The Willard project has been in the works for more than a decade. A former site was ultimately rejected, and construction on the current site, a former city recreation center that was also a cemetery, was also delayed.
Kensington CAPA, at 1901 N. Front St., comes with a $43 million price tag. It's one of the small schools that used to make up the old Kensington High, which activist students from the organizing group Youth United for Change urged the district to break up in 2005.
The old school lacked proper arts space for the performance high school. The new structure, brick and concrete with skylights and landscaped courtyards, has plenty.
In the 88,405-square-foot space, there are two art studios, a music room with three separate practice rooms, a choral classroom with risers, a dance studio and changing rooms, and a "broadcasting suite" with studio, control room, and editing room.
While Kensington CAPA gets a new building, a fourth small Kensington school, designed to prepare students for careers as teachers, opens at the old site at 2051 E. Cumberland St. Kensington Urban Education High will open its doors to its inaugural ninth-grade class.
Major renovations and additions are also complete at the Guion S. Bluford Elementary School, at 5801 Media St. in West Philadelphia.
The $16.4 million project added classrooms, green space, parking, and play areas to a school that was built in 1909.
A $12 million addition will link Penrose Elementary and Motivation High Schools, which sit next to each other on the 2500 block of South 78th Street in Southwest Philadelphia. The space contains a gym, a cafeteria, a media center, science labs, and guidance and administrative offices.
In addition, a $2 million renovation was completed at Barratt Middle School, at 1599 Wharton St. in South Philadelphia. Due to changes in Barratt's feeder patterns, the school now only holds eighth graders, but it also houses Childs Elementary, whose students used to attend school in a nearby building that required extensive renovations.
Major capital projects in the pipeline include: for West Philadelphia High, a new, $42 million school; for Franklin Learning Center, a $2.9 million renovation; for Lankenau High, a $12.3 million addition and renovation; for Bridesburg Elementary, an $11.5 million addition and renovation; for Kearny Elementary, a $6 million addition.
Contact staff writer Kristen Graham at 215-854-5146 or kgraham@phillynews.com.
