woodrow Wilson High School and Dudley Grange Park (Friday, April 26, 9 a.m. to noon), an environmental movie screening and several neighborhood greening events.

Earth Week is just the latest in a long list of milestones and triumphs for Camden SMART. Since 2011, the program has garnered numerous partners and major stakeholders, including the Coopers Ferry Partnership, the City of Camden, Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program, the New Jersey Tree Foundation and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
 
In 2012, SMART received the 2012 New Jersey Governor's Environmental Excellence Award, in part for constructing 19 rain gardens throughout the city, an effort that has lead to 1.5 million gallons of stormwater staying out of the sewer system each year.

"Unlike Philadelphia, Camden isn't mandated by the federal government to control our combined-sewer outflows," explains Meishka Mitchell, vice president of the Coopers Ferry Partnership. "Instead, Camden SMART is a community-led effort to combat the city's serious flooding issues."

To continue its fight against flooding, SMART has a busy agenda for 2013, including more rain gardens, rain barrel systems for residents and separating stormwater pipes from sewer pipes in certain neighborhoods.
 
"With the city being recently certified through the Sustainable Jersey program, Camden is becoming recognized as a sustainable city," says Mitchell. "That's important because [stormwater management and environmental stewardship] is a paramount issue facing our city."
 
Source:  Meishka Mitchell, Vice President, Coopers Ferry Partnership
Writer: Greg Meckstroth