Roxborough Church To Be Redeveloped As Design Firm Headquarters

ROXBOROUGH, PHILADELPHIA – A more than 100-year-old Roxborough church will be redeveloped into the headquarters for a Philadelphia design firm, officials announced Monday, May 14.

The former Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church at Ridge and Roxborough avenues is getting a new look from design firm Ruggiero Plante Land Design, which will serve as their new headquarters when done, according to the Roxborough Development Corporation.

Built in 1909, the church will maintain its interior and exterior, as Ruggiero Plante Land Design principals David Plante and Cesira Ruggiero renovate the site.

They plan to improve the landscape design around the property and will add a sunken courtyard that will not be readily visible from the road.

The investment they have put in to purchase the property and to renovate it will be about $1.5 million.

The prospect of taking a church built in 1909 that had stood vacant for nearly 10 years, preserving it and making it a thriving place of business is something that has delighted the Roxborough Development Corporation.

And more than the location, the space is remarkable.

"It’s a great space," Ruggiero said looking over the church’s interior, a small wooden place of worship that looks only a few dozen pews short of being ready for service.

It had been used for a time as a medical imaging facility, but much of the original sanctuary remained untouched.

A small organ still has a place next to the altar and a majestic stained-glass window occupies the west wall.

The interior walls and the expansive ceiling are covered in dark wood paneling.

It’s the perfect place, the partners say, for a design studio.

"Ruggiero Plante Land Design's office expansion to the Grace Lutheran Church Building brings one of the city's most reputable land development firms to the Ridge Avenue Commercial Corridor in Roxborough," the organization’s director James Calamia said in a statement. "Their commitment to preserving this architectural and historical treasure should serve as a model for adaptive reuse. We welcome the firm and their 28 employees to the Roxborough neighborhood."

But converting the church is more than just good stewardship for Ruggiero and Plante. It’s an opportunity.

"We’re really excited by the possibilities of the space," Ruggiero said. "For us, everything comes together in this property; a beautiful building in the Roxborough commercial corridor with ample space for our staff and a sizeable lot to accommodate a landscaped courtyard and a demonstration rain garden. We are thrilled to join the Roxborough business community and have this opportunity to reinforce our commitment to historic preservation."

Ruggiero is a landscape architect with more than 25 years of experience in site planning, engineering and design. She’s an expert at stormwater management and has worked in everything from small residential projects to large scale commercial developments.

Plante is a civil engineer with more than 25 years of experience who specializes in urban redevelopment, sustainable stormwater management design. He has been responsible for the design, approval, and maintenance of numerous stormwater management systems in the City of Philadelphia from green roofs to rain gardens to subsurface infiltration beds. He has also overseen installation of many of these stormwater systems.

The firm started in 1978, first as Kinzler & Ritter, then Plante became a partner in 2000 and the firm was restructured as Ritter & Plante Associates.

Ruggiero became a partner in 2014 and again the firm was restructured as Ruggiero Plante Land Design, a WBE (Women's Business Enterprise).

The 28-person team has been operating out of an office space in Manayunk for the last 10 years and needed more space.

They had been looking for a place in Northwest Philadelphia and when the church became available, they jumped at the chance.

Image via Google