December 03, 2025
Provided Image/William Way LGBT Community Center
The William Way LGBT Community Center will stop operations at its Spruce Street home (above) as planned Dec. 18. However, board members say they now have the funds to repair the building, allowing the organization to eventually return to the space.
The William Way LGBT Community Center will remain in its longtime home on Spruce Street, its board said Tuesday night — just one week after the organization announced that it would leave later this month.
Since then, multiple funding sources, including individual donors, have committed to helping William Way cover the costs to redevelop the community center, board co-chairs Dave Huting and Laura Ryan said in a statement. The building will still close Dec. 18, but the organization will return once renovations are complete.
The details of the renovations project are still being finalized, including a timeline, but the board members said the redesign will make the building a more effective space to serve the queer community.
"We are thrilled to share that the Center will not be leaving its longtime home," Huting and Ryan said. "We look forward to sharing our vision for a reimagined facility, one that continues to be an essential resource for Philadelphia's LGBTQ community, and which will become a reality as details are finalized. We are partnering with a nonprofit developer to redevelop our building at 1315 Spruce Street, transforming it into a modern and welcoming space that better serves our vibrant and engaged community."
During construction, a number of William Way's programs will move to the Church of St. Luke and the Epiphany at 330 S. 13th St. as of Jan. 5. The organization also plans to reopen the John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives, which houses publications, business records, personal papers and other materials relating to the queer community, at a temporary location in 2026.
In June, William Way said it would sell the Spruce Street building, because it had failed to raise the money needed to redevelop the space. Inspections of the pre-Civil War-era building found that $3.5 million in immediate repairs were necessary before additional renovations could be made.
Last week, the organization released a statement saying it would leave the community center by Dec. 18.
Following that news, Huting and Ryan said a number of community members expressed concerns and frustrations about the center's future. About 15,000 people visit William Way for counseling, recovery support and food services each year.
