Schuylkill Riverfront Academic and Heritage Center
Facilities Plan
The Schuylkill Riverfront Academic and Heritage Center will be co-located with the SRHA at the former PECO site at 140 College Drive in Pottstown. The facility is located across the street from the College’s current West Campus facility at 101 College Drive. In January 2006, the College will open its second West Campus facility for courses at 16 High Street. This expansion will further connect downtown with College Drive via an underpass to provide a safe and accessible route, for students as well as the community. Interpretive CenterThe College, in consultation with SRHA, is developing the facility to include an Interpretive Center that will be accessible from both the College and the SRHA entrances. |
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The Interpretive Center lobby will feature an area to display all of the promotional materials of SRHA and showcase the assets and history of the river. A retail space will also be developed to allow for the sale of books and materials related to the Schuylkill River and the history and environment of the five-county geographic region covered by the Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area.
Classrooms
The College engaged local architect, Dick Frantz, to develop the preliminary schematics, in conjunction with SRHA and the Borough, for the renovation. The current undeveloped part of the facility is about 5,000 square feet and will include four classrooms to support both College-related and riverfront related instruction. The first floor will have a large room that can be divided into two classrooms, or used for larger conferences. The second floor will have two classrooms, one general, multi-use classroom and one laboratory for science courses in geology and environmental science.
Additional Space
The current garage area ofthe building will be renovated to include the SRHA retail sales space, a small conferenceroom, and storage for both SRHA and theCollege.
Building Green
Consistent with the values and goals of the SRHA, the College will work towards developing a sustainable design to maximize resource-efficient systems and to leave a reduced footprint on the natural environment. To the extent feasible, renovation plans will incorporate Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. One outcome of using green elements in the renovation is to instill a positive, forward thinking perception among students, visitors and the surrounding community. In addition to the current renovation plans, the site allows for future expansion on the third floor of the facility.
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