Drexel’s Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships to provide more activated outdoor spaces with a $200,000 Grant from the William Penn Foundation 

A West Philadelphia green space will provide more opportunities for outdoor recreation for neighbors thanks to a $200,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation. With support from the William Penn Foundation, Drexel University’s Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships will upgrade a portion of its 2-acre campus by integrating playful learning equipment, adding multipurpose seating, improving wayfinding across the campus, and installing a raised crosswalk on the 3500 block of Brandywine Street, which will connect the existing Dornsife Center Campus with the Dornsife Community Center located at 3512 Spring Garden Street.

“This grant will play an important role in our efforts to connect Drexel with the surrounding West Philadelphia community” said Chris Spahr, the Executive Director of the Dornsife Center. “By creating more inclusive, accessible, and active green spaces on our campus, we hope to welcome more neighbors to our campus and continue to fulfill our mission of building stronger, healthier, and more connected communities through collaborative engagement between Drexel University and our neighbors.”

The grant is part of the William Penn Foundation’s efforts to support projects that enhance public spaces through inclusive design, ensuring that all people – regardless of ability, age, gender, or background- can fully enjoy and benefit from these essential community assets. For this project, Drexel will partner with Tiny WPA, a Philadelphia based nonprofit organization with a mission to grow and support a diverse multigenerational community of civic change agents who want to learn how to design and build great things, make a difference in their community(s) , and through design, lead others in making Philadelphia a better, safer, healthier, more equitable and prosperous place to live, work, and play. Tiny WPA will facilitate inclusive decision-making around design and construction allowing the community to play a hands-on role in the installation of all aspects of this project.

Other partners include the Mantua Civic Association, the Powelton Village Civic Association, the Drexel University Department of Architecture, Design and Urbanism and Drexel Urban Growers, which oversees the Dornsife Center Community Garden.

A community engagement and design process will start in the Fall of 2025 and with construction starting in the summer of 2026. The project will be completed in the summer of 2027.

According to Dr. Youngmoo Kim, Vice Provost of University and Community Partnerships, “This collaborative project is a great example of civic engagement as experiential learning. At Drexel, we believe that connecting students with neighbors and local organizations to

address common challenges is a fantastic learning opportunity for all, enabling us to build a better future together.” The Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships, which the University opened in 2014 with support from philanthropists Dana and David Dornsife, is Drexel’s community-based resource center, where the Drexel community and West Philadelphia residents and partners collaborate on issues of shared importance.

About William Penn Foundation

The William Penn Foundation, founded in 1945 by Otto and Phoebe Haas, is committed to expanding access to resources and opportunities that promote a more vital and just city and region for all. Learn more at williampennfoundation.org.