RED HEAT, RED MEAT & RED VELVET

Blake Here: While  this post really has nothing to do with the 1988 Schwarzenegger / Belushi cop flick I needed another "RED" something and  mother nature turned up the temperature to the higher degrees, plus it rhymes, therefore, it's suitable.  After much time spent igniting newspapers, wasting matches, burning through a lighter, and dousing the stubborn charcoals with an entire bottle of lighter fluid, mike, marissa, and I finally got JKR's first BBQ of the season started on the Thursday afternoon of May26th as that first cold piece of raw bison burger meat hit the heat on that grill.  The back sweat was flowing, the fire was burning, the burgers were cooking, and with the dynamite execution Sam had the place set not just for the consumption of mass quantities of goodness but for the real reason all this was being done, to honor the many years of hard work, dedication, and kind heartedness provided both in and outside the office by the one Miss Lauren Ulmer.  Lauren you will be missed by us all and we wish you nothing but the best with your upcoming move and future endeavors.  Thanks for all you've done for the firm and each of us here at JKR Partners, we'll miss you, good luck and stay in touch.

Cubs Win! Cubs Win!

Zach checking in here:  Shock, surprise, and bewilderment rained upon the Belmont Plateau just after 8pm Wednesday evening as the JKR Partners softball team marked the final out of their first (actual) win since 2009.  The 21-19 triumph snapped a losing streak that has hung heavily over the team's head for far too long.  It might have been the cake, it might have been the beer, it might have been the questionable bats that cost more than a year's worth of GEICO car insurance.  Whatever it was, the celebration commenced once we all remembered what it felt like to win a game.  Good job everyone, let's take this streak to two!

Meet Steve!

Bob Here:  Meet Steve!  He’s new at the firm.   He is a little on the quiet side but we think he will fit in just fine.  Steve is an expert in  Eco-friendly design and construction.  When not saving the world through design Steve enjoys hiking, searching for berries and taunting men in spandex riding bikes.

Mighty Mississippi

Jerry Here: While attending the AIA National convention in New Orleans, we had a steady dose of rising river reports. My cousins, who live in Baton Rouge, thought we ought to see things up close, and they took us to see the Bonnet Carre spillway. This is one of the flood control devices used to divert water from the Mississippi to Lake Pontchartrain and thence to the Gulf of Mexico. The spillway is the wide swath of land shown in this picture. Apparently, in normal times, there should be no water in this picture and everything should be green.

A Stroll Around the Park

Summit Cycling Club of New Jersey

Paul here...The calm before the storm. Nothing like an all out chase to close the gap from a break up the road. Thursday night Crit training at Greentree Industrial Park in Mt. Laurel, NJ.

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...

This is what I call Transit Oriented Development

Izzo Here: Seriously, this is what I call transit oriented development. Amazing.

Back from Vacation!

Tiffany here:
Back from VACATION!!! (Yes, I have missed you all greatly...)

We left on a Wednesday + returned on a Wednesday and let me tell you - that was the best FREE trip that I have ever been on :) My husband Demetrius and I embarked on a voyage to the island of St. Croix for (7) days for our Second Honeymoon - as the grand prize for winning on the Newlywed Game Show back in January...

Please understand that nothing in this life is free ... everything comes with a cost + trust and believe that the universe will look for its payment...
Last Saturday (not the so-called Judgement Day), but for 2 hours of my life it might as well have been. A storm rolled through that was so intense it created flash floods and before we knew it there was about 2" of water under our beds...
Perhaps the universe was teaching me a lesson about designing the landscape / hardscape with proper grades and drainage paths + installing the proper flashing at the exterior wall / slab conditions? (Hum... not sure.)

BUT.
In the end, it was a beautiful trip and the island was breath-taking...so I am not going to bore you with that :)

For more information regarding my 'payments' (and for more pictures) please visit: NO Hippos in St. Croix + The Storm.

