May 22: Smart A/C | feedback on 43rd/Baltimore development | North Catholic charter reuse | Chestnut Place apt conversion | East Passyunk community garden | GSK design and health

Good morning, Streeters. As Memorial Day approaches, today promises to feel like summer, possibly hitting 87° with a chance of thunderstorms.

Now that warm weather is really here, PECO has reintroduced its “Smart A/C” program to reduce peak load on hot summer days, the Inquirer reports. Under the program PECO customers get a $20 credit on their bills (June-September) to let PECO cycle on and off their air conditioning units during “conservation events” on hot days.

On Monday evening West Philly neighbors weighed in on the proposal for a 92-unit apartment building at 43rd and Baltimore. West Philly Local reports that those in attendance want to see more parking (10 times the 6 spaces proposed), and agreed that they didn’t want any undergrads as tenants or pharmacies in the ground floor retail space(s). Designs for the building, which neighbors asked to be respectful of neighborhood scale, will be released at another community meeting in June. Add your input and follow along at the project website: 4224baltimore.com.

Frankford Gazette is watching as North Catholic High School for Boys is transformed into Marianna Bracetti Academy Charter School. The charter school is expected to move in this fall.

Will the office building Chestnut Place (42 South 15th Street) be converted into apartments? The Business Journal reports that Alterra Property Group’s Leo Addimando is among the investors eyeing Chestnut Place and put it under agreement.

East Passyunk Crossing Civic Association is busy building a new community garden outside their office (1729 S. 11th St), on the grounds of Neuman-Goretti High School. Passyunk Post reports that volunteers have fenced the space and are building about 45 raised beds. While most plots will be for individual growers, 6-8 will be community plots and 2-4 for students.

Sitting is bad for you. That’s bad news if you, like so many of us, spend your day as a desk jockey. NewsWorks reports that GlaxoSmithKline’s new Navy Yard building is designed to get employees moving for their wellbeing. Each workstation can be used as a standing desk and there are even a few treadmill desks. You and I might not have such luck, so don’t’ forget stand up and move around today.

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