TenBerke has been announced as one of several team members on a major new commission that will deliver a new home for The African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) from the city’s former Family Court Building at an important nexus in its expanding cultural precinct.

Located near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Barnes Foundation, the Rodin Museum, the courthouse building was originally built in 1941. The design from TenBerke will recreate the structure as a 200-room hotel with help from Beyer Blinder Belle, Studio & Projects, and Hood Design Studio. A team including Hood, Morris Adjmi Architects, and Jaklitsch/Gardner Architects will join them in delivering the AAMP’s new facilities at 1901 Wood Street. An expansion of the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Parkway Central branch is a component of the scheme as well.

The PIDC, Philadelphia’s public-private economic development corporation, will manage the project’s construction, aided by a consortium of developers National/Frontier, Method Co, Smith & Roller, and BKP Development Group that ensures it will have a minority equity ownership structure. TenBerke’s rehabilitation of the Place de la Concorde-inspired historic landmark courthouse building at 1801 Vine Street will include a new signature restaurant, bar, and public entrance.