JKRP wins another Preservation Award!

Lounge

amazing roof deck

the beautiful lobby

amazing conference room on the top floor

roof lounge

typical bedroom

corner unit

high end bathrooms

tons of natural light

Our ICON|1616 Walnut project has just been awarded a Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia Grand Jury Award for outstanding project.  The building had been used as office space since it was completed in the late 1920s.  



The $50 million construction project took 18 months, and was completed in the spring of 2014.  It has been a catalyst in the resurgence of older Philadelphia buildings being converted or repurposed into ultra high-end residences. As of December 2014, the building has commanded the highest residential rents in the city. Its location on the toniest shopping street in the city and its proximity to Rittenhouse Square and restaurants give it a competitive edge in a robust market, but the real differentiator is the world class amenities incorporated into the new design. The building boasts the largest open air roof deck in the city and affords spectacular views of the city skyline and the building also contains lavish communal spaces and a fitness center that would rival most commercial gyms.   The residential units themselves have also spared no expense, with high ceilings, huge expanses of glazing and natural light and only the finest finishes. The new design features have been meticulously executed to complement the original grandeur of the iconic building and bring it back to the same glory it had on the day it opened eighty five years ago.  

Promotions!!

Clockwise LtoR- Deidre, Jose, Rick, Jason, Elisa, and Jen

JKR Partners Architects is proud to announce the promotions of six dedicated individuals whose contributions have helped make JKR Partners a success.  Jose Hernandez, AIA is promoted to Principal of the firm.  Deidre DeAscanis, AIA, Richard Stewart, AIA and Jason Wistreich,AIA, are promoted to Associate Principals, and Jennifer Whary and ElisaLanzutti, ARB are promoted to Project Coordinators.  Jose has demonstrated his ability to manage many complex residential projects and guide clients through complicated zoning matters and is actively involved in many committees within the local architecture and building trade organizations.  Deidre DeAscanis has managed some of the firms highest profile rehabilitation and historic preservation projects ranging from the award winning former Naval Home in Philadelphia, the Presser and Nugent Senior Apartment projects in Mt. Airy, to the successful residential conversion of ICON|1616 on Walnut Street.  Deidre is currently working on a similar ultra high-end residential conversion at the intersection of Broad and Chestnut Streets along the Avenue of the Arts.    Richard Stewart was instrumental in the success of 777 South Broad Street, a high end luxury apartment building on the Avenue of the Arts, and has led many of the firms successful movie theater jobs across the country.  Jason Wistreich manages our high end restaurant clients and is currently managing a host of projects for the Philadelphia Housing Authority. Both Elisa Lanzutti and Jennifer Whary have quickly demonstrated their ability to successful manage diverse clients and projects ranging from residential to retail, and are very active with committees within the office.

Nugent Senior Apartments Wins Preservation Award

Before

After

Our Nugent Senior Apartments has won another award.  Not only have we won a Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia grand jury award, now we've also won a Preservation Pennsylvania Award. We're not stopping there however, we're also in the running for an AIA Philadelphia and AIA Pennsylvania award.  Dave, Sam and DeeDee have continued their award winning work.

 

Annual JKR Phillies Outing

Some new Threads for everyone! a new tradition.

A motley crew

The Rooches, Diana and Greg.

Sean keeping his fivehead free from sunburn.

It's not all work and no play around here, although it may seem like that.  We really do work hard.  We just need some recuperation days to reconnect with our colleagues and have some fun. It's been 8 or 9 years now that we've closed down the office for the afternoon and have gone to the Phillies game for a business persons special.  Then, as always, we head down to our favorite dive bar Bob and Barbara's and get the other kind of special... A beer and a shot. This year we had another beautiful day and actually saw the Phils win a game for a change! Check out all the photos on our Facebook page.

Nugent Update

Nugent

terra cotta tiles getting installed

the panelized new addition

A few weeks back we updated you on the Nugent Senior Apartments going up in Germantown.  The National Park Service just granted full approval for our revised historic details so now construction is in full swing and given the much better weather, things are getting done much more quickly.  The roof is getting its new terra cotta tiles, (real terra cotta tiles!) and the first level of the panelized addition is up.  More to come in a few weeks.

Nugent Senior Apartments underway

Sam and Dee Dee showing off their new hard hats.

Dave inspecting some potential areas of concern with the roof.

The vandals left their mark stealing most of the copper cornices.

A new floor will be replacing the old uneven floor.

The original building in all its glory.

Foundations for the new addition have been poured.

