Cristo Rey, a interfaith-based Catholic high school in Nicetown-Tioga, is an environmental role model for all schools in Philadelphia, but it had humble beginnings.

“We started in an old, empty elementary school, Our Lady of Hope, near Broad and Olney,” said Tom Shoemaker, president & CEO of Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School. “When we moved to 1717 Allegheny Avenue in 2019 it had been a 150 year-old tricycle factory on a seven-acre industrial wasteland. We knocked down everything except the five-story warehouse and added a 50,000-square-foot contemporary building. You can still see the tricycle factory, the exposed beams, and big factory windows.” In fact, you can see one of the factory’s vintage trikes in the school’s foyer.

August Mecky, a German immigrant, bought the property at 1705 W. Allegheny Avenue in 1897 and started a tricycle company. The factory was built in 1910 by his son-in-law, Richard G. Ledig, who was an inventor. A. Mecky Company expanded its original line of tricycles with baby buggies, pedal cars, scooters, automobiles, and toasters. Its biggest sensation was the 1938 Velo-King Velocipede Tricycles which are now coveted by collectors.

However, it is the school’s roof that makes Cristo Rey truly exceptional. In January, Solar States completed a large-scale installation of solar panels. “We worked personally with Micha Gold-Markel, the founder of Solar States,” said Shoemaker. “We also have three green roofs that produce oxygen, which lowers the temperature generated by all the asphalt in this part of the city.”

“Now that we have solar panels, we want to build it into our science curriculum,” explained Shoemaker. “We can take students to the roof and track in real time how much solar energy we are creating.”

“Cristo Rey will receive at least 30 percent of the cost of the installation back from the federal government as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act,” said Gold-Markel. “We anticipate a minimum of $20,000 of savings per year as a result of installing this solar array and it could reach as high as $35,000 per year depending on the final incentives for which they qualify.”

“We used all of the good solar space, so the roof was maximized. It is a 219 kilowatt solar array with 457 solar panels, which is anticipated to absorb 25 percent of their overall energy usage,” Gold-Markel explained.

Other schools in Philadelphia with solar panels include Albert M. Greenfield Elementary School, Phillip Randolph High School, and Frankford High School. “Most of these have small solar arrays nowhere near the size of Cristo Rey,” said Gold-Markel.

In addition to a small financial contribution by their parents, all Cristo Rey students earn their tuition by participating in a work-study program one day a week at leading law firms, corporations, medical centers, and businesses. This financial model has enabled the school to partner with CHOP, Wawa, Comcast, Jefferson University, Campell Soup Company, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and others. By the time they graduate, students not only have gained confidence, but often have a strong sense of direction regarding their future. This includes students who worked for Solar States. “Students contributed to our sales, ops, and marketing teams,” said Gold-Markel. “They showed up with energy and excitement. It was a great experience.”

Architect Jennifer Crawford of Blackney Hayes was the lead designer of repurposing the abandoned factory into a modern school. “John McConnell, the founder of the school, was very insistent on saving the building, and it turned out to be the correct decision. We won a historic preservation award,” Crawford said.

“I was trying to create a sense of presence that would feel cohesive with the existing building. When we took out the existing beams and wood flooring in the factory we reused them in creating the reception desk, the sanctuary floor, and the surround entryway in classrooms,” explained Crawford. “I wanted to tie the new with old. We located an old window in disrepair on the ground floor of the factory and all the new windows use the same profile.” The new school also includes a gymnasium/health center, a new turf soccer field, parking, and outdoor instructional and gathering spaces.

Prior to construction, Crawford attended meetings open to the surrounding community where residents expressed their concerns about the long-derelict industrial site. “Listening to them, my goal was to create a space of pride and safety,” she said. Crawford is especially proud of the floor-to-ceiling picture window in the sanctuary above the main entrance. “Students can look out the window and see their own neighborhood below, then look above and see the skyline of Philadelphia where their future lies,” she said.

A Cristo Rey student who worked at Blackney Hayes one day a week for three years while in high school recently went on to major in architecture at Jefferson University. “He is now a paid summer intern at our firm,” said Crawford, adding, “Architecture in not well represented by the African American community, and the student is seeing an example for others.”

This success story is not unique for Cristo Rey. “We are one of 40 Jesuit schools across the country bound by a mission to provide a college prep education to exclusively low income children. Our students come from families all over the city with an average yearly income of $40,000,” said Pugh. “100 percent of our 2024 graduates are going on to college, including Harvard, Notre Dame, Fordham and Georgetown.”

This is the kind of springboard that is taken for granted in suburban high schools with students from affluent families who can afford tutors and SAT prep, but it breaks the mold for urban students from low income families. Students who graduate from Cristo Rey schools go on to earn bachelor’s degrees within six years at rates that are twice as high than their demographic peers. “We offer a challenging curriculum,” Shoemaker said. “More importantly, we expect our students to succeed. For many of them, that is a new experience.”

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