Trophies for Columbus Square?

We were treated to a "walk through" of the new Rec Center last week - a sign, clearly, that the Center will be finished soon. There was even some talk that it would be a "Christmas present" to the community.

I think we should be taking bets as to whether it's actually finished in 2007. What are the odds, at this point, that it will be finished when planned? Not at all good, based on past experience.

In this photo, Frank Abbott from the Philadelphia Capital Programs Office is explaining what needs to be done to complete the trophy case. The existence of this trophy case begs the question of the future use of the park - presumably, there will be organized sports. I think this was news to some people, given that the community around the park is engaged in discussions about its future use. But are there plans to organize these sports, whatever they are, and will there be adequate, competent staff to supervise activities in the park? Who will decide what sports and what teams will play here? Will there be staff and funding adequate to maintain the park for this use (not to mention restoring it in any way)?

The View From Up There (Back Then)

Here's the view of Columbus Square from Google .... click on the image for a larger size.

As you can see, this photo was taken before work on the "new" recreation center began - in the upper right corner of the park, you can see the basketball court, the reddish-colored mats under the three groups of play equipment, and the old rec building. Although you can see the bald spot in the center of the field, there's still quite a bit of green around it. Compare the green of the park grass with the much greener lawn in front of the fire station at the lower right corner. My guess is that this photo was taken in early spring 2005 or earlier.

For more satellite images, checked out Google Earth.

The Sod is Down

They've just put down sod outside the front of the unfinished rec center. Did the neighbors want something that looks like a little piece of suburbia? Oh, does what the neighbors want even matter? The flower garden etc. can come later I suppose.

You can see that the building exterior above the entrance is still not finished - the notorious tarp spot. Apparently they're fabricating steel "Columbus Square" signage that will go there. I guess they didn't have time to figure out what the sign should say or when they'd need it - after all the project has only been going on for more than two years.

Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors?

Two nights ago a group of Columbus Square residents gathered to address a hot new issue: the fences that surround the playing field area of the park. Since then, the emails have been zinging ‘round the Square.

As our own Susan Patrone reported at the meeting, the Recreation Department, in consultation with Councilman Frank DiCicco, has said that it has money for new fencing, the classy black enamel chain-link fence, which would replace the dingy, rusty, busted-up chain-link fence that currently rings the field area.

This proposal about the fences turned out to be an opening for a wide range of views on the question of park confinement options - or lack thereof.

One idea was that they simply do away with the fences altogether, and use some sort of netting behind the soccer goals to catch those high-and-wide shots. This apparently appealed to some folks because one of the primary uses of the park is as a dog run - eliminate the fences and those dog owners won't be comfortable letting little Fido and Trixy off-leash to do their own elimination on the field. Also, instead of spending the money on a new fence, perhaps those funds could be used to improve other aspects of the park.

Others look upon the no-fence proposal as a serious threat to life and safety around the park. Parked cars will be damaged by those stray soccer balls, windows will be broken, players pursuing balls out of bounds will trample green-space plantings, and little kids who don't know better will pursue balls into the street.

Another idea that was floated early on was that of pushing the fences back into the park, leaving a wider swath of green space around it. Some would even support cutting the playing field in half, and taking back an even larger portion for trees, shrubs, flowers.

I think once again The-Powers-That-Be ("TPTB" for short) have got it precisely bass ackwards, if you know what I mean. There is, after all, this quaint notion of "planning" an urban space, so before you even think about enclosing the space, you might do some planning about what the future use of the space will be. Right now, it's in such poor condition that it's used only by the Mexican soccer teams, and the dust blowing off of it means that our windows are rarely open.

The one thing everyone can agree on around here is that what really needs attention from TPTB is the Columbus Dustbowl. Looking at it that way, putting a new fence around this playing field disaster really has to be one of the dumbest ideas TPTB has come up with.

You would think that TPTB would first develop a plan - with our input - for the future use of the playing area - will baseball ever return to the park? If so, which way will the diamonds face? Or will it be only soccer and football? Then how much field is needed for that purpose? Where will the goals go? Is it a good idea to put a garden area next to a playing field with no barrier between? And on and on.

