A new youth study center will be built at 48th and Haverford in West Philadelphia. The old facility, which is closed and has been functioning at a temporary location in the former Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, was 54 years old and in very poor condition. According to Anne Marie Ambrose, the Department of Human Services commissioner, the new youth center will provide 150 beds and will meet the national best practice guidelines as well as the Commonwealth’s guidelines on Residential Child Care (something the old facility had not been as up to speed with). The new space, which measures out to 160,000 square feet (almost double the size of the old locale) will lend a hand with over-crowding and will allow for some much-needed additional amenities in areas such as housing, visitation, recreation, education, medical and dining; the new location will also provide space for court and hearing rooms as well as for community meetings.

In addition, the new building will also be environmentally friendly (something we love here at NakedPhilly), being designed as the first LEED-certified building to be built by the City of Philadelphia. Some West Philadelphia residents are weary of the new development as they feel it will put them in danger (i.e. juveniles breaking out), but all-in-all this is a much-needed addition to a city where troubled youth is a prominent problem (the center admits nearly 5,000 kids annually for assessment and placement). The Youth Study Center is set to open by late fall of this year.