YouthBuild Philadelphia serves as a transformative alternative educational model serving 270+ young adults who have been previously disengaged from the public high school system. The School’s program is designed to be completely barrier free: students incur no additional costs for materials, supplies or uniforms. In many cases, the School also provides critical resources such as diapers, groceries, and temporary housing for a student body where many may have experienced homelessness, incarceration, and food insecurity. In just one year, students earn a high school diploma, complete 300 hours of service, and gain a vocational certification in one of three focus areas: healthcare, culinary arts, and the building trades.

YouthBuild’s previous facility did not meet their needs due to space limitations and its location on the upper floors of an office building. To provide the school with the space it needed, the scope of this project included developing a building program of approximately 34,000 SF, the assessment of multiple potential building sites, and the design and renovation for a new school facility at the selected site at 2309-2313 N. Broad Street. Originally constructed in 1930, the building once served as a Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO) showroom and North Philadelphia district office. The adaptive reuse of this historic building transforms a neglected piece of the city’s architectural history into a vibrant, uplifting space that fosters education and community for Philadelphia students.

The new facility features dedicated training spaces for each of the school’s workforce development programs, 12 classrooms, administrative offices, and an inviting entrance with a central tiered seating element and staircase leading to a new mezzanine, thoughtfully inserted into the high volume of the ground floor. Designed to reflect the school’s core values of Respect, Excellence, and Perseverance, the entrance offers a warm, welcoming, and safe space for students. The original terrazzo flooring was carefully repaired and refinished, while the historic bronze façade was preserved where possible and updated with new aluminum storefront. To meet the School’s programmatic needs, a new third floor addition was built, providing a large multipurpose room, a food service space, and a rooftop terrace overlooking Broad Street. This rooftop terrace provides space for outdoor learning, student gathering, and sustainability education. Photovoltaic panels are planned for the roof and terrace trellis, and will be installed in part by the school’s GreenBuild training program in the coming year.