You might think that in a city this size, TPTB could draw on considerable expertise on the question of fences and urban playing fields. At least some intelligent options could be outlined. (Oops, I didn't mean to use "intelligent" in the same paragraph with "TPTB"). But no, they vaguely propose "new fences" then let us argue with each other about what might work - or not.

My suggestion is this: TPTB must first make a commitment to the future use of a vastly improved field and park, and start developing a plan to go with that commitment, before any of us can begin to answer the fence question.

If You Want It Done Right!

We've watched and waited while the Rec Center construction project has remained unfinished, so it was nice in the meantime to see that good, old fashioned DIY spirit could get something accomplished in the park - repairing and painting the benches in the 13th Street patio. We had a variety of locals out there painting last weekend, including staff and kids from Columbus Charter School. I had two 10-year olds in the house, and I put them to work, too. They actually fell for my "Oh yes painting benches is so much fun" line, borrowed from Tom Sawyer. But they had fun too, there were donuts and water bottles.

Note that there's one guy without a paint brush!

Almost finished ....

DONE! ... thanks to the folks at the Sherwin-Williams store, 11th & Washington, who donated the paint and supplies.

The Tarp is Down

The Tarp is Down
Originally uploaded by dwwebber.

You know it's a been a slow couple of weeks here in the Columbus Square blogosphere when about all I have to report is that the tarp, which was hanging down from the roof just to the east of the front doors and which can be seen here, has finally blown down. When I say "the tarp" I'm sure there can be no doubt in my neighbors' minds about what tarp I'm referring to.

The St. Valentine's Eve snow storm seems to have been responsible. I saw the tarp hanging from the dilapidated fence in front of the doors on St. Valentine's Day in the morning.

For months that blue tarp hung there - sad, forlorn, purposeless. Flapping a bit in the breeze, or sometimes just hanging motionless. I never could figure out what it was supposed to be doing. Was it actually protecting something? Hardly, given the way it was blowing around. At one point, the wind had taken it back over the roof instead of hanging down by the wall.

You've got to admit, it was pointless. Why bother with a tarp when your building doesn't have a finished roof? Well, if it was protecting something, that protection ended.

While it may not have had a purpose, it certainly wasn't without significance. To me at least, it symbolized in the way that this project has become not much more than an insult to the people who live here. It sent the message that the contractor and the City in turn couldn't care less about the way this place gets built.

The Return of the Tarp

Tarp's Up! (Back Up)
Originally uploaded by dwwebber.

The good news this week is that the window subcontractor, whose truck can be seen here, has been on the job. There's not much new to see, though, in terms of progress on the exterior.

But did you notice that the tarp is back? The old one is still caught on the fence, but now a new one is in place. You can see it here, wafting in the wind. It took about a week for them to replace the tarp.

33 Days and Counting

City Councilman Frank DiCicco, relying on some representations by someone in City government, told the South Philly Review last week that the Recreation Center building would be finished by the end of March.

Just for the record, that's 33 work days from now. Of course, Councilman DeCicco described that deadline as contingent on avoidance of "unforeseen construction issues" - so perhaps it means nothing.

If the next step in this project is the repair of the roof, so that interior work can be completed without the risk of water damage, I suppose we'll have to wait for the weather to clear. Those 33 days will slip by quickly. Looking out at the building this snowy morning, you can't but wonder if snow and freezing temperatures in February and March will turn out to be the "construction issues" that were not "foreseen."

In any event, the countdown to completion has begun ...

South Philly Review's "Rough Play"

Our little eyesore has gotten some news media attention - front page, attention, too, with a nice (well, okay, appropriately ugly) photo! - from the local South Philly Review. It's great to see the news media catching up with this story.

Fred Durso's cover story contains some real news - City Councilman Frank DiCicco's claim that the general contractor, Uliano Construction, has been replaced within the past 30 days for not living up to the anticipated timeline. But it looks like DiCicco's completely wrong about that, as Durso suggests in the article.

Maybe that's the real news here: our City Councilman doesn't even know the status of the contractor on the project, and then he misinforms the news media about it. And DiCicco should know better, too. If you know anything about City contracts, you should know that you can't drop a contractor and then replace them within a mere month or so. Oh, no, the City's handling of its contracts isn't that speedy, as we residents around this Milestone in Philadelphia's Progress know only too well!

