INDUSTRY:
Site Development
SERVICES:
Surveying, Civil, Environmental, Geotechnical
LOCATION:
Philadelphia, PA
CLIENT:
Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church
Atkin Olshin Schade Architects retained Sci-Tek to provide engineering services for the new Richard Allen Statue and Perimeter Walls as a part of design of the Richard Allen Park addition to the historic Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church in Philadelphia, PA. The addition consisted of an 8-foot tall Richard Allen memorial statue and the construction of a 120-foot-long wall at this historic church property. Sci-Tek provided the following services:
- Topographic survey of the existing site conditions
- Geotechnical exploration
- Detailed designs and construction plans and specifications for parking lot upgrades inclusive of grading, paving, striping, utility connections, and foundation design
- Phase II Environmental Assessment
- Excavation oversight services during construction
The Phase II Environmental Site Assessment included a geophysical survey of the area for underground utilities and anomalies, the advancement of Geoprobe borings, sampling of cored subsurface soils, and soil-vapor sampling for laboratory analysis. The geophysical survey included ground-penetrating radar runs that were corroborated with magnetometer and radio-frequency scans to identify the depths and types of underground utilities and density anomalies. The geophysical work allowed for selection of safe drilling locations.
The subsurface exploration was performed to evaluate the potential for volatile organic compounds including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene. Soil vapor sampling was performed using laboratory vacuum-prepared summa canisters. No soil vapor contaminants were detected in the samples. This subsurface soil investigation also provided critical information on the depth of historic fill at the site to guide the subsequent excavations.
