The William Way LGBT Community Center building, located at 1315 Spruce Street, has temporarily moved all programming to alternative locations as leaders await results of an environmental assessment — which could take two to three weeks, according to a statement sent to PGN and community members on behalf of the organization.
“During an architectural survey currently underway, an environmental assessment has identified water infiltration and the potential need for remediation,” the statement reads.
“This precautionary measure is taken to ensure the health and well-being of staff and the community,” it noted about the closure.
No other information about the assessment or findings were provided, and the organization’s leaders are unsure how long the building will be closed.
The Elder Initiative will hold scheduled gatherings at John C. Anderson Apartments for the time being. TransWay will continue virtual meetings, and peer counseling sessions will continue via phone. Leaders are still seeking a new location for recovery programs.
Participants can seek information about where to go for other scheduled happenings by visiting the website (waygay.org) or following the organization on Instagram @waygayphilly. For now, programs will be held at various different physical locations, online or by telephone.
“Once the engineering report findings are received and reviewed, the Center will update staff and the community as quickly as possible,” the statement explains.
Updates on “Build the Way” — WWCC’s capital improvement plan
“The environmental report’s results will inform the next steps of the capital improvement plan, which is sorely needed to remedy significant immediate and long-term facility needs,” the statement continues, alluding to a multi-million dollar plan to renovate and expand the building.
Those efforts began in 2022 — with a timeline that initially predicted partial demolition in the rear of the building in 2023, construction of a massive addition to take place that same year, and final touches for a grand opening of the new space to start in October 2024.
An early state grant of $1 million paid for a new HVAC system in the front third of the building. Those renovations and upgrades to security and interior spaces as well as repairs on the Spruce Street side of the building were made in 2022. But demolition and visible construction has not yet begun, making that plan far behind schedule.
The 10-story addition at the rear of the building would create much more space for a larger library, cafe and retail space, catering kitchen, gallery, office space and meeting rooms, senior daycare, additional archives storage and more. The renovations also boast plans to increase accessibility and update an otherwise outdated building (which was erected before the Civil War).
“We’re centering the Center’s response to those most in need, whether those are trans folks, Black and Brown folks, women and others,” Bartlett previously told PGN, also noting the needs of disabled people. “We’re looking at what it means for the building to be welcoming to those folks. That impacts the way that we design the building, where program spaces are, and what security looks like.”
William Way launched a capital campaign to raise funds for the work. A blog post documenting progress noted that by February 2023, William Way had raised almost $8 million and planned to launch a marketing campaign to secure more donations.
The center was one of 13 community economic development and revitalization projects across Pennsylvania to be awarded state funding in April 2022, receiving an additional $2.5 million. It also received $1 million from the William Penn Foundation to help with architectural planning and design and a $2 million allocation from Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s City FY 2024 operating budget.Additional funding of $1 million for the project was stripped from a federal bill following negative attention during a queerphobic Libs of TikTok attack.