Penn Lighting - Lightfair International 2011

 

Paul Here: Tuesday a full cast of JKR Partners attended Penn Lighting Associate's reception at the Philadelphia Reading Terminal Market as part of Lightfair International's annual Trade Show and Conference event. Live music performance by 61 North, plenty of food and spirits, as well as a visit from the Phillie Phanatic, (although his presence would have been better served in Saint Louis that night), were on tap. Glenn W., Matt, Jon, Lauren U., Mike I., and myself  took in the sights, sounds and tastes of Philadelphia.

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!

ACEtastic Final Presentation!

 

Marissa Here:  Last week Dave, Lauren E., and I watched proudly as our 13 ACE students presented their final project at the ACE Student Presentation.  Since meeting the students in early November, they have worked on developing a mixed use project as part of Philly LIVE! Complex.  It has been a wonderful experience to watch the students develop concept layouts and embrace the “Rocketship” design.  They have learned to produce bubble diagrams, column-beam diagrams, truss (not truffle) designs, and elevations.  As a new ACE mentor, it was an added bonus to learn more about the other mentors’ professions.  Great job Team 5!!!

Race Street Pier

Izzo Here:  I haven't been to the newly opened Race Street Pier at the base of the Ben Franklin Bridge yet, but it looks pretty amazing.  Can't wait to check it out.  Check out more pictures on the Plan Philly website.

Beer Me!

Beer Me!

Matt Here: Cone Tops, Flat Tops, Pull Tabs, Keg cans, and Tall Boys – Cans in any shape and size, from Philadelphia to Singapore – The MJK collection; 400 strong is a walk down memory lane starting back in 1976 with the discovery of a full can of beer found in the backyard.  Most of the cans are works of art and when combined in large numbers create a cool mosaic of colors, logos, and unique images such as beautiful Fatima Yechburgh – Miss Frothingslosh!  The heyday of can collecting is long long gone but there are still some holdouts such as me waiting for the big payday.

Enjoy – and check out http://www.beercans.org/  

Grant Ave Under Construction

Izzo Here: Went out to a job meeting last week to check on the progress of our Grant Ave. shopping center in the Great Northeast that Jose and I are working on.  The project is a bunch of small retail shops attaching to a brand new Giant Supermarket.  We aren't doing the supermarket, but we are doing the adjacent buildings wrapping around the Giant, and one more stand alone building.  Maybe another 2 months and they will be up and running. The second best part of the trip was going to the Forman Mills next door to pick up some sweet graphic tees for our softball uni's.  You'll see more of them later. 

"Everybody in the Club (Jaguar) gettin' tipsy..."

Greg here: On Monday,  a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new office/retail renovation of the illustrious and infamous Club Jaguar. Many city officials and community members were present at this OARC (our client) event and were very excited to breathe new life into this portion of Ogontz Ave. JKRP was also at the scene, with its representatives wishing they had the time to partake in the baby back ribs that were made available across the street at the neighborhood Chili's establishment. Sigh. We filed for permits and construction (hopefully) will begin soon!

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!

We ate too much...

Glenn F. Here: Last night, Paul & I attended BizBites, Philly’s hottest happy hour with tasty samplings from numerous of the area’s top restaurateurs. We strategized our options in an effort to save extra space for the countless, scrumptious foods and drinks. The Oyster House’s Delaware Bay Oysters and Delicatessen’s Philly Bagel Rolls won our ranking of favorite, delicious foods. We also overstuffed our bellies with plenty of sweet treats courtesy of Desserts By Dana, Pop-A-Nugget and Pudding Lane. Donned in his black trench coat and shades, the security guard straight out of the vault of some cheesy B-movie provided lots of entertainment. In an abrupt manner, the conspicuous sentry relentlessly harassed all of the guests away from the second floor railing. 

This is how we do an office meeting

Blake Here: Cinco De Mayo office meetings with margaritas are always better than office meetings without margaritas.  MC Jerry Roller is resident mixologist... look at the tequila in that thing! Slammin'!

Check us out @ the ACE Breakfast

Lauren Here: This year's ACE Scholarship breakfast was held at the new National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall.   Jerry, Paul, Dave, Marissa, Tiff, Mike and I attended.  After the breakfast we were free to take a tour of this awesome building!  We checked out some of the display areas and got a closer look at the cool architectural details.

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.