10-Story ‘Study Hotel’ to Rise in University City

Drexel University plans to construct a 212-room Study Hotel on the northwest corner of 33rd and Chestnut streets, where the James E. Marks Intercultural Center is now located. The 10-story hotel will total 145,000 square feet and include a 105-seat restaurant and bar, 7,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space, and a state-of-the-art fitness center. The project is a short walk from 30th Street Station and is scheduled to be completed by 2016.

The hotel is being developed by Drexel University in partnership with Hospitality 3 and will be operated by its subsidiary, Study Hotels. The mantra for their hotels is "Read, Rest, Reflect."

The concept caters to college and university markets and will simply be called “The Study at University City”.  The project is being designed by Philadelphia-based DIGSAU Architecture. 

This is the second Study Hotel to be built, after a successful one in New Haven, Conn., known as The Study at Yale, which has become an integral part of the university.

Rates for the Study at Yale start at $219 per night for a Double Room and go to $359 for a King Study.

The first floor will have a 105-seat restaurant, which adds to the other restaurants that opened across Chestnut Street in the Chestnut Square student housing development surrounding Drexel’s student center. 
The hotel will have 212 rooms for university-related guests and 7,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space. The entire project will consist of 145,000 square feet of space. There will also be 37 off-site parking spaces.

Across Chestnut Street is the new Hill Field College House, being built by the University of Pennsylvania, and across 33rd Street is the new Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building. 

A few blocks away, apartments are under construction at 3601 Market Street; the Evo at Cira Center South is under construction a few blocks to the east on Chestnut Street; and the 38Chestnut residential project is underway a few blocks to the west. 

So ‘The Study at University City’ makes for a nice addition to this growing neighborhood where hotel rooms are limited.

When asked about how the hotel will specifically impact students, Drexel Vice President James Tucker replied: “First and foremost, parents and families from out of town will have the option to stay in world-class accommodations right on Drexel’s campus when they visit students during orientation, commencement, move-in and move-out, and other milestone events throughout the year.”

The project is part of the Drexel University Institutional Master Plan, and is scheduled to be completed by 2016.