In 2015, Philadelphia’s – Community Design Collaborative (CDC) created conceptual design plans to house the Overbrook Farmacy in an existing, vacant structure at 6150 Lancaster Avenue on the OEEC’s campus at 6130-50 Lancaster Avenue. The name “Farmacy” is a play on words “pharmacy” and “farmer’s market” and is a wellness center where passive patient care, enviro-education and healthy food access comes together to educate and care for the community.
Assistance from the CDC included evaluating the existing building structure and making recommendations for reuse, creating a programming study of space needs, developing a conceptual plan for redeveloping the building, and providing a preliminary cost estimate.
The design services provided by Collaborative volunteers resulted from information gathered during their site visit to the property plus, community task force and review meetings with some members of JASTECH. The task force (a spill-over from the EPA project) consisted of experts in healthcare, nutrition, farmers’ markets, commercial kitchens, sustainable design along with members of JASTECH’s Board of Directors, staff and local community members.
Ultimately, the CDC’s Overbrook Farmacy designs were derived from Section 330 Federally Qualified Health Care Center’s (FQHC) summary of key considerations and from the recommendations from task force meetings. The center’s plans includes required spaces for exam rooms, staff offices, and other requirements such as, providing a separate entrance to the wellness center and privacy issues based on HIPPA. Further, the center will include a public venue area that could be offered for educational sessions, rental, a farmer’s market, as well as a commercial kitchen that would demonstrate healthy cooking alternatives, sell fresh and nutritious retail and prepared foods to the community.