Dave, Dee Dee, and Sam have been working on this project with Nolen Properties for the better part of at least the last three years. We blogged about this a few months back when we had the ribbon cutting ceremony to commence the construction.  Nugent Senior Apartments is a 57 unit affordable senior housing project in the Germantown neighborhood of Philly.  Demolition is complete (thanks to a lot of vandals for helping out with the copper removal) and repairs are underway.  After years of neglect, we'll be restoring this back to its original splendor.  This is our second restoration/renovation project with Nolen; the other being the award winning Presser project. 

Nugent Senior Apartments Ground breaking

old meets new

All the big wigs at Thursday's ground breaking

Nugent Senior Apartments on West Johnson Street in the Mt. Airy section of the city is a new project we're working on for Nolen Properties.  We're converting this beautiful building back to it's original luster creating 25 units in the old building and adding 32 rental units in a new addition in the rear.  It was originally built in 1895 for the care of elderly Baptist ministers and their wives, and in 2006 was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Last year we did a similar successful conversion like this for Nolen with our Presser Senior Apartments. 

Pumpkin Carving!

Jen and Kathleen hate keeping their eyes open

Greg hates people sneaking up on him

Dee Dee making a Keurig pumpkin

Rick and Jason...Jason likes the Yankees

Farinella and Laura making a ninja pumpkin

Steve and Laurens JKR ghost

Jon and Bobs macabre pumpkin

Natalya and Marissa's winner!

It wouldn't officially be Halloween without a JKR Partners pumpkin carving contest; and with Halloween being a moving target this year, we felt we could post our pictures from last Friday today!

Team Jose Scavenger Hunt

Lauren here representing Team Jose! Our team, which also included Dee Dee and Markos, had a great afternoon taking photos throughout the city. We took some shortcuts and got our pictures with Boathouse Row and the Rocky Statue using postcards at the AIA bookstore. Our entire hunt was done on foot and we hit a lot of the spots on our scavenger list, including a refreshing dip in the fountain at LOVE Park.

Little Bambino in Blue!!

 On March 16 (at about 5:38 am) our very own Deidre (Dee Dee) DeAscanis gave birth to a super cute little boy named G. Cristiano DeAscanis!
Cristiano weighed in at 7lbs, 14oz...

Mother and son are both at home and doing well.. No doubt resting up for all of the wonderful experiences that lie ahead of them in the future...

Dee Dee - Here are a couple of thoughts from your JKRP family -

1. We knew that your inherent organization, punctuality and project managerial skills would not allow your child to be born late.

2. Again - Cristiano is not allowed to learn AutoCAD until he is at least 12. That would be child abuse. (Although AutoCAD may probably be obsolete by then...)

3. We feel as though Isabelle and  Cristiano should not start dating until they are in high school.

We would like to send our Love and Congratulations to Dee Dee and her husband Guido on their wonderful little boy!!

Welde Golf Outing 2011 - Ole'!!!

Dave here - Fortunately Jose, Mike, and I are architects and not professional golfers. Add Guido (Dee Dee's husband) to make our foursome, and we were lucky enough to end up with a "best ball" score of one over. Not counting a few free mulligans. Nobody could hit the ball well consistently, but we had fun. The event was a fundraiser last Friday for the John J. Welde Memorial Scholarship Fund. Here we are steaming off after one of the many rain showers...

Dee Dee Here:  Jerry, Matt, Samantha, and I attended the Preservation Achievement Awards this week.  The luncheon was held at the Crystal Tea Room at the Wanamaker Building.  Presser Senior Apartments received a Grand Jury Award for the renovation of this National Register-listed building.  Next up is the adjacent Nugent Home, which is also slated for rehabilitation!

We Have Stone!

Dee Dee Here:The Stone is going up at the Stern Hebrew High School addition in Merion Station, PA.  Blake, Jerry and I have been working with the Kohelet Foundation  on the former Akiba Hebrew Academy site for the past two years.  Phase 1 of the project focused on updating the existing facility while Phase 2 included building the Beit Midrash addition, which will be used as a work/study space.  The students relocated to the existing school last fall and construction of the addition is on its way to being complete in June!

Presser Dedication

DeeDee Here- Today was the dedication for Presser Senior Apartments in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia.  Matt, Sam, Marissa and I played a significant role in restoring this historically significant building into 45 mixed income apartments.  Presser Senior Apartments was recently awarded a 2011 Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia Grand Jury Prize. Our client Jim Nolen of Nolen Properties cut the ribbon with Mayor Nutter, Councilwoman Miller, Peter Kaplan of PNC Bank, and Brian Hudson of PHFA.