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Community Progress Council outlines plans to consolidate services, add second floor and rooftop playground at 140 Roosevelt Ave.
Summary
Community Progress Council presented preliminary plans to purchase 140 Roosevelt Avenue, consolidate operations from three buildings, add a recessed second-floor addition and a rooftop playground, and sought feedback from the York City Historical Architectural Review Board.
Robin Morbaugh, president and CEO of Community Progress Council, told the York City Historical Architectural Review Board on July 24 that the agency is in due diligence to potentially buy 140 Roosevelt Avenue and consolidate services now spread across three buildings into one site.
“We are actually, in the due diligence phase of potentially purchasing 140 Roosevelt Avenue,” Morbaugh said. She described Community Progress Council as a community action agency working to move people from poverty to financial self-sufficiency; the organization served “about 14,000 people” last year, she said. Morbaugh said the agency delivers multiple services under one roof, including Head Start/Early Head Start/Pre-K programs, WIC and HUD-certified housing counseling.
Blair Layman, representing the project design team, presented schematic plans showing a recessed second-floor addition set back roughly 5 to 10 feet from the existing brick façade and a fenced rooftop playground. Layman said the proposed addition would use structural support through the existing building, with the new façade materials likely an aluminum-and-glass storefront system and insulated metal panels as a contrasting modern material.
Board members provided preliminary feedback at the schematic stage. One member said the recessing of the addition and the rooftop playground made sense; others suggested exploring warmer color tones rather than bright metal finishes so the addition does not draw attention away from the historic façade. The applicant said rooftop play would be for classroom use during daytime hours and “most likely will be out the door no later than 6PM.”
On construction details, the applicant said the existing roof area would not increase and that existing roof drains beneath the slab would be reused. For the rooftop playground surface, the design team described a pedestal paver system over the new roof membrane with a rubberized surface on top to provide cushioning while maintaining separation from the EPDM membrane below.
Morabaugh and the design team said signage, lighting and final material choices remain to be developed and will return to the board with more detailed drawings. The item was presented as a preliminary discussion only; no application was approved at the meeting.
