The proposed site plan for the Centennial Commons (Courtesy of Studio | Bryan Hanes)

Centennial Commons, the project that will provide a much needed recreation space near The Please Touch Museum in West Parkside, is expected to break ground this Fall, according to a report by PlanPhilly. The first construction phase of the project, initiated by Fairmount Park Conservancy, the Parkside Association of Philadelphia and East Parkside Residents Association, includes park “porches”.

When completed, the project will provide a seating area with landscaping that will give both residents and visitors the opportunity to enjoy the space. It will also include a large playground with a climbing wall and spray park.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the William Penn Foundation are funding the project as part of an $11 million grant to re-imagine public spaces in Philadelphia. The total cost of the Centennial Commons project is approximately $7 million.

Read more about the project here and here.

Colorful banners now decorate the 48th and Spruce Street Business Corridor as part of an effort to spur commerce near that corner, which includes the restaurant incubator, the Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises, Baltimore Crab and Seafood and Accu Pizza.

Garden Court Community Association has installed 14 distinctive banners along Spruce and 48th Streets thanks to generous funding from Mosaic Community Church, the University City District, and The Enterprise Center. (Photo by Mark Mendenhall)

Hillary Clinton is coming back to Philadelphia and this time she will visit a voter registration event in West Philadelphia, according to local media reports. The event will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 16 at West Philadelphia High School (4901 Chestnut St), beginning at 1:15 p.m. (doors open to the public at 11:15 a.m.).

The purpose of the event is to encourage people to register to vote before the October 11 deadline.

To RSVP, please go to the event’s page on the Hillary Clinton website.

Community Unity Music Festival, a free and family-friendly event, returns this Saturday to Clark Park at 43rd and Chester. This year’s festival has a great line up: Papo Vazquez Mighty Pirates & Troubadours, Bobby Zankel & The Warriors of the Wonderful Sound, Killiam Shakespeare Band, The Universal Dance & Drum Ensemble, CiaraFaye Martin (vocalist), Clef Club Ambassador Big Band, Zenia McPherson (vocalist), Suzanne Burgess (vocalist), and other special guests.

The festival is organized with the help of a prominent West Philly musician, a member of The Branford Marsalis Jazz Quartet, Justin Faulkner.

The goal of the festival, which will take place from 12 – 7:30 p.m., is to promote nonviolence and unity in the Philadelphia community.

For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.

Greensgrow’s new, larger and more permanent location at 5123 Baltimore Avenue is ready to welcome its first customers. The soft opening is this Friday, so stop by and check it out. Grand Opening is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 8. The former temporary Greensgrow West location at 4912 Baltimore Ave. closed on August 7.

Greensgrow signed a long-term lease with the city for 5123-29 Baltimore Ave. in Spring 2015 and began developing the new lot late last year. Previously empty and overgrown with bamboo, the new site was reimagined by student architects from Drexel University who gathered input from local residents with an eye towards green building practices.

The site features a high tunnel, demonstration green roofs and rain gardens, repurposed shipping containers, and even a tiny house. An outdoor classroom is being built by students from the Workshop School for Greensgrow’s educational workshops and will be open for neighborhood schools and organizations to use. Several West Philadelphia partners and organizations such as Cedar Park Neighbors, the Baltimore Avenue Business Association and the Philadelphia Water Department, contributed critical support to getting the site cleared for reuse. The new fence was built with the support of an Indiegogo campaign started by a neighbor.  Continue Reading

Looking from Spruce Street, the proposed 9-story building at 49th and Spruce.

Developers presented preliminary plans last night for a nine-story apartment building with ground-floor retail space at 49th and Spruce Streets to a standing-room-only crowd that voiced concerns about property taxes, parking and affordable rents.

Proposed by the developers who refurbished the nearby Croydon building, Hillel Tsarfati and Kfir Binnfeld, the 160-unit building would be built on the parking lot on the southwest corner of 49th and Spruce. The mostly one-bedroom apartments would be marketed toward “young professionals,” with rents 15 to 20 percent below market rate – similar to Croydon, Binnfeld said.

The building would include eight floors of 20 apartments each and retail on the first floor. Floors would include 12 one-bedroom apartments, 6 two-bedrooms and two studios each. Rents would be roughly the same as Croydon – currently a minimum of $975 for a two-bedroom and $850 for a one-bedroom, according to the proposal.  Continue Reading