December 23-29, 2004

cityspace

CHAD, Hanging

by Doron Taussig

The building is businesslike without seeming antiseptic, located right between Independence Hall and Jeweler's Row; it's one of those buildings you walk by and think, "Man, I wonder who gets to work there?" You look in the windows, see formal attire and think, "Just some suits." Then you look a little closer, notice the blackboards and the books, and realize, hey -- those are kids!

Actually, they're students at the Charter High School for Architecture and Design, and they're going to be using the space for a while. Last week, the CHAD Designing Futures Foundation, a private foundation whose sole purpose is to support the school, purchased Liberty Square, at 105 S. Seventh St., from Philadelphia Management for $10.3 million. The school has occupied the space since it opened in 1999.

"Isn't it wonderful?" asks Barbara Chandler Allen, executive director of the foundation. She says there are two primary reasons that this location is ideal. First, the building is within walking distance of architecture, design and engineering firms -- three are within half a block. This makes it easy for nearby professionals to volunteer at the school as mentors, guest teachers or critique jurors. "If our school was out in Kensington, we wouldn't have that relationship," she says. "And a lot of our kids have internships in design offices after school or summer jobs." That's why they're dressed in khaki pants, button-down shirts and ties -- and why they can't wear sneakers or "ostentatious jewelry."

The second reason, she says, is that "it's nobody's turf. The kids can come and go freely." When schools are housed in residential neighborhoods, she says, students who don't live nearby often get hassled while traveling.

"A lot of what we are is where we are," she says.

CHAD is a tuition-free charter school with an academic curriculum stressing architecture, design and construction. Ninety-nine percent of its students come from Philly and 88 percent are minority. The school's attendance rate is 96 percent -- extremely high for a public school -- and 80 percent of students go on to college. Students take 100 minutes of design class every day.

Liberty Square is five stories and 125,000 square feet. The money for the purchase came from financing through an assumed loan, seller financing, assistance from The Reinvestment Fund and gifts from individuals. Chandler Allen says no changes to the building are planned -- CHAD is just happy to have a permanent home where it can cultivate its students' professionalism.

"Have you seen our kids?" she says. "They look like a million bucks!"