Jefferis Square
Chester, Pennsylvania

Leasing Information

Description

• Adaptive reuse of 1920s abandoned school house as 16 two-story town homes
• New construction of 20 two-story town homes
• Affordable rental units for families
• Placed in service in 1996

1996 William H. Bates Memorial Awards for
Outstanding Land Development

Developer
Pennrose Properties

Architect
The Knabb Partnership
Exton, PA

General Contractor
J.J. DeLuca Company, Inc.
Wayne, PA

Management
Pennrose Management Company

The Challenge

When Jefferis Elementary School was built in 1932, the city of Chester, Pennsylvania was home to thriving naval shipyards and a burgeoning automobile industry. Sixty years later, these had all but disappeared, and Chester placed last in a series of criteria ranking of the State’s 501 districts. Its population had dwindled by half and Jefferis no longer met the educational needs of its students. Abandoned by the school district, it sat vacant, attracting criminal elements and activities. When the Redevelopment Authority of Chester sought in the late 1990s to remove the blight that was overtaking its city, it turned for assistance to Pennrose with whom it had formed in a number of previous projects a solid working relationship. Striving to revitalize the neighborhood, Pennrose developed a plan to reinvigorate this property and to create quality affordable housing for families.

The Solution

Whereas some school houses lend themselves easily to adaptation for other purposes, Jefferis Elementary did not. The development team, using multiple funding sources, worked creatively to overcome its inefficient floor plans and to simultaneously maintain the integrity of the building itself. The 1920s two-story brick structure was innovatively reconfigured into sixteen two-story town homes with individual entrances conducive to a healthy neighborhood. Contiguous to this, a perpendicular row of 20 new town homes was
constructed to create an L-shaped complex banked by on-site parking on one side and landscaped grounds on the other. With the new buildings stylistically complementing the old, the end result was a development that was architecturally seamless. The older building was rehabilitated with new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. The new buildings incorporated energy efficiencies. The two
were united in purpose by the common open green space they share. In 1996, Jefferis Square received the William H. Bates Memorial Award for Outstanding Land Development.

This adaptive reuse project underscores the Pennrose development team’s commitment to working with communities over a period of years on multiple projects that provide quality housing. Utilizing the community’s resources to reinvigorate its housing stock is a hallmark of our practice. Jefferis Square is owned, managed, and maintained by Pennrose.

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