CASE STUDY: GERMANTOWN + FULTON SARA BRANDT-VOREL + DANIEL RHINE
GERMANTOWN SITE STATISTICS YEAR BUILT: 1914 PARCEL SIZE: 6.4 ACRES BUILDING SIZE: 350,000 SF FACILITY CONDITION (FCI): 0.2529 PROPOSED USE: SENIOR APARTMENTS SENIOR ASSISTED LIVING COMMUNITY GYM CONTINUING EDUCATION ART CLASSROOMS
GERMANTOWN HS: 40 E. HIGH ST. CONTEXT FOR REUSE Once the heart of a strong vibrant neighborhood, Germantown High School and Fulton Elementary School will close their doors after the 2013 school year. While the buildings may have outlived their use as schools, they retain the ability to bring new life and commercial activity to the community. Located six miles northeast of downtown Philadelphia, Germantown is a historic neighborhood founded in 1683 by a group of German families. The neighborhood grew until it was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia in 1854. The area’s historic origins are well documented, and Germantown has numerous colonial homes and sites listed on the National and Local Registerof Historic Places. During the 1900s, Germantown grew in wealth and importance as a middle class suburb, fueled by Philadelphia’s industrial economy. The original Germantown HS building was constructed in 1914, with additions added in later years. Fulton ES was constructed in 1937 to serve younger children in the neighborhood. Germantown Avenue was a strong commercial corridor, serviced by a regular trolley which connected Germantown to downtown
PHILADELPHIA SCHOOL REUSE STUDIO
Philadelphia in the South and wealthier neighborhoods to the North. However, the Germantown community faced decline and disinvestment during the “white flight” of the 1950s and deindustrialization of Philadelphia. The struggles of Germantown HS are a reflection of the larger community. Germantown HS experienced a declining student enrollment, reduced building utilization, consistently low test scores, and persistently dangerous conditions. Paired with a prohibitively expensive renovation cost, the School District slated the closure of both Germantown andFulton. The demographics of Germantown indicate a community that could either continue in a cycle of disinvestment, or with the right market forces and incentive packages, could bring Germantown back to a stronger middle class community. A former trolley line divides Germantown Ave into western and eastern neighborhoods. Looking at a half-mile radius around Germantown HS, the western side of the study area has higher educational attainment, higher home values, higher median incomes, lower vacancy rates and increasing population over the past ten years. Meanwhile, the eastern side of Germantown Ave has a strong family-based community with high homeownership rates but with lower educational attainment and financial mobility than its western counterpart. One goal of adapting the Germantown HS site would be a combined