Services

Corona Partners led the renovation of the Elwyn Regional Office “Huntingdon Mills,” the first of three distributed regional office locations for Elwyn in the city. This location serves 3,300 children with 4,000 SF and provides spaces for evaluations, touchdown office space, and field team work. With this project, Corona Partners developed the ELS Regional Office Design Standard to provide design guidance for essential design features such as space organization, access to natural light, and interior colors and a materials palette that supports productivity. This ensured the continuity of high-quality design outcomes in subsequent projects in other Philadelphia neighborhoods. Additionally, Corona Partners scouted this location in the targeted zip codes to serve Elwyn’s client needs. The office sits in a complex designed for nonprofits that also includes a school and other social service providers. The development takes advantage of the new market tax credit program. 

Corona Partners led the development of an 11,000 SF space with a 24-hour call center, the first Philadelphia City-based Elwyn Executive Suite, and an Administrative Office area for Early Learning Services, Elwyn’s largest program. Our approach met the dual goals of creating an elevated and productive space for operationally different uses. The Call Center requires a quiet and private space where team members speak with families seeking services; the Executive Suite is a public-facing space designed for Elwyn’s leadership to host meetings in the City of Philadelphia; Early Learning Services has a new Administrative Headquarters for their team designed to support their hybrid work approach. The layout accommodates programmatic separation for these three uses in a compact space while improving the experience with a comfortable lounge touchdown area, new windows, and views right through the layered interior.

Corona Partners is the Owner’s Representative for the $26 million renovation of the Kingsessing Recreation Center in West Philadelphia. Working for the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority on behalf of the Rebuild initiative, we are leading the renovation of the 32,000 SF historic recreation center, and the refurbishment of the 9.2 acres site including the addition of a new turf football and baseball field, a new playground, four upgraded basketball courts, and new sitework to improve the site resilience and usability.   

At the owner’s request, the project is being built via two concurrent construction contracts (interior and exterior) held by two separate general contractors. The project will preserve the site’s historic integrity, as required by the Philadelphia Historic Commission, while providing modern space to serve the neighborhood for years to come.

Corona Partners developed a regional office strategy to support the transition to a mobile workforce for Elwyn’s Early Learning Services (ELS) Program, which provides early intervention to 9,000 children ages three to five across the city. Elwyn made a strategic decision to enable their workforce to benefit from coworking and be mobile and more integrated into the communities they serve. Corona Partners developed a strategic brief connecting program success to real estate choices, identified regional office locations, and is overseeing the build-out of those facilities.

The development of the Hybrid Workplace Strategy began with a data-driven analysis of space demand, including projections for growth in client population and staff headcount. This process facilitated a reimagining of roles and responsibilities for ELS staff so that new space would support change in strategy. Finally, Corona Partners mapped the geographic locations of the client base and identified suitable leasable spaces to build out.

Overall, the work reduced the administrative footprint from 80k SF to 20k SF while providing support for staff and room for client evaluations closer to their clients’ homes.

Corona Partners led the development of a 14,000 SF Early Education Center and Regional Office for Elwyn’s Early Learning Services Program. We strategically planned Elwyn’s regional office to accommodate their new hybrid work approach, providing training and flexible workspaces for staff serving over 1,700 children in West and South Philadelphia. This project also included constructing five classrooms equipped with cutting-edge teaching technology for children ages three to five with special needs. Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), we revamped an existing playground area with state-of-the-art equipment and natural materials to align with the curriculum. Custom murals, interactive artworks, and environmental graphics were integrated throughout the facility to engage young minds.

Corona Partners is the owner’s representative for the renovation and fit-out of 350k SF of this historic former Provident Mutual Life building in west Philadelphia. Corona Partners is managing multiple contractors working simultaneously on the base building and the fit-out of four separate tenant spaces. Corona Partners is also supporting the documentation required for a complex funding that includes New Market Tax Credits, Historic Tax Credits, and a Pennsylvania RACP Grant.

Corona Partners led the gut renovation of a compromised historic property that had been vacant for 10+ years for Elwyn Adult Behavioral Outpatient Services. The team remediated a failing building envelope using Passive House Construction Standards, surpassing the energy code for new buildings by 40% and reducing the size of the HVAC system by 25%. By modifying the design and implementing a more efficient floor plan, we reduced the square footage by more than 45% while increasing the number of group therapy rooms by 20%, providing the opportunity for Elwyn to expand and grow their services in less space.

Corona Partners updated the capital plan for Rebuild Philadelphia, a $500 million project to revitalize the city’s parks, recreation centers, and libraries. Our team refined the investment strategy and planned additional fundraising to address a $300 million budget gap. We helped Rebuild and the Mayor’s office engage with City Council to adjust the plan, reduce project scope by $240 million, and identify an additional $60 million in public and private funding. We also developed outline fundraising strategies for 12 priority sites, identified more than 70 potential sources, and improved pre-development timelines by over 12 months. In 2023 and 2024, we continue to support Rebuild Philadelphia’s transformative goals.

Corona Partners, working with Facilities Strategies, LLC is managing the relocation of 800 people into Jefferson University’s new administrative headquarters at 1101 Market. The complex relocation is enabling a consolidation of administrative functions from more than two-dozen sites in dozens of moves as each of the 13 floors are completed. The team is managing the move planning and logistics for Jefferson staff and Jefferson executive leadership.

The team planned, designed and produced a comprehensive communication strategy. Each person moving receives a personalized information packet about the relocation process, during the packing and move process a by name list is maintained to coordinate telephone service and information technology installation and set-up, and upon arrival each employee receives a welcome packet with information about their new offices, including local resources and guidelines for working in an open office. Post-move, we host a resolution desk to allow people to report any problems or questions that are then passed to the relevant party for resolution.

Corona Partners developed a people-centered energy efficiency program designed to capture easy savings and prepare Northern Children’s Services for long-term financial benefit. Corona Partners conducted an energy audit of Northern Children Services’ seven-acre campus and identified opportunities for efficiency that require minor investment yet provide exceptional payback. We developed a full lighting audit, implemented a heating system repair program, and developed a roadmap for future improvement.

The heart of the program was a facilitated working session for staff designed to identify major areas of staff discomfort and develop an action plan for correcting those efficiencies. That session also served to ensure that building system improvements are paired with staff awareness and behavior.

Corona Partners developed a strategic facility plan for the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Homeless Services (OHS). OHS manages a network of more than sixty providers who together serve 12,000 people a year experiencing homelessness.

The OHS portfolio has been assembled over several decades and is a mix of City- owned, city- leased, and provider-leased assets. Corona Partners developed a program to standardize leasing, budgeting, and property management across the Emergency Shelter portfolio. Tools include standard budgeting worksheets for providers, summary of key lease clauses required for OHS properties, and recommendations for changing internal OHS staffing to support more efficient facility management operations.

In addition to helping implement Real Estate best practices, Corona Partners worked with OHS to identify a path forward for modernizing the leases for assets in its portfolio.

Corona Partners was the Resident Coordinator for a once-in-a-generation HVAC system replacement that touched all 536 units in this iconic condominium building in Center City. During the 30 month project, Corona Partners acted as the primary liaison between the building’s Homeowners Association, the members of the Construction Team, and the residents of the building. The project required every unit owner to provide contractors with extended access to the perimeter of the building for construction and we provided full-time on-site staffing to explain the process to residents, help them prepare for construction, and handle any special accommodations that might be required. The construction process required more than 20,000 unit entries to perform construction work, and we were able to achieve 100% resident compliance, allowing the construction team to complete their work without any delay.