September 18, 2014 — The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the City of Philadelphia held a ceremonial ground-breaking for the Community Health and Literacy Center to be built in South Philadelphia at Broad and Morris streets.

The Center is the result of an innovative public-private partnership which will serve as a national model, providing children and adults with comprehensive healthcare services in addition to literacy and recreational programming, all in one fully-integrated location.

When completed in late 2015, the Community Health and Literacy Center will have four components:

  • CHOP Care Network, Primary Care - South Philadelphia
  • The City of Philadelphia’s Health Center 2
  • The Free Library’s South Philadelphia Neighborhood Library
  • The DiSilvestro Recreation Center

Under the agreement, the City will provide a lease on the site at a nominal fee to CHOP along with $2.2 million to support construction. CHOP will develop the land, which includes the construction of a 96,000 square-foot facility and outdoor space, at a total cost of $42.5 million.

The CHOP portion of the funding comes from several sources, including: generous support from CHOP donors, hospital operating revenue, and New Market Tax Credits provided through the Chase Community Equity LLC, Chase New Markets Corporation, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), City First Bank of DC, and Commonwealth Cornerstone Group, Ltd.