But you can't blame DiCicco for thinking that the contractor was replaced. We all have our little dreams. It is indeed hard to believe that the City has kept them on the job given the excessive delays in the project.

DiCicco also claims that he's been told by the "City" (whoever that is) that the building will be done by the end of March. Let's hope he's got his facts right on that one.

Kudos to Eddie, my neighbor down the street, who called the South Philly Review in on this story. Eddie's even coined a new name for the project: it's not a Rec Center, it's a Wreck Center.

Light at the End of the Rec Center Construction?

In attempting to track down the status of the Rec Center project, I spoke last week to Rick Tustin, Director of the City's Capital Program Office. I found Tustin thanks to the efforts of one of my intrepid neighbors, who had contacted the Capital Program Office last summer to inquire about the delays with the project. Back then, Tustin replied with a friendly letter explaining the delay was a result of the general contractor's "ongoing disputes" with the city's design consultant. You can read Tustin's letter on the forum of the Passyunk Square Civic Association.

Okay, fast forward, as they say, to five months later - in other words, RIGHT NOW - and we're still waiting for action in terms of construction.

Nevertheless, I have to admit, I was impressed with Tustin. First, he returned my call within 24 hours. Second, he didn't try to pass responsibility for this situation on to someone else.

"I can't do anything but apologize," he said. And while he said that, I couldn't help but feel that he's one guy on this project who really hasn't anything to apologize for.

He also admitted he hadn't read this blog, but of course he didn't apologize for that.

As he explained, of the 200 projects that his office oversees, there are currently only about four that are problematic - and Columbus Square is one of the four. So a ninety-eight percent success rate is pretty good news for Philadelphia, even though it hasn't been such good news for Columbus Square.

Tustin then went on to explain that last week he met at the site with the general contractor, the architect, and others, including community reps (including the indefatigable Susan Petrone) in an effort to keep the project moving. That would have been the same day I posted my photo of the "Contractor Sighting."

He anticipates that the Rec Center construction itself will be finished in May. The problem right now is that the roof - which any passer-by can tell you - needs to be completed. Actually, before it's completed, it needs to be repaired. They can't build anything inside because it'll get rained on through the roof. I do hope that inclement winter weather doesn't become yet another excuse for why the roof hasn't been repaired and completed.

But the good news here is that Tustin believes that the project will be completed in May. I mentioned this to one of my neighbors and, naturally, she replied, "Yeah ... May of what year?" Can't blame people around here for some skepticism, can you?

Additional good news from Tustin is that the City has granted a contract to a landscaping contractor, so that the landscaping around the Rec Center - including a new playground and dog run - will already be in the works as work is completed on the building. As Tustin put it, "I'm looking forward to turning over the keys on this project."

Let's hope Tustin is right. With completion of this project, he could bring his Office's score up to almost 99 percent for the year. As a civil servant with 33 years on the job, I'm rooting for him. If you think your job is a headache, just imagine what he has had to put up with.

But whatever anyone has to say about this project, I'll continue to keep an eye (behind my camera) on it and report on developments here. Along those lines, I recently discussed the project with the its architect, Lisa Armstrong of A K Architecture. I plan to provide some of her perspective on the project in future postings. Armstrong did the design of the impressive Lloyd Hall recreation center at the end of Boat House Row. There's no question that her design is light years ahead of the former recreation center on 12th Street. Now, if only they would finish building it.

Columbus Square in the News?

Word around the Square is that there's upcoming coverage on the Rec Center project in the local news media. Odd, this just two weeks after the start of this blog. I'll add a link here to any coverage in other media, but remember - you read it here first!

Contractor Sighting (Photo)

Contractor Sighting!

Okay, maybe this isn't in quite the same class as a sighting of the supposedly extinct ivory-billed Arkansas woodpecker, but, hey, it's pretty exciting, I think -a contractor observed at work on the Recreation Center!

I first spotted his pickup truck, parked with the two passenger side tires on the sidewalk, the other two in the street, partly blocking the right traffic lane on 12th Street. I love that "I can park anywhere" attitude.

