Laying the foundation
for a successful future at Fels

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

Heavy equipment is on the move now that construction crews are getting ready for the main phases of building a new Samuel Fels High School.
For the next two years, the trailers of contractors Ernest Bock and Sons Construction, Edward J. Meloney Inc., A.T. Chadwick and the Mulhern Electric Company Inc. will be fixtures on the site of the former John F. Kennedy Hospital at 5500 Langdon St., with utility and construction trucks and equipment a big part of the landscape.
The old hospital acreage eventually will be home to the new Fels High School. The $68 million, 250,000-square-foot building will replace the outdated and structurally flawed Fels High School at Algon and Devereaux avenues.
The construction started in April. The site has been leveled and staked, and some footings have been poured, said construction manager Mark Marshall of the Gilbane Building Co.
Because of the existence of an underground stream, soil on the site had to be stabilized before construction could begin, according to Marshall.
"We’ve had to dig down, get rid of all the bad soil and bring in clean stone. We’re running into that a lot," he said.
Construction will progress from east to west in a linear fashion, working from the pool area of the school to its auditorium. Marshall has met with representatives of most of the utilities, including Comcast and Verizon. Fiber-optic lines will be run from the old high school along the telephone poles to the new site.
"Then the surrounding community could have access to it," Marshall said.
Come September, he expects all the foundations to have been poured and erection of the steel framework to be underway.
According to Marshall, the work site has 24-hour security. Additionally, a mound of material closest to Langdon Street is recycled crushed stone from the old hospital. It doesn’t meet the proper compacting level for the foundations, so it will be used for the parking area.
"They will be gone by the first of the year," he said of the mounds.
Residents who have concerns about the construction can call the school district’s community outreach hotline at 215-400-8815. ••
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com