Philadelphia Athletic Recreation Center Renovated During AEC Cares Blitz Build
Numerous volunteers joined forces to renovate the Philadelphia Recreation Center at 1400 N 26th St. on May 18. The recreation center was chosen as the recipient of AEC Cares’ sixth annual blitz build, which took place prior to the AIA National Convention at the Pennsylvania Convention Center
ConstructConnect, the recently formed construction data company that includes four legacy brands: iSqFt, Construction Market Data, BidClerk and Construction Data have joined forces with AIA and Hanley Wood Media for blitz build, an annual building project that provides community support for worthwhile projects across the United States.
“CMD and iSqFt have a long history of giving back to local communities,” said Dave Conway, CMD iSqFt CEO and President of AEC Cares Board of Directors. “We are proud to support AEC Cares in renovating the Philadelphia Athletic Recreation Center. Giving this center a facelift is helping to give underprivileged children a better and healthier start in life. Together with generous support from our customers, employees, local architects, contractors and product manufacturers, we are creating a legacy of hope in the communities in which we work.”
Used by hundreds of children in the Sharswood neighborhood for after school and sports programs, the Athletic Recreation Center is in desperate need of repair and upgrades. During the blitz build, AEC professionals will improve the center’s main entrance, lobby space, after school art room, performance space and more.
“At thePhiladelphia Athletic Recreation Center, we believe that sports and physical activity combined with creative arts and education are critical to the healthy development of our neighborhood’s youth,” said Brian Sell, supervisor of the Philadelphia Athletic Recreation Center. “We are thrilled to have been selected as the 2016 partner for AEC Cares, and are excited to see the transformation on May 18. So many volunteers and designers have already worked so hard in order to make this a reality. We greatly appreciate their generosity and all of us are looking forward to AEC Cares day.”
Past AEC Cares projects include the rebuilding of five homes devastated by Hurricane Katrina, the revitalization of houses for homeless teens in Washington D.C. and the transformation of a 30-year-old former school building into a cheerful up-to-date daycare and early learning center for impoverished children in Chicago’s Southwest Side. In 2013, AEC Cares renovated over $250,000 in improvements to a homeless facility for veterans in Denver. Last year’s project included upgrading an inner-city Atlanta shelter for youths in crisis.
Numerous sponsors, including USG, YKK America, Kawneer Alcoa, Vinyl Institute and ProEst made significant donations to make this year’s blitz build a reality.