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As a crowd of more than 100 people milled about his home Monday morning, Jack Vice sat in his recliner, ham-and-cheese sandwich in hand, and smiled. Minutes earlier, Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, had blessed his home, which wife Josephine was still buzzing about.
"It was so breathtaking," she said. "I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to say, ‘Hello, Your Eminence.’"
The husband and wife — 79 and 76, respectively — are among the first half-dozen residents of St. John Neumann Place, once the site of the now-consolidated St. John Neumann High School at 2600 Moore St., where their one-bedroom first-floor apartment was open to the crowd attending the dedication.
The Vices live in one of 75 independent-living dwellings for ages 62 and older. The development is a result of four years of rehab and conversion by Catholic Health Care Services, who will run St. John Neumann Place, to the school closed in 2004.
The Vices learned about the development several years ago when an artist’s rendering and information were displayed at their parish, St. Edmond’s, 2130 S. 21st St. The couple saw it as an affordable way to stay in the area, after living on the 2100 block of Beechwood Street since 1950.
"I thought I’d be dead by the time I got [to St. Neumann Place]," Josephine joked of the time between signing up and moving in. "It looks better than the [rendering]."
Two of the couple’s four sons graduated from Neumann — Jack in ’70 and Steven in ’87.
"It’s a funny thing, isn’t it?" Jack said of living where his sons went to school and where he worked in the maintenance department in the late ’80s. "My sons call it ‘St. John Neumann Palace.’ They think it’s awesome, they’re still looking for their lockers."
Ironically, the lockers are still there, but Vice’s sons won’t find them. The construction company left them in place and built the existing hallway walls over their tops. Walking into St. John Neumann Place, anyone not familiar with its history would probably never know it once was a high school. When construction began in ’06, the gymnasium, auditorium and priory were demolished. The remaining classrooms were converted into apartments with new appliances. The chapel remains, and is where Rigali conducted the ceremony.
The building opened in ’56 as Bishop Neumann High School and was renamed St. John Neumann High School in ’78 after the canonization of Philadelphia’s fourth bishop.
After it closed in June ’04, when it was consolidated with St. Maria Goretti High School at 11th and Moore streets where it became known as Neumann-Goretti High School, a letter was sent to Rigali by local pastors requesting the archdiocese explore developing the two-story building for the benefit of the community’s elderly on behalf of residents who wanted to maintain the property’s Catholic identity. The request was consistent with the archdiocese’s mission to reuse vacant archdiocesan properties.
In March ’06, Catholic Health Care Services, which provides short- and long-term nursing care at 10 other facilities in the region, including one other independent-living facility, received word it was awarded tax credits to make funding the project possible and immediately began work on the $17 million conversion that spans Moore to Mifflin streets between 26th and 27th streets.
Among those on hand at the Monday blessing was the Rev. Monsignor Joseph Tracy, secretary for Catholic Human Services, who drew comparisons between the time spent in high school and the length of time to complete construction — both of which were equal.
"Four years doesn’t seem like a very long time does it?" he asked. "But think about four years in a high school … when four years seemed to move at an incredibly slow pace. But think, too, of how different things were at the end of those four years. A transformation took place; the world grew different. Four years doesn’t seem like a very long time, but a lot sure can happen.
"As we inaugurate a new use for this building, this fixture in the heart of a South Philadelphia neighborhood, it will be a place of comfort and security where [residents] can enjoy their lives as senior citizens."
Monthly rent ranges from $415 to $545, and will be determined by the tenant’s income and residency is open to any senior, no matter their faith.
A new parking lot was put in and landscaping was done outside, affording many apartments, including the Vices, a view of the greenery.
"I feel like I’m living in the country," Josephine said. "God bless me."
Contact Staff Writer Caitlin Meals at cmeals@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.
