UPDATE (2/8/2016): More steam turbine testing will be conducted on Monday, Feb. 8, from 7 to 11 p.m.

The University of Pennsylvania Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services will conduct steam line venting as part of the Utility Plant upgrade at University Avenue and River Fields Drive, according to an announcement by the Division of Public Safety. This venting is necessary to clean out new steam piping prior to energizing newly installed steam turbines.

Venting will occur at various intervals over a three-day period Tuesday, Feb. 2 through Thursday, Feb. 4, between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.

Venting will consist of a series of approximately five steam releases into the air from the new steam piping, which will create a high white columnar-like cloud of vaporized water which may look like smoke as it condenses into the cool air. There will be corresponding loud sounds similar to a jet engine. Each duration of venting will be approximately 30 seconds to two minutes.

The developers of the old West Philly High School building recently secured $24 million in funding. According to reports, the loan has been arranged by Colliers International Capital Markets and will be used for the acquisition and redevelopment of the 442,200-square-foot, four-story building at 4700 Walnut Street. The 103-year-old building was acquired by New York-based developer Andrew Bank in early 2015.

The project to gut the building and convert it into 298 loft apartments was first presented in 2012, but it took more than two years for Bank to finalize the purchase of the building.

Bank, who is the Managing Director of the real estate development company Strong Place Partners, met with community members last summer to talk about the project. During a June 2015 Garden Court Community Association meeting, Bank told the attendees that his company had obtained all necessary permits and that some work on the building was already being done, including asbestos and debris removal and construction of a loading dock on the eastern portion of the building.

Bank also said that he was waiting for a loan settlement to begin building the first 130 apartments. He added that the project may include some commercial space along Locust Street.

Construction is set to begin in 2017.

More details are available on the armed robbery that took place at 41st and Pine on early Sunday morning and prompted an alert from the Division of Public Safety at Penn.

The robbery took place at around 2:30 a.m. when the victim was approached by two males with covered faces and was robbed at a gunpoint. The men took the victim’s phone and headphones and fled on foot toward 41st and Spruce.

Penn police were on the scene and patrolled the area after the robbery.

We’ll post more information when it becomes available.

Photo courtesy of International House Philadelphia.

This year on the Chinese calendar is the year of the Monkey. It starts on February 8, and there will be celebrations around the city this weekend and on Monday.

Families are invited to the following events:

• International House Philadelphia (3701 Chestnut St.) is hosting a celebration tonight (Friday, Feb. 5), beginning at 7 p.m. There will be traditional musical and dance performances and a sampling of delicious traditional Chinese cuisine. The program includes:

7:00 p.m. – Traditional food tasting and vendors in Galleria
7:45 p.m. – Show featuring traditional dance, song, lion dance, and more begins in Ibrahim Theater

Tickets are $12 (general public); $8 (IHP members and alumni); $5 (children 12 and under). No tickets are required for children small enough to sit on your lap.  Continue Reading

“Racism is a Sickness,” an art installation that uses photography and personal stories to showcase the devastating effects of racism on American society, is currently on display at the Art Church of West Philadelphia (5219 Webster St.).

The photo essay, which is presented by Germantown-based photographer and blogger Tieshka Smith, highlights the disastrous socioeconomic effects of racism on the health and well-being of people of color and on society at large. The author hopes to jump start community conversations leading to action and increased cross-collaboration between community members, academics, elected officials, businesspeople and health care practitioners.

“Racism is a Sickness” events program (click to enlarge).

The soft opening of the exhibition was held on Monday, Feb. 1, and tonight everyone is invited to the opening reception, from 7 – 10 p.m., featuring a performance by Philadelphia-based vocalist and rapper DMNQ LNDN.

The installation will be on display until Feb. 29 and will also include the following programs and events throughout the month, such as The Letters Project, “White Like Me” film screening and discussion, an evening of performance art inspired by “Racism is a Sickness,” and more (please check this page for more details).

A closing reception and a community showcase, “Let the Community Speak” will take place on February 27 at 6 p.m.

For more information, visit: http://racismisasickness.tumblr.com/ or the event’s Facebook page.

Police detained three teens Thursday evening after an alleged gunpoint robbery near 44th and Osage. The robbery was reported at around 7:40 p.m. The victim told police that he was approached by five young males, and “felt a hard object pushed into his back,” according to a police report. The teens took the victim’s phone and fled.

Plainclothes police, who were in the area, were able to catch three of the suspects, all of them 14 years old, after a chase. No firearm was found.

Police were unable to recover the cell phone, which was tracked to the area of 42nd and Haverford and then disabled, according to the report.