I walked up to him and introduced myself, as he retrieved some tools from his truck. He eyed me a little uneasily, and didn't return the introduction.

"Are you the general contractor?" I asked. (Word was already all over 12th Street that the General Contractor was at the site.)

"Yep," he replied.

"Well, It's great to see you," I said. He didn't seem to warm to my cheery, enthusiastic tone. Perhaps to his ear it sounded like an accusation that we had seen far too little of him around the neighborhood during the past year.

"You know, this project has been going on for quite a while," I ventured.

"Yeah, I'd rather not say anything about that," he replied, with one of those shrugs that's filled with implication. Like you've just asked some guy about the nasty fight he had with his wife last week, and he shrugs, indicating that although it was unpleasant, he doesn't attach much significance to it.

"Do you think you'll have this finished in time for this summer?" I asked.

He nodded and mumbled something about having it "under control."

"Great, " I replied.

And with that , our little interview came to an end. Clearly, he didn't want to spend his time chatting with people from the neighborhood, and I certainly didn't want to keep him from his work.

I wish I could tell you that the rec center general contractor had a work crew with him. I wish I could tell you that they were moving in a big assortment of construction materials. I wish I could tell you that the air was filled with the sound of hammers, saws, and an AM radio blaring a sports talk show - you know, all those things that mean that construction is really happening. But no, as one of my neighbors emailed me this morning, when she went by it on her way to work, with the gate and door to the rec center open, she just thought there were squatters in there. Okay, I know, I know - the City didn't give this contract to Bob the Builder ("Can we fix it? Yes we CAN!").

This was just one guy, unloading some lumber from his pickup truck. And maybe that's the problem with this $1.23 million project - the general contractor is just a guy with a pickup truck.

As It Looked This Morning

1.9.07 Morning View
Originally uploaded by dwwebber.

As you can see, it hasn't changed (at least on the outside), since Dec. 1, 2006. Even the same trash is there. (At least I've got a better camera angle than I did in December.)

As It Was on Dec. 1, 2006

Rec Center 12.1.06
Originally uploaded by dwwebber.

This is the first photo I took of the rec center, on Dec. 1, 2006. Compare it to later pictures. As of today, Jan. 9 2007, nothing has changed (at least on the exterior) - even the trash is still there in front of the building.

Today . . . No-Show

Once again, no one showed up at the work site. Hey, this blogging thing will be easier than I thought!

Columbus Square Photos

If you want to take a look at photos of the Recreation Center project at Columbus Square, go to my photo set on Flickr, "Another Milestone in Philadelphia's Progress." Use "detail view" to see my descriptions for each photo or view the entire set as a slide show.

Another Milestone?

When I ask my neighbors around Columbus Square if they can remember when ground was broken for the new Recreation Center at 12th & Wharton Streets, I always get the same response. They look puzzled, scratch their heads for a moment, and then say, "You know, I really can't remember for sure." Yes, it's been going on that long.

I can't remember for sure either. Was it the fall of 2005? Or 2004? My guess is 2005 - at least I remember the foundation having been finished and sitting all winter under the snow. And that was probably last winter.

So we're now into the second winter of our discontent about this project, which means it's been going on for well over a year - at least. And what have we got? An eyesore, a trash magnet, a vandalism target, an excellent example of urban blight, courtesy of the City of Philadelphia itself. The City's official construction sign, proudly touting this as "Another Milestone in Philadelphia's Progess" is now graffitied over. One graffiti writer has aptly tagged this project "Left for Dead."

It began - back whenever it was - with the demolition of what was a heavily used basketball court. After the new building was more or less up by last summer - at least there was a roof over walls - they then demolished the old (ca. 1960s) recreation center on 12th Street, as well as the dog run and the tot lot. What remains of the tot lot is now inaccessible behind fencing. At least the demolition and cleanup didn't take very long. But there's nothing new there to replace what we've lost.

Because I live down the street from this project, I see it - in its barely changing ugliness - every day. I don't know the contractor who's responsible for this project. But there's one thing I'll bet you: whereever he lives, he wouldn't like to look at something like this every day he walks out his front door.

In future postings, I'll monitor work on this project, and provide photos documenting progress - or lack